# There are 3 types of people in this world... **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 20, 2003, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-3-types-of-people-in-this-world/214234 "2003-11-20T01:59:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Sir\_Prize](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d2c977/32.png) [@Sir\_Prize](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Prize)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2003, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-3-types-of-people-in-this-world/214234/41 "2003-11-25T05:30:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by youami \* > My question is, what is the name for these types of statements, in particular one in which the writer is pretending to be one of the people they are describing or **the reader has to be one of those people being described to get the joke?** I’m going to make a partial stab at this: **in-joke** ---
**Author:** ![boofy\_bloke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@boofy\_bloke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boofy_bloke)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2003, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-3-types-of-people-in-this-world/214234/42 "2003-11-25T09:24:51Z")
There are two types in this world: Qwerty and Dvorak. ---
**Author:** ![Epimetheus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c4cdca/32.png) [@Epimetheus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Epimetheus)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2003, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-3-types-of-people-in-this-world/214234/43 "2003-11-25T12:57:35Z")
There are two types of people in this world: those that are wrong, and me. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mellon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e19adc/32.png) [@Mellon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mellon)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2003, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-3-types-of-people-in-this-world/214234/44 "2003-11-25T13:19:44Z")
There are 11 types of people in this world: those who understand binary, those who don’t and those who laugh even if they don’t get the joke. ---
**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:** [November 25, 2003, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-3-types-of-people-in-this-world/214234/45 "2003-11-25T14:29:39Z")
There are two types of people in the world, stupid and apathetic. How do you tell them apart? I don’t know and I don’t care. ---
**Author:** ![stick\_monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@stick\_monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stick_monkey)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2003, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-3-types-of-people-in-this-world/214234/46 "2003-11-25T14:33:21Z")
> [@](#): > > There are two kinds of people in the world, hillbillies and son-of-bitches. ahem… I believe it’s ‘son **s** -o-bitches’ Of which I am obviously one ---
**Author:** ![saulisagenius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/71c47a/32.png) [@saulisagenius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saulisagenius)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2003, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-3-types-of-people-in-this-world/214234/47 "2003-11-25T14:40:39Z")
There are two types of people in the word: those that probably believe in certainty and those that definately don’t. There are two types of people in the word: people who think Michael Jackson is a complete loonatic and Michael Jackson. ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2003, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-3-types-of-people-in-this-world/214234/48 "2003-11-25T14:47:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KP \* > B) **" the reader has to be one of those people being described to get the joke"** > Tautology: if there are only N types of people, then you must be in one of the categories if you’re a person at all. > > Therefore I’d have to call them “jokes that are only for people”, > > A) **"one in which the writer is pretending to be one of the people they are describing"** > > Due to the tautology above, only a nonhuman could _pretend_ to be one of the people described, so this subcategory is: “jokes by non-people” But in many cases the point of the joke is that its a stupid division, hence might be wrong and not include everyone. ---
**Author:** ![ras2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a587f6/32.png) [@ras2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ras2000)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2003, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-3-types-of-people-in-this-world/214234/49 "2003-11-25T16:39:01Z")
Originally posted by KP B) " the reader has to be one of those people being described to get the joke" Tautology: if there are only N types of people, then you must be in one of the categories if you’re a person at all. Therefore I’d have to call them “jokes that are only for people”, A) “one in which the writer is pretending to be one of the people they are describing” Due to the tautology above, only a nonhuman could pretend to be one of the people described, so this subcategory is: “jokes by non-people” These jokes only describe one of the groups, the other is the exclusive. For example the one with binary numbers, if you don’t get them, you don’t get the joke. ---
**Author:** ![ras2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a587f6/32.png) [@ras2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ras2000)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2003, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-3-types-of-people-in-this-world/214234/50 "2003-11-25T16:40:48Z")
But I would like to know what these jokes are called. If there isn’t a term for them, what should it be? ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2003, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-3-types-of-people-in-this-world/214234/51 "2003-11-25T16:51:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ras2000 \* > \*\*But I would like to know what these jokes are called. If there isn’t a term for them, what should it be? \*\* What’s wrong with “2-kinds-of-people jokes”? ---
**Author:** ![husbandofclare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/4bbf92/32.png) [@husbandofclare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/husbandofclare)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2003, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-3-types-of-people-in-this-world/214234/52 "2003-11-25T19:44:33Z")
Not a joke, but fitting for the thread and timely to honor a great lefty: “A pitcher needs two pitches, one they’re looking for and one to cross them up” ``` -Warren Spahn died yesterday at age 82 ``` ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-3-types-of-people-in-this-world/214234/53 "2003-11-26T01:48:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by husbandofclare \* > \*\*Not a joke, but fitting for the thread and timely to honor a great lefty: > > “A pitcher needs two pitches, one they’re looking for and one to cross them up” > > ``` > -Warren Spahn > died yesterday at age 82 ** > > ``` I love threads that draw in lurkers. There are two kinds of posters, ones who do and ones who don’t. Welcome to the Boards, **Clare’s guy**! ---
**Author:** ![boofy\_bloke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@boofy\_bloke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boofy_bloke)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-3-types-of-people-in-this-world/214234/54 "2003-11-26T02:04:58Z")
Smart-arse. ---
**Author:** ![boofy\_bloke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@boofy\_bloke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boofy_bloke)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-3-types-of-people-in-this-world/214234/55 "2003-11-26T02:08:02Z")
Whoops, that was a suggestion for the type of joke this is. I didn’t realise that we’d past page 1! ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-3-types-of-people-in-this-world/214234/56 "2003-11-26T02:12:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KP \* > \*\*You’ve created a definition with two subparts. Let me look at the second first: > > B) **" the reader has to be one of those people being described to get the joke"** > Tautology: if there are only N types of people, then you must be in one of the categories if you’re a person at all. > > \*\* Well, then - the answer is obvious. It’s an N joke. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Fifteen\_Iguana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8c91f0/32.png) [@Fifteen\_Iguana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fifteen_Iguana)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-3-types-of-people-in-this-world/214234/57 "2003-11-26T02:54:28Z")
Ahem… oddly enough, I have written a song on this very theme. A sample of the lyrics: Two kinds of people in this world. One says be what you want to be the other says, be normal which is just like me Two kinds of people in this world. Type one thinks they know what’s best for you I don’t think I ever met type two etc. By the way, the famous “TATKOP…those that divide the world into two kinds and those that don’t” is from that great humorist Robert Benchley. Fifteen Iguana ---
**Author:** ![Satisfying\_Andy\_Licious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Satisfying\_Andy\_Licious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satisfying_Andy_Licious)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-3-types-of-people-in-this-world/214234/58 "2003-11-26T05:35:47Z")
There are tintypes of people in the world of photography. Yep. Sure are. ---
**Author:** ![Satisfying\_Andy\_Licious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Satisfying\_Andy\_Licious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satisfying_Andy_Licious)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-3-types-of-people-in-this-world/214234/59 "2003-11-27T02:45:23Z")
There are two types of non sequiturs in this world: the kind where one statement does not logically follow another, and the other with big boobs. ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-3-types-of-people-in-this-world/214234/60 "2003-11-27T09:26:56Z")
There’s one type of person in this world, those who are surprised by… wait, there’s two types of people in the world, those who like Monty Python and… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-3-types-of-people-in-this-world/214234.md?page=2)