[MD] An unintended Pirsig joke

[Micah]

Heart surgeon vs. mechanic...anybody that has set foot in a repair shop 
knows that mechanics work on cars while they're running, apparently the 
heart surgeon in your fable doesn't realize how stupid his smug response 
is...but the mechanic does.

This joke gets funnier every time it's told by someone that doesn't realize 
the doctor is the butt of the joke.

Odd thing, it's really not joke from the surgeons point of view...more of an 
attempt to establish his social quality, while the mechanic was looking for 
intellectual quality. Changes the the intention of the joke 180 degrees.

Why do you think that joke is funny?

Micah


> */Repairing Differences/*
>
> A mechanic was re moving a cylinder head from the motor of a Harley 
> motorcycle when he spotted a well-known heart surgeon in his shop.
>
>  The surgeon was there, waiting for the service manager to come and take a 
> look at his bike.
>
>  The mechanic shouted across the garage, "Hey, Doc, can I ask you a 
> question?"
>
>  The surgeon a bit surprised, walked over to the mechanic working on the 
> motorcycle. The
>
>  mechanic straightened up, wiped his hands on a rag and asked, "So Doc, 
> look at this engine. I
>
>  open its heart, take the valves out, fix 'em, put 'em back in, and when I 
> finish, it works
>
>  just like new. So how come I get such a small salary and you get the 
> really big bucks, when
>
>  you and I are doing basically the same work?"
>
>  The surgeon paused, smiled and leaned over, and whispered to the 
> mechanic...
>
>  "Try doing it with the engine running."