# Big Bang Theory, Jan.31, 2013 episode -- "The Cooper/Kripke Inversion" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 1, 2013, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-jan-31-2013-episode-the-cooper-kripke-inversion/649044 "2013-02-01T16:44:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-jan-31-2013-episode-the-cooper-kripke-inversion/649044/41 "2013-02-02T17:33:45Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > I saw him on an episode of _Bones_ and it was actually surprising how “normal” he talked. I’m not sure he actually has any natural speech issues. Well, aside from the New York nasal accent. Which I doubt most people consider a speech impediment. No “R-W” issues. He has a lot of YouTube [videos](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18elhR02xnM). Spoiler: Kripke is God. Think about it. I was going to tell you that Walter Jr. from Breaking Bad actually does have CP IRL, but hams it up for the show, but instead I’ll give you a clip of [Kevin from The Office](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVktay6RveM) talking like a normal person. Mind Blown. He does a hell of a job acting like a doofas. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-jan-31-2013-episode-the-cooper-kripke-inversion/649044/42 "2013-02-02T19:18:27Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > Not necessarily ( depending on your definition of “pretty decent” ). He’s working at a university and without a doctorate, probably not as a professor. He’s likely something more like a research associate, making $30-60k ( national average is $43k ). Good money, but not blow $2500 on a 3-D printer to make dolls money. We’ve discussed this here before, I think. Howard also works for JPL and does projects for NASA. You’re right that he probably doesn’t make “fuck you” money, but he makes at least $100K. The consensus, if I recall, was that he should be the one, out of all of them, with the fattest wallet. He should certainly be making more than Bernadette, a junior researcher at a pharmaceutical company, who in real life would bring home $50 - $60K. But then, this is TVland, and does not have a 1 to 1 correspondence to reality. > [@melondeca](#): > > I’m amazed that no one has mentioned Penny’s skin tone. I had a hard time looking at her. There are tangerines that aren’t such a vibrant shade of orange. No kidding. Kaley, ease up on the bronzer! ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-jan-31-2013-episode-the-cooper-kripke-inversion/649044/43 "2013-02-02T20:14:14Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > We’ve discussed this here before, I think. Howard also works for JPL and does projects for NASA. You’re right that he probably doesn’t make “fuck you” money, but he makes at least $100K. The consensus, if I recall, was that he should be the one, out of all of them, with the fattest wallet. He should certainly be making more than Bernadette, a junior researcher at a pharmaceutical company, who in real life would bring home $50 - $60K. But then, this is TVland, and does not have a 1 to 1 correspondence to reality. Actually, Raj is the one with the most money. His family is “Richie Rich” wealthy, and he was promised a Ferrari for dumping the deaf girl he dated. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-jan-31-2013-episode-the-cooper-kripke-inversion/649044/44 "2013-02-02T20:54:33Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > We’ve discussed this here before, I think. Howard also works for JPL and does projects for NASA. You’re right that he probably doesn’t make “fuck you” money, but he makes at least $100K. The consensus, if I recall, was that he should be the one, out of all of them, with the fattest wallet. He should certainly be making more than Bernadette, a junior researcher at a pharmaceutical company, who in real life would bring home $50 - $60K. But then, this is TVland, and does not have a 1 to 1 correspondence to reality. I don’t have any recent information to support this, but at least in the situations I was aware of in the past, engineers were making substantially more than physicists in and out of academic environments. It’s simply a matter of supply and demand. The demand for physicists is quite low. Howard may be paying off some steep student loans as well as supporting his mother, while Bernadette’s parents may have covered her cost of education, but I would expect Howard to have a higher salary. And as others have pointed out, he should have access to a 3D printer already. He hasn’t hesitated to misappropriate equipment in the past. If nothing else, he should have been able to construct a 3D printer from parts for substantially less money. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-jan-31-2013-episode-the-cooper-kripke-inversion/649044/45 "2013-02-02T22:13:47Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > We’ve discussed this here before, I think. Howard also works for JPL and does projects for NASA. You’re right that he probably doesn’t make “fuck you” money, but he makes at least $100K. The consensus, if I recall, was that he should be the one, out of all of them, with the fattest wallet. He should certainly be making more than Bernadette, a junior researcher at a pharmaceutical company, who in real life would bring home $50 - $60K. But then, this is TVland, and does not have a 1 to 1 correspondence to reality. I suspect that Howard doesn’t work for JPL or NASA but rather the University gets these projects and he is a member of their team. Either way it is all hand waving since money on sitcoms matter only as much as the plot of that episode need them to. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-jan-31-2013-episode-the-cooper-kripke-inversion/649044/46 "2013-02-02T22:40:14Z")
WRT the 3D printer, when they started talking about it, I just assumed the university was going to pay for it. Besides, if they paid for it out of their own pockets, why would they keep it there. If anything, they really should be keeping it at home and contracting themselves to build prototypes or one off things/parts. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-jan-31-2013-episode-the-cooper-kripke-inversion/649044/47 "2013-02-03T00:24:06Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > I’m not sure he actually has any natural speech issues. Well, aside from the New York nasal accent. Which I doubt most people consider a speech impediment. No “R-W” issues. I was listening to him guesting on a [podcast](http://www.totallylaime.com/2012/09/14/john-ross-bowie/), and it didn’t come up that often, but I heard it a few times. Very subtle, admittedly. ---
**Author:** ![getitrite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@getitrite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/getitrite)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-jan-31-2013-episode-the-cooper-kripke-inversion/649044/48 "2013-02-03T02:13:46Z")
Cant wait to see what the BBT has planned for it’s Valentine special, the hints in this episode are many and very vague. Still watching, still laughing. All is good in the TV land. ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-jan-31-2013-episode-the-cooper-kripke-inversion/649044/49 "2013-02-03T03:48:41Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > I was troubled a bit by Sheldon being uncharacteristically able to lie. To me it seems a bit of a discontinuity in the series. Sheldon is perfectly capable of lying. On at least three different occasions as noted in this thread. He’s just not particularly good at it. ---
**Author:** ![Monkey\_Chews](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@Monkey\_Chews](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monkey_Chews)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-jan-31-2013-episode-the-cooper-kripke-inversion/649044/50 "2013-02-03T12:13:12Z")
Kaley Cuoco should submit this episode for her Emmy consideration episode. She wasn’t even in it that much, but every time she was on screen was gold, Jerry, GOLD! That scene with her asking Sheldon those very direct questions was one of the best and most touching scenes the show has done, with almost all of the humour in the scene flying straight off Penny’s face. > [@ftg](#): > > It went nowhere. The biggest thing was Sheldon admitting that there’s a small chance he might have sex with AFF in the future? Hardly notable at all given the story so far. Huh? There had to be more character growth in this one episode than in whole previous seasons of the show! ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-jan-31-2013-episode-the-cooper-kripke-inversion/649044/51 "2013-02-03T14:37:24Z")
I recently went back and watched the entire back catalog of BBT to get caught up on any missed episodes. The very first episode had Sheldon and Leonard walking into a sperm bank to make donations to get extra cash for something geeky…Leonard mentioned that Sheldon was a master of the skill of producing said product. They of course changed that focus by the second show, but apparently it all works and he enjoys using the equipment on a personal level. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-jan-31-2013-episode-the-cooper-kripke-inversion/649044/52 "2013-02-03T15:13:36Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > WRT the 3D printer, when they started talking about it, I just assumed the university was going to pay for it. Besides, if they paid for it out of their own pockets, why would they keep it there. If anything, they really should be keeping it at home and contracting themselves to build prototypes or one off things/parts. I meant to mention this as well. I also assumed since they had it in the lab they got the university to buy it. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-jan-31-2013-episode-the-cooper-kripke-inversion/649044/53 "2013-02-03T18:48:38Z")
> [@kittenblue](#): > > I recently went back and watched the entire back catalog of BBT to get caught up on any missed episodes. The very first episode had Sheldon and Leonard walking into a sperm bank to make donations to get extra cash for something geeky…Leonard mentioned that Sheldon was a master of the skill of producing said product. They of course changed that focus by the second show, but apparently it all works and he enjoys using the equipment on a personal level. That was the initial pilot, which never aired on TV. The show was reworked. ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-jan-31-2013-episode-the-cooper-kripke-inversion/649044/54 "2013-02-03T19:22:14Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > That was the initial pilot, which never aired on TV. The show was reworked. I had no idea it never aired. They didn’t mention that on the DVD, and the next couple shows didn’t seem to re-visit the meeting of Penny. Interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-jan-31-2013-episode-the-cooper-kripke-inversion/649044/55 "2013-02-03T19:32:37Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Actually, Raj is the one with the most money. His family is “Richie Rich” wealthy, and he was promised a Ferrari for dumping the deaf girl he dated. Well, yes; I should haved said that Howard has the heaviest paycheck. In any case, the point stands that he, not Bernadette, should be the primary breadwinner in their home. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-jan-31-2013-episode-the-cooper-kripke-inversion/649044/56 "2013-02-03T19:35:00Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > That was the initial pilot, which never aired on TV. The show was reworked. It most certainly _did_ air - I saw that episode, and I’ve only ever watched BBT on the telly. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-jan-31-2013-episode-the-cooper-kripke-inversion/649044/57 "2013-02-03T20:31:34Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > That was the initial pilot, which never aired on TV. The show was reworked. That did air and it was pretty bad. I didn’t watch BBT until years later because it was so bad (although I eventually worked back and saw everything). ---
**Author:** ![KayLovesPurple](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylovespurple/32/6114_2.png) [@KayLovesPurple](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KayLovesPurple)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2013, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-jan-31-2013-episode-the-cooper-kripke-inversion/649044/58 "2013-02-05T09:20:23Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > That did air and it was pretty bad. I didn’t watch BBT until years later because it was so bad (although I eventually worked back and saw everything). Looking at the bright side, the one they did not air was even worse. I don’t remember much of it (or where I saw it, so I cannot look back and check), but Sheldon for example was completely different – the main plot arc is something about Leonard and Sheldon picking up two girls, one for each. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2013, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-jan-31-2013-episode-the-cooper-kripke-inversion/649044/59 "2013-02-05T16:05:50Z")
To me, what makes Sheldon funny is because he’s a smug ass hat. He’s a smug ass hat because he’s always the smartest one in the room; which is why people put up with his shit. (In real life I would have kicked his ass long ago). Anyway; him having to admit that Kripke was smarter than him was a let down in a way; unless they revisit in a future episode. Like maybe when he finally sleeps with AFF he’ll develop an open stream of consciousnesses and come up with something brilliant. Hopefully in the middle of coitus (that he won’t finish because of his brilliant new idea). ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2013, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-jan-31-2013-episode-the-cooper-kripke-inversion/649044/60 "2013-02-05T16:24:24Z")
Even better, **Enright3** , is if that Coitus Epiphany is what earns him a Nobel Prize. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-jan-31-2013-episode-the-cooper-kripke-inversion/649044.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-theory-jan-31-2013-episode-the-cooper-kripke-inversion/649044.md?page=4)