# Maximum number of mathematicians in this joke **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 31, 2021, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maximum-number-of-mathematicians-in-this-joke/939113 "2021-03-31T20:22:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2021, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maximum-number-of-mathematicians-in-this-joke/939113/21 "2021-03-31T22:22:34Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > We need a better definition of “beer” than water and ethanol, because water with 4.2% v/v ethanol is just watered-down vodka. In order to be considered beer, there needs to be at least some “malt” molecules and “hop oil” molecules, in the proper balance to create the taste of beer. > > We can’t ignore those just because they’re in small amounts; in fact, the smallest contributor that must be present to create “beer” will determine how many parts the pint can be split into. > [@Chronos](#): > > And actually, it gets much worse: Most of the other compounds in beer are going to be much larger molecules than water or ethanol. Which means that the requisite single molecule of one of those will be equal to many water and ethanol molecules, and so will need many more to make the proper proportions. That is correct. As I was thinking of the question as I was driving along the freeway today, I thought about how there are many different molecules floating around in beer (I’ll go ahead and choose Guinness in this case). The smallest unit of Guinness will contain specific amounts of each constituent molecule. Remove one of those molecules (say, you need 100 molecules of X, and you only have 99), and you no longer have Guinness. For simplicity, let’s call all of the necessary molecules to create one unit of Guinness a ‘beer molecule’. If you’re a super-braniac, it would be nice to know how many ‘beer molecules’ there are in a pint. From there, a regular ol’ braniac could figure out the maximum number of mathematicians. (Hey, would this be a good PhD thesis? The research might be fun.) ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2021, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maximum-number-of-mathematicians-in-this-joke/939113/22 "2021-03-31T23:11:08Z")
Don’t forget the carbon dioxide the beer releases when poured. A poured beer gets lighter over time. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2021, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maximum-number-of-mathematicians-in-this-joke/939113/23 "2021-03-31T23:19:57Z")
Each mathematician is half the size of the previous one. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2021, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maximum-number-of-mathematicians-in-this-joke/939113/24 "2021-03-31T23:48:46Z")
So this is homeopathic beer? ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2021, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maximum-number-of-mathematicians-in-this-joke/939113/25 "2021-03-31T23:57:35Z")
This won’t answer the OP’s question but it’s tangentially relevant. In the old Cosmos series CS stated that if you cut a cake in half, and that half in half, and that quarter in half, and so on… It would take 64 cuts to reduce it to one atom. (if memory serves me correctly) ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maximum-number-of-mathematicians-in-this-joke/939113/26 "2021-04-01T01:28:49Z")
To a zeroth approximation, a human-scale quantity of anything has about 1024 molecules. The number of halvings until you get to 1 is log2 of that number, and log2 of a number is a little over triple the base-10 exponent. So triple 24 to 72, then round up to 80. About 80 mathematicians. ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blue_blistering_barnacle/32/3386_2.png) [@Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blue_Blistering_Barnacle)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maximum-number-of-mathematicians-in-this-joke/939113/27 "2021-04-01T01:50:40Z")
I’ve always used the punchline, The bartender holds up his hand, pours 2 beers, and says, “Youse guys oughtta know your limits.” ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maximum-number-of-mathematicians-in-this-joke/939113/28 "2021-04-01T03:58:24Z")
A finite number of mathematicians walk into a bar. The first orders one beer. The second orders half a beer. The third orders a third of a beer. The fourth a quarter, the fifth a fifth, and so on to n. The bartender happily starts filling their order, and says, “You can have it for a song.” ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maximum-number-of-mathematicians-in-this-joke/939113/29 "2021-04-01T04:44:52Z")
How harmonic. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maximum-number-of-mathematicians-in-this-joke/939113/30 "2021-04-01T04:52:13Z")
Hallelujah? ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maximum-number-of-mathematicians-in-this-joke/939113/31 "2021-04-01T05:20:41Z")
Gasoline pumps here typically have small print saying something like “minimum order 2 litre”. I assume that they do this because for smaller quantities the price of gasoline can’t be guaranteed at the stated accuracy (0.1c/litre) Disregarding the _practical_ difficulties, what _regulations_ affect the bar tender / proprietor in this joke? ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maximum-number-of-mathematicians-in-this-joke/939113/32 "2021-04-01T05:26:35Z")
I thought the answer to everything was 42? ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maximum-number-of-mathematicians-in-this-joke/939113/33 "2021-04-01T06:34:33Z")
Am I the only one who has noticed a significant problem with the way this issue has been discussed so far? We’ve had 32 posts dealing with the precise details of molecular weight,percentage of water and ethanol,etc. But nobody has yet discussed the most important inconsistency within the OP: Guinness is not beer!!! Guinness is a liquid substance which should be handled only when wearing a hazmat suit. 🙂🙂 ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maximum-number-of-mathematicians-in-this-joke/939113/34 "2021-04-01T06:46:49Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > Guinness is a liquid substance which should be handled only when wearing a hazmat suit. “Liquid substance” is debatable. Guinness is a colloidal suspension of grit in a malt beverage. It has a significant non-liquid component. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maximum-number-of-mathematicians-in-this-joke/939113/35 "2021-04-01T06:53:51Z")
you’re right! The best description I’ve heard is that Guinness is “thick”. But it still needs a hazmat suit 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![TwoCarrotSnowman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/twocarrotsnowman/32/15879_2.png) [@TwoCarrotSnowman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwoCarrotSnowman)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maximum-number-of-mathematicians-in-this-joke/939113/36 "2021-04-01T08:05:24Z")
I like Guinness, but I’ve always referred to it as “beer you can chew”. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maximum-number-of-mathematicians-in-this-joke/939113/37 "2021-04-01T08:36:15Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > There are only so many molecules in a pint of beer. To make it even more complex, there aren’t ‘beer molecules’, but a number of molecules that, in combination, constitute ‘beer’. Each beer was in an infinite sized mug, duh! ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maximum-number-of-mathematicians-in-this-joke/939113/38 "2021-04-01T09:46:52Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > So this is homeopathic beer? Only if you agitate it with a horsehair stick before each division. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maximum-number-of-mathematicians-in-this-joke/939113/39 "2021-04-01T10:17:13Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > (Just noticed that Discourse removes the \< sup \> tags when you quote text, so I manaully added them back. That sucks.) [aside] @markn_1 : If you quote by highlighting some text then clicking the Quote button, then yes, Discourse loses most or all of the formatting information. But if you quote by clicking on the Reply button at the bottom of the post, then any formatting information is preserved. [/aside] ---
**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maximum-number-of-mathematicians-in-this-joke/939113/40 "2021-04-01T11:44:07Z")
If it’s a British or Irish pub (where the Guinness is better anyway) you need more mathematicians as the pint here is 568 ml. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maximum-number-of-mathematicians-in-this-joke/939113.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maximum-number-of-mathematicians-in-this-joke/939113.md?page=3)