[ckofer]

Originally Posted by mondeo

An engineer, a physicist, a mathematician, and a statistician are taken,
one at a time, into a room to undergo a psychological test. In the room is
a table (upon which is a pad and pencil), a chair, a bucket of water, and a
waste basket rigged so that it can be set ablaze from an adjacent room in
which the psychologists watch.

The engineer is first, and the basket is set ablaze. The engineer
immediately jumps up, grabs the bucket of water and dashes the entire thing
onto the fire, flooding the entire room and extinguishing the fire.

The physicist is next. The basket ignites, the physicist quickly calculates
exactly how much water is required to extinguish the flames and pours
exactly that amount, neatly extinguishing the flames.

The mathematician next. The basket blazes up, the mathematician calculates
exactly how much water is required to put out the fire, and then walks out
of the room.

The statistician is last. The basket is ignited. He grabs the bucket, pours
half on one side, half on the other, and announces, "It's out."

....some are carpenters' wives