I saw the following in "The Knot Book" by Colin Adams (a very readable
introduction to Knot Theory). The joke is attributed to Joel Haas.
A woman walks into a bar accompanied by a dog and a cow. The bartender
says, "Hey, no animals are allowed in here."
The woman replies, "These are very special animals."
"How so?"
"They're knot theorists."
The bartender raises his eyebrows and says, "I've met a number of
knot theorists who I thought were animals, but never an animal that
was a knot theorist."
"Well, I'll prove it to you. Ask them them anything you like."
So the bartender asks the dog, "Name a knot invariant."
"Arf, arf" barks the dog.
The bartender scowls and turns to the cow asking, "Name a topological
invariant."
The cow says, "Mu, mu."
At this point the bartender turns to the woman, says, "Just what are
you trying to pull" and throws them out of the bar.
Outside, the dog turns to the woman and asks, "Do you think I should
have said the Jones polynomial?"
I saw the following in "The Knot Book" by Colin Adams (a very readable introduction to Knot Theory). The joke is attributed to Joel Haas.
A woman walks into a bar accompanied by a dog and a cow. The bartender says, "Hey, no animals are allowed in here." The woman replies, "These are very special animals." "How so?" "They're knot theorists." The bartender raises his eyebrows and says, "I've met a number of knot theorists who I thought were animals, but never an animal that was a knot theorist." "Well, I'll prove it to you. Ask them them anything you like." So the bartender asks the dog, "Name a knot invariant." "Arf, arf" barks the dog. The bartender scowls and turns to the cow asking, "Name a topological invariant." The cow says, "Mu, mu." At this point the bartender turns to the woman, says, "Just what are you trying to pull" and throws them out of the bar.
Outside, the dog turns to the woman and asks, "Do you think I should have said the Jones polynomial?"