How to Identify Professors
Chem Prof:
Wears a white lab coat. This may actually be
clean but does not have to be. P-chem profs have a brand new coat
that has never been in the lab; polymer chem profs have strange
glop on their coat, and intro chem profs have acid holes.
Physics Prof:
Wears blue jeans and a flannel shirt. May
sometimes forget to wear shirt altogether. If a professor is
wearing blue jeans and suspenders, ten to one he is a physicist.
Physics profs often have German accents, but this is not a
distinguishing characteristic. Be wary of psychologists with fake
Viennese accents which can sound similar to the unwary.
Bio Prof:
Sometimes wears a lab coat, though usually
this is the sign of a biochemist. Marine biologists walk around
in hip boots for no explainable reason, even in the middle of
winter. They are apt to wear grey slacks and smell like fish, as
opposed to most biologists, who smell strongly of formalin.
Microbiology instructors go around in spotless white coats,
refuse to drink beer on tap, and wipe all their silverware before
using it. Never loan money to a bio prof, no matter how much he
asks.
Psych Prof:
Psychologists are not real scientists, and
can be easily identified by their screams of protest whenever
anyone questions whether psychology is a science. Psych people
have beady little eyes and don't laugh at jokes about psychology.
If you are not sure whether a person is a scientist or a
comparative religion instructor, he is probably a psychologist.
CS Prof:
Most CS profs are from India or Pakistan. You
can tell by the gestures and accents. This is not a bad thing,
though many of the American CS professors tend to pick up Indian
accents which confounds more specific identification. Like
mushrooms, CS students only come out at night, and, if not
Indian, tend to take on a pasty appearance. CS professors do not
use computers and therefore can be easily identified by their
comparative good health with respect to their students. Many CS
professors do not even know how to use computers, and are
actually mathematicians or psychologists in disguise. Avoid these
people.
Math Prof:
Math profs are like physics professors
except without any practical bent. A math professor will have
only books and pencils in his office, as opposed to the piles of
broken equipment that physicists keep. Mathematicians scorn the
use of computers and calculators and often have difficulty
splitting bills in restaurants. The easy way to identify a
mathematician is by the common use of the phrases "It can be
shown that..." and "Is left as an exercise to the
student..."