<p>My son sent an e-mail! Yay. He sent a “math joke.” Here is is:</p>
<p>So what’s abelian under addition, closed under multiplication, left
and right distributive, and bears a terrible curse?</p>
<p>The Ring of the Nibelungs.</p>
<p>I don’t get it. Is it funny?</p>
<p>Mstee:</p>
<p>It’s funny to math-nerds only! I’m going to send it to my S.</p>
<p>I sent it to a PhD friend at work who’s a serious opera-phile: I’m hoping he will be willing to decode the humor for me.</p>
<p>Edit: My son says the first three points all have to do with rings in mathematics, and the “curse” part must have something to do with the opera, but we’re complete opera-illiterates so we can’t tell you anything more at this point. Marite, care to decode?</p>
<p>In the Ring of the Nibelung, the dwarf Alberich steals the gold that lies at the bottom of the Rhine and fashions a ring that will enable him to rule the world. But in order to keep the ring, he has to foreswear love. Reminds you of Lord of the Rings? They’re both drawn from Norse mythology.</p>
<p>I have to say that S’s closest connection with that opera is through Bugs Bunny. There’s an episode where Rabbit warble “My helmet, my helmet” as the music from the Ride of Walkyries plays in the background. It’s truly hilarious.</p>
<p>Answer from S:
A ring in mathematics is a system that has the properties noted in the joke
(minus the terrible curse).
So it’s really only funny to people who are both math nerds and opera/German mythology buffs. </p>
<p>Added S: “In case you’re worried [!!] I’ve become an opera buff, I got the info on the Ring of the Nibelungs from Google.”" </p>
<p>At least he doesn’t get his math from Google :(</p>
<p>Tks. Marite! I guess the joke might be funny in the right context–i.e., a math lecture or something like that–but your S’s comment “In case you’re worried I’ve become an opera buff . . .” has me LOL!</p>
<p>What’s purple and commutes? An abelian grape. Apparently (or at least per my S) this is a well-known pun. Don’t get it; don’t even want to.</p>
<p>Ah, I think I get this one. It has to do with commutative properties. </p>
<p>Nerd humor is in a class by itself.</p>