this post was submitted on 08 May 2026
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Science Memes

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[–] A_Chilean_Cyborg@feddit.cl 3 points 1 hour ago
[–] TheFogan@programming.dev 126 points 6 hours ago (4 children)

on a job interview in IT, an interviewer asked me if I understood the difference between TCP and UDP. After giving the best technical explanation I could, I ended with

I could tell you a UDP joke, but I'm not sure if you'd get it.

He said go ahead

I paused, that was it.

Kind of awkward.

I didn't get the job.

[–] Alfredolin@sopuli.xyz 9 points 1 hour ago

This is fucking funny.

[–] Gremour@lemmy.world 26 points 3 hours ago

I will also tell you a joke about TCP, and if you don't get it, I will repeat.

[–] jol@discuss.tchncs.de 60 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

Nothing boosts your impression on people like making them feel stupid. RIP

[–] captcha@lemmy.frozeninferno.xyz 28 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

I wouldn't expect this joke to make someone feel stupid if they know what UDP is, so it feels like it was a safe bet

[–] yakko@feddit.uk 17 points 4 hours ago (2 children)

Interviewing is (ideally) quite a structured type of conversation, when is a job interview. A lot of people have to lock in pretty hard to deal with how unnatural it is, and they might not have the spare bandwidth to catch a joke.

Especially not someone from HR, they're fucking troglodytes.

[–] TheBrideWoreCrimson@sopuli.xyz 18 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

I completely agree with your first paragraph.
But TheFogan was probably not explaining UDP to an HR person in this scenario.

[–] MSBBritain@lemmy.world 12 points 2 hours ago (2 children)

Oh I've seen some pretty bad interviewing, where HR is sent in with a question sheet and a box to tick for which key words the interviewee mentioned per question.

Obviously a red flag and useless method of interviewing, but it does happen frighteningly often. Especially where the IT team is so understaffed, they can't spare the time to do interviews.

[–] SwampYankee@feddit.online 2 points 1 hour ago

This is done, especially in government work, to limit bias in the interview process. Ideally, though, the people conducting the interviews understand the questions they're asking and can use some judgement and give credit if someone explained a concept but didn't hit the specific keyword.

Oomph, ~~buzzword~~ keyword guessing sounds like great interview indeed

[–] guynamedzero@piefed.zeromedia.vip 7 points 4 hours ago (2 children)

Unfortunately I don’t know enough about udp to get it, is it that you dumped the information before like, asking about it?

[–] Baguette@lemmy.blahaj.zone 18 points 3 hours ago

Tcp and udp are to sum it up, internet messaging protocols. UDP specifically is when you send a message over without guaranteeing your message was received. TCP on the otherhand is more like a handshake where you send a message and expect a response back.

The joke is basically UDP=I dont know if you would get it

[–] MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 3 points 2 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours ago)

There's pretty basic UDP, that sends without confirming receiving. And instead of fixing it, they just slapped another protocol, TCP, on top of it.

With only UDP, you don't know, if you get it.

[–] Arigion@feddit.org 9 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago) (1 children)

The thing is it is highly doubtful that Pavlov ever used a bell. Also the experiments were no fun for the dogs.

He redirected the animals' digestive fluids outside the body, where they could be measured.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_conditioning#procedures

https://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2022/12/the-shocking-and-gruesome-truth-about-pavlovs-dogs-and-how-the-results-are-commonly-misinterpreted/

[–] captcha@lemmy.frozeninferno.xyz 8 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

the experiments were no fun for the dogs

I would really expect most experiments to be no fun for animals that are experimented on

[–] Arigion@feddit.org 5 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

Since Pavlow is so famous you see often the dogs depicted as cute and someone ringing a bell. Not as fixated pepsin machines. At least in the past that was my mental image. Might be a me problem.

No, you're right about the images, it's marketing as usual, but I never thought about this

[–] llamatron@lemmy.world 13 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

Or everyone has heard that same joke a thousand times already

[–] FinjaminPoach@lemmy.world 9 points 4 hours ago

Assuming they all don't have a very-literal-interpretation-of-jokes-leading-to-no-sense-of-humour, I think people usually laugh appreciatively at someone trying to lighten the mood in settings like this, even when they've heard the joke before.

[–] neuracnu@lemmy.blahaj.zone 11 points 6 hours ago

The only acceptable response is “I heard he was good at making bitches wet.”

[–] Saapas@piefed.zip 13 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

I've heard that same joke a million times. It's what I'd expect to find at the top of a Reddit thread.

It's a witty joke but a common one, so wouldn't chuckle tbh

[–] FiskFisk33@startrek.website 2 points 3 hours ago

Should have accompanied the jokes with treats

[–] dumnezero@piefed.social 19 points 7 hours ago

Maybe they just wanted to deny the positive feedback to him.

[–] lvxferre@mander.xyz 24 points 7 hours ago (2 children)

No one laughed, I'm too witty for this class.

Given how the cookie crumbles in plenty unis, odds are most of the class didn't even know about the experiments, so they didn't know enough to even notice the wit.

[–] AlphaOmega@lemmy.world 18 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

I would hope the professor would have at least chuckled.

[–] TheFrogThatFlies@lemmy.world 17 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

Imagine he hears this joke everytime he makes the question...

[–] Klear@quokk.au 11 points 3 hours ago

He could have salivated a bit then.

[–] Tyrq@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

Well, they are there to learn after all, he didn't assume his students knew, and asked if they did. One guy in the class knew. Seems like it's working itself out, and he just needs to keep that one loaded for later in the semester when people are primed to get it.

[–] lvxferre@mander.xyz 5 points 6 hours ago

That's fair, you're right. I guess my comment was a bit too bitter.

I always expected people starting a uni course to at least know the very basics of the subject. You know, out of interest. For psychology it would be the basics of Freud (something dreams, id/ego/superego), Pavlov and Skinner (experiments with other animals, focus on behaviour instead of "mind"), Piaget (child development) etc.

But then your comment made me remember psychology classes are rather common for people from other graduations, specially when they'll become teachers or professors.

[–] FinjaminPoach@lemmy.world 3 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago)

I've found that everyone at uni is like this. Humourless ~~weirdos~~fellows, maybe they just exhaust themselves with drink, drugs and dancing every night and can't process my jokes.

[–] lazynooblet@lazysoci.al 0 points 2 hours ago

I am ignorant and unwitty - I don't get it. I thought pavlov was a game.

[–] Warl0k3@lemmy.world 2 points 6 hours ago

Too obvious, don't reward someone for going after low hanging fruit...

[–] NigelFrobisher@aussie.zone 1 points 6 hours ago

It’s totally overrated compared to Eton Mess tbh