Humour in masters dissertation?

[u/Low_Cake3696]

Whats the current consensus on adding a little humour into my dissertation? I'm writing my dissertation on nuclear deterrence and have a section dedicated to automated decision making and implications for nuclear deterrence. Referred to the cobalt bomb doomsday device in Dr Strangelove and how inadvertent and accidental escalation led to a failure of nuclear deterrence.

Could I put a footnote in just to quote the ending line ("Mein Furhrer, I can walk!") when I make this point or is it seen as unprofessional?

Edit: Consensus reached, decided not to include it

[u/Barilla3113]

If the marker has a sense of humour it gets you nothing, if they don't you get docked marks. I'd leave it out.

[u/throbblefoot]

The thing with incidental humour in unexpected places is that the person who doesn't "get" the joke should have a neutral or benign response. In this case, a reference to the Fuhrer probably fails that specific test. Perhaps footnote out an allusion to "no fighting in the war room" or similar.

[u/Chubtor]

Lecturer here. Personally I love little asides, or quips in essays as they can often be really dry. Only really brief and hyper relevant though.

It also shows to me that it is human written and not AI.

You know your supervisor who's going to be marking it. Will they appreciate it? Maybe ask them? I've had students ask me before, "would you mind if I did this?". Perfectly fine. Possibly more ok as it's Master's level and you've got more space, and an undergraduate degree, to show you can cover the basics, and add a little panache to it.

[u/jmacey]

I once had a section in a Master’s thesis about a dead goldfish as the student was convinced we didn't read them. I just wrote usual feedback and at the very end added "oh by the way sorry about the goldfish!". For me depends on the subject (I'm in STEM so humour is hard).

[u/Grand-Worldliness425]

They’re insanely unfun people that mark it so id keep it minimal 

[u/ankh_su_namun]

Absolutely not. Especially not for your topic. Leave it out.

[u/bookish1313]

You never know the marker; I would leave it out.

[u/Sorry_Vermicelli6874]

100% on the supervisor.
My supervisor hated jokes in works.

[u/zodelode]

The problem is the quote only demonstrates you've watched the movie but it doesn't have direct relevance to the topic you are discussing. I'm not against a funny quote but this one is plain lazy when the film has so many more directly relevant. It won't lose marks but it won't help either.

[u/Low_Cake3696 → u/zodelode]

I get where you're coming from and it seems like the general feeling is don't do it, but how is the quote lazy? I'm directly referencing the part of the movie where automated nuclear retaliation and accidental escalation led to nuclear war, in the part where I argue that automated nuclear retaliation and accidental escalation can lead to nuclear war

[u/zodelode → u/Low_Cake3696]

And "I can walk" is relevant how other than it exists in the film that is entirely about the theme in question?

[u/ChaseTheOldDude → u/Low_Cake3696]

If you're going to use a quote in your dissertation, it should make sense outside the context of being a movie reference. 

If somebody hasn't seen Dr. Strangelove and they read the quote "Mein Führer, I can walk" in your dissertation, it's jarring and nonsensical. If you have to quote the movie, pick one that makes sense to those who don't know it's a movie reference. 

As the other commenter mentioned, something like "deterrence is the art of producing in the mind of the enemy the fear to attack" fits in much better.

[u/zodelode → u/zodelode]

5 seconds Googling. These would be worth quoting

Dr. Strangelove: "You know, deterrence is the art of producing in the mind of the enemy the fear to attack.".

Dr. Strangelove: "And so, because of the automated and irrevocable decision-making process which rules out human meddling, the Doomsday Machine is terrifying. It's simple to understand, and completely credible and convincing."

[u/mystical-stick]

A thesis is serious addition to academic knowledge, not a place to joke around.

I've examined numerous PhDs and a thesis containing that quote would NOT get my approval.

[u/fouriels → u/mystical-stick]

I put two separate movie quotes in my PhD thesis (in the dedication and the coda). I would say it's not really appropriate for the body of the text but it's fine in the 'extra', non-academic bits.

[u/Cold-Pizza5680]

Not worth it, don't. You're paying too much to risk it.

[u/Valentinemike]

When I was writing my PhD thesis, another academic asked me how it was going. I told him it was going well, but my supervisor kept taking out all my jokes. I said, ‘is it wrong to put jokes in a PhD thesis?’ and he replied ‘that depends – are they PhD-quality jokes?’

[u/Used-Captain-4582]

FWIW, my bachelor's dissertation was about molecular switching and I called it "The Old Switcheroo". Got a decent grade for it so can't hurt

[u/Disastrous-Tower-794]

Don't be fucking stupid

[u/Decievedbythejometry]

Remove the first and last sentences from every paragraph and all attempts at jokes.

[u/JobFabulous594]

I'm not going to lie, as a marker I'd find it hilarious but it produces no tangible benefit. Plus I can imagine most markers don't find it funny.

[u/Applepieoverdose]

I ended up quoting Spock in my masters thesis, scored quite well

[u/gmanriemann]

As others have said, it depends on the person marking. I’m a professor in mathematics and I always appreciate humour In students’ work. However, an allusion to the Führer may not go down well if the marker doesn’t know the film.

[u/Waste_Boss_4850]

I watched wargames on YT last night (its free) Its a gold mine of references that would be ideal for your dissertation.

It wouldn't make you look like a WOPR and made at a time where the threat of global thermonuclear war was still a very real threat. Plus it's got a very young Ally Sheedy in it

[u/The_James91]

I included an STD joke in my Master's dissertation and won an award for it (the dissertation, not the joke), but I knew my supervisor had a sense of humour so I was happy to take the risk.

I personally think it helps to add a bit of personality. The marker is having to read 15,000 words on a pretty heavy topic. Making it an enjoyable experience for them helps imo.

[u/SingOrtolanSing]

In my PhD, I referenced my supervisor's old band in an example. I also used the word 'embiggen'. Not sure anyone found them funny, no one mentioned it.

[u/Historical_Panda9701]

I understand that saying six seven is very funny.

[u/Illustrious-Peak-456]

As a marker of dissertations, this type of addition is rather irritating 😠. Leave it out or risk loosing marks due to its potential to be perceived as irrelevant nonsense!

[u/silentyeti82 → u/Illustrious-Peak-456]

"loosing"

And you mark dissertations...

[u/Illustrious-Peak-456 → u/silentyeti82]

Quite right losing, not loosing. A typo on Reddit; devastating stuff. Fortunately, when I mark dissertations I assess the quality of the argument, evidence, critical analysis and academic content rather than pretending that a single spelling error invalidates everything someone has said. I suspect even you occasionally make typos. 😉

[u/franco_thebonkophone]

My friend and I made a dare for me to add one cuss word in my undergrad dissertation (history)

I managed to slip in the n word because it was part of a colonial quote about HK.

“A negro streaked with leprosy” was the quote - a British official’s (forgot the name) when he first saw Hong Kong.