Thursday, January 7, 2010

Does a Bear ...

Ooh, ooh, what's it called, when you "complicate" a well known saying? Kind of the reverse of a euphemism, but not quite. One occurred to me as I was putting together the last post - and got me all agiggle:

Does a bear increase the overall entropy of the universe while converting energy from one form to another in the woods?

On second thought, it's too obvious - surely that saying or a close variant is already out there, right?

Update: circumlocution or periphrasis? Not quite - they don't seem to carry the intentional humorous connotation that is always an element in these sayings.

Update: Proposed T-shirt for physics students:
On the front: "Do I like physics?"
On the back: "Does a bear increase the overall entropy of the universe while converting energy from one form to another in the woods?"

Update: Proposed tee shirt for chemists, engineers, biologists, oh, hell, anybody:
On the front: "Do I like thermodynamics?"
On the back: "Does a bear increase the overall entropy of the universe while converting energy from one form to another in the woods?"