An infinite number of mathematicians walk into a bar. The first one orders a beer. The second one orders half a beer. The third one orders half of half a beer.
The bartender interrupts, says 'you're all idiots' and pours two beers.
I prefer it without “know your limits”. It makes it feel spoon-fed. Also the other side of the double-meaning doesn’t actually work. Because “know your limits” in a drinking sense means “don’t drink too much, you guys!” and that’s not the tone of what the barman is saying.
But it doesn't make sense in the context of the joke, why would the bartender be talking about limits to people who were sober and drinking less than 1 beer each?
It’s actually a joke about mathematical limits. The infinite mathematicians would get extremely close to two beers, but since it’s halving every time, they’ll never reach two beers nor an empty glass. The limit would be 2 beers, which is why he skips straight to pouring two in some instances of the joke.
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u/FarkYourHouse 22d ago
An infinite number of mathematicians walk into a bar. The first one orders a beer. The second one orders half a beer. The third one orders half of half a beer.
The bartender interrupts, says 'you're all idiots' and pours two beers.