An engineer, a physicist and a mathematician are staying overnight in a hotel having attended a conference.
The engineer wakes up in the middle of the night and sees there is a fire in his room, so he goes out to the corridor, finds a fire extinguisher and sprays water everywhere. The result is a bit of a mess, but the fire is out so he goes back to bed.
An hour later the physicist wakes up, and sees a fire in his room, so he gets his laptop, codes a quick simulation and then aims the fire extinguisher at the correct angle and for the right amount of time so as to put out the fire using the minimal amount of water and causing the minimal amount of damage to the room. Pleased with his work he goes back to sleep.
Finally, the mathematician wakes up and sees a fire in his room, so he heads out into the corridor, notices the fire extinguisher and then goes back to bed, having made no attempt to put out the fire but happy to have shown that a solution to the problem exists.
An engineer, a physicist and a mathematician are staying overnight in a hotel having attended a conference.
The engineer wakes up in the middle of the night and sees there is a fire in his room, so he goes out to the corridor, finds a fire extinguisher and sprays water everywhere. The result is a bit of a mess, but the fire is out so he goes back to bed.
An hour later the physicist wakes up, and sees a fire in his room, so he gets his laptop, codes a quick simulation and then aims the fire extinguisher at the correct angle and for the right amount of time so as to put out the fire using the minimal amount of water and causing the minimal amount of damage to the room. Pleased with his work he goes back to sleep.
Finally, the mathematician wakes up and sees a fire in his room, so he heads out into the corridor, notices the fire extinguisher and then goes back to bed, having made no attempt to put out the fire but happy to have shown that a solution to the problem exists.