A mathematician, an engineer and a physicist are all in a hotel.
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A mathematician, an engineer and a physicist are all in a hotel. In the middle of the night, a fire breaks out on their floor. The fire spreads to each of their rooms.
The engineer wakes up and sees the fire. He rushes to the tub, repeatedly fills his ice tub with water and throws it everywhere until he manages to get the fire out in his room. Satisfied, he goes back to bed.
The physicist wakes up as well and sees the fire. He grabs a pad of paper, quickly scribbles out some equations, fills a cup with water and dumps it on just the right spot to put out the fire. Satisfied, he goes back to bed.
The mathematician wakes and sees the fire. He grabs a pad of paper, quickly scribbles out some equations and yells out "Aha! A solution exists." Satisfied, he goes back to bed.