abstract
| - ...The kind that puts everyone into two groups, and everyone else. There are two kinds of "There Are Two Kinds of People in the World" jokes in the world: tautologies, false dichotomies, and jokes on either binary (or some other base) or people who can't count. 1.
* Tautologies: "There are two kinds of people in this world: Those who fit, and those who don't." Logically, this statement is self-evident: either you are, or you aren't. ("X, and everyone else" is another variation.) 2.
* False Dichotomies: "There are two kinds of people in this world: Those who like X, and those who have no taste." To a humorless logician, these ones are just false. To everyone else, there are two kinds of this joke: the ones that fall flat and offend everyone, and the ones that are funny regardless. 3.
* Meta-jokes: Also common are jokes based on either binary, counting, or some other pun playing off of the structure of the joke. A classic example is "There are three types of people in the world: those who can count, and those who can't." 4.
* George Bernard Shaw, paraphrased: There are people who go out and do things, and people who let things be done to them. Guess which one Shaw liked. Compare With Us or Against Us. See also My Friends and Zoidberg, where this trope is modified into a more insulting form. Contrast Not So Different. Examples of There Are Two Kinds of People in the World include:
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