Humor - Larry Lesser

“The wise teacher… knows that 55 minutes of work plus 5 minutes’ laughter are worth twice as much as 60 minutes of unvaried work.” — Gilbert Highet, in The Art of Teaching (1989)

statistics edutainment column (with Dennis Pearl) in Teaching Statistics (those without institutional/individual subscriptions can access author-accepted versions here (or just type into the search window at the top of that page: Lesser Pearl)

(fall 2023). Visualizing statistical edutainment: What you see is what you get (and our response to a discussant; the editorial notes that our paper was the first in the journal’s 45-year history picked to have a discussant; teaching resources are under “Supporting Information“); this paper was the focus of the Oct. 20, 2023 CAUSE Research Reading group)

(spring 2023). Statistical edutainment: An experimental way to teach for good measure

(fall 2022). Statistical edutainment: You’re the subject for our next subject!

(summer 2022). Statistical edutainment: A means to vary how we teach summary statistics

(spring 2022). Take a chance on statistical edutainment

(fall 2021). Poll position: A sampling of statistical edutainment

(summer 2021). Statistical edutainment: Putting it to the test

(spring 2021). Statistical edutainment that lines up and fits

(fall 2020). Statistical edutainment: Correlation recreation

(summer 2020). Statistical edutainment that counts

(spring 2020). Statistical edutainment with confidence

(fall 2019). Statistical edutainment: Reversing comparisons [Simpson’s paradox]

Lesser use of syndicated comic strips for statistics/math lessons (“panel discussions”):

(2018). Classroom notes: ‘One in ten’. Teaching Statistics, 40(1), 33-34. [based on a Dilbert comic]

(2016). The stature of salary: Raised expectations or a tall tale? Mathematics Teacher, 110(3), 168-169. [based on a Dilbert comic]

(2015). Normally speaking. Mathematics Teacher, 108(6), 408, 410. [based on a Baby Blues comic]

(2012). Lottery lunacy. Mathematics Teacher, 106(2), 93-94. [based on a Baldo comic]

(2010). The high school weirdness factor. Mathematics Teacher, 103(7), 474-477. [based on a Zits comic]

(2008). ‘Safe Havens’ graph. Mathematics Teacher, 101(9), 690, 692. [based on a Safe Havens comic]

(2007). A round this date in time; Pizza pi, anyone? Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, 12(7), 383, 387. [based on two FoxTrot comics]

selected other STEM education humor-related items:

Lesser, L. (ongoing). 25+ statistics cartoon captions (largely from winning blind/peer-judged contests), 1 puzzle, 30+ poems, 40 jokes, and 67 songs in CAUSE collection of statistics educational fun; also, I post many of my stats/math songs HERE, such as the humorous “Talkin’ Real-Life Problem Blues” (a winner in the National Museum of Mathematics’ 2018 Open Set math song contest)

Lesser, L. (2025). ASA Gives Back Haiku-Meme contest winner (first place haiku in Professional Category); p. 7 of Feb. 2026 Amstat News no. 584

Lesser, L. (2021). ASA Gives Back Hallow-Meme contest winner, Amstat News, no. 534, p. 5.

Lesser, L. (2021). You Are Overdoin’ If You Cancel Everything. Texas Mathematics Teacher, 67(1), 20.

Lesser, L. (2021). 2020 Questions. Journal of Irreproducible Results, 53(2), 8.

Lesser, L. (2020). Cardinality. Texas Mathematics Teacher, 66(2), 30.

Karaali, G. & Lesser, L. (Sept. 2020). A modest proposal. The Mathematical Intelligencer, 42(3), 55-56. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00283-019-09961-0

Lesser, L. (2018). Gender neutral design [joke], CAUSEweb

Lesser, L. (2017). FUNdamental engagement in statistics education. Amstat News, no. 483, 24-28.

Lesser, L. (2016). The square root transformation [joke], CAUSEweb (also in Radical Statistics)

Lesser, L. (Nov. 2015). invited performance at Open Set, National Museum of Mathematics, New York City.

Lesser, L. M. (2015). Inequality Proof. Journal of Humanistic Mathematics, 5(2), 185.

Lesser, L. M. (2014). Dicey Simulation Examples Made While ‘On a Roll’ in Pair-a-Dice. Journal of Irreproducible Results, 52(3), 15.

Lesser, L. (Summer 2014). “Peacewise”-Defined Graph: A Student Activity. Texas Mathematics Teacher,
61(1), 24.

Lesser, L. (2014). Celebrate Random Acts of Kindness Day. Authored text and idea of cartoon for John Landers to draw for display at worldofstatistics.org on Random Acts of Kindness day in 2014.

Lesser, L. (June 2013). One mean class [dramatic sketch]. Statistics Teacher Network, no. 81, p. 20.

Lesser, L. (May 2013). Banquet performance, 5th biennial United States Conference on Teaching Statistics, Cary, NC.

Lesser, L. (2012). Using snakes to constrict statistics anxiety. Teaching Statistics, 34(3), 111.

Lesser, L. M. (2010). Watch your language when teaching mathematics! Journal of Irreproducible Results, 51(1), 8-9.

Lesser, L. (2009). (Im)perfect Storm [based on humorously inaccurate newspaper item]. Mathematics Teacher, 102(8), 572, 574-575.

Lesser, L. (2009). Composing Connections: Mathemusician Merges Math and Music in the Music City, opening plenary session, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Regional Conference & Exposition, Nashville TN.

Lesser, L. (2008). Even More Fun Learning Stats. STATS, 49, pp. 5-8, 19, 27. [issue is here or here]

Lesser, L. (2007). Predicting Rain [based on humorously inaccurate newspaper item]. Mathematics Teacher, 101(9), 95-96.

Lesser, L. (2007). Learning Stats is FUN…with the Right Mode. STATS, 48, pp. 7-11, 21, 26-28. [issue is here or here]

Lesser, L. (2007). “The Like-hurt scale of pleasurable pain” & “The tuna fish scale.” Journal of Irreproducible Results, 50(4), pp. 10, 13. [they won first place and honorable mention, respectively, in the JIR’s national humor contest on scales of measurement]

Lesser, L. (2006). Resources for Humor/Fun/Motivation in the Mathematics/Statistics Classroom. Handbook of the 17^th annual meeting of the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, p. 87. Princeton, NJ: AATH.

some cautions on using humor:

Lesser, L. (2016; Winter 2015-16). Sounding off on stereotypes. Noticias de TODOS: News from TODOS Mathematics for ALL, 11(2), 1-3. (see here or here)[related to my piece in Dec. 2022 Mathematics Teacher: Learning and Teaching PK–12, 115(12), 915-920, https://doi.org/10.5951/MTLT.2022.0218, introduced by Tabatha Ridenour’s summary of the July 5, 2022 MTLT Journal Club meeting which discussed — after my intro video — my April 2014 Mathematics Teacher article]

Lesser, L. (April 2014). Staring down stereotypes. Mathematics Teacher, 107(8), 568-571. This Mathematics Teacher article (with introductory video) selected for July 5, 2022 MTLT Journal Club meeting. Article will appear (augmented by summary of journal club discussion) in Mathematics Teacher: Learning and Teaching PK–12.

Lesser, L. M. (2003). Further Comments and Cautions on Using Humor [letter about Friedman et al. article]. Journal of Statistics Education, 11(1), 1-2.

my overall jocuLARRYty: I’ve created (usually intentionally) humorous items in the context of math/statistics (part of a larger body of “educational fun” work), informed by books (e.g., John Allen Paulos’ Mathematics and Humor) and Sam Cox’s comedy course that yielded a 4-minute set at Austin’s Laff Stop. My humor activities beyond STEM include an article in an international humor research journal, winning Best Humorous Song at a statewide music contest (and having that song also be a Semifinalist in an international song contest), winning four Moment magazine national cartoon caption contests (Sept./Oct. 2018, Summer 2025, Fall 2025, Winter 2026), having humorous songs (“Earthwoman”, “Big Bad Grad School Blues”, “Freedumb”) played on FM radio, being a Semifinalist the year I entered the O. Henry Museum Pun-Off World Championship, and giving an AATH workshop.