HackerTube
HomeLongsLikedHistoryWatch laterCategoriesPlaylistsSettings

Brain Surgeon - That Mitchell & Webb Look , Series 3 - BBC

BBCCited 14× on HN, 2009-2026
YouTube
5.9M views · 17 years ago · comedy · evergreen

A short That Mitchell and Webb Look sketch in which a rocket scientist and a brain surgeon trade jibes over whose job is harder. It is a BBC comedy clip from 2009.

Mostly posted as a joke or reference when threads touch on status, difficulty or jobs.

Stand-up & sketch comedySatire & parody#mitchellandwebb#bbc#sketch#rocketscience#humor

14 comments from Hacker News

@netsharc2026 · in “Nvidia is proposing a beast of a CPU system for Windows PCs”

I found his website, link , and the "2%" brag is the very first sentence, geez. Being the top x% is what OnlyFans girls brag about, professor... And it's not exactly brain surgery, is it? ▶ this video

JokeView on HN
@pcthrowaway2025 · in “New sphere-packing record stems from an unexpected source”

There is no problem with it, but I assume there are many people who will look upon you favourably if they think you do a highly skilled job. While many of us may not care to impress those people, there are certainly those who do (possibly people with similar attitudes who care more about validation from people who think like them) A somewhat ungenerous characterization of the attitude may be something like the Rocket Scientist vs Brain Surgeon sketch - ▶ this video But we should also acknowledge that there's an entire culture built around valuing people and their time relative to one's perception of their "importance", that this culture can influence one's earning potential and acquisition of material possessions, and that many people do care about things like "seeming important" or moving upwards in this hierarchy as a result.

JokeView on HN
@batterylow2023 · in “Ask HN: What's the coolest physical thing you've made?”

I made a VESA mount for my iPad [1]. It wasn't exactly brain surgery [2], but I thought it was cool! [1] link [2] ▶ this video

JokeView on HN
@kowlo2023 · in “Ask HN: What's the coolest physical thing you've made?”

I made a VESA mount for my iPad [1]. It wasn't exactly brain surgery [2], but I thought it was cool! [1] link [2] ▶ this video

JokeView on HN
@hotpotamus2023 · in “Stop Telling Everyone What You Do for a Living”

It's a reference to a Mitchell and Webb sketch about the status games that people play around employment. ▶ this video

JokeView on HN
@effingwewt2021 · in “If You’re So Successful, Why Are You Still Working 70 Hours a Week?”

His point was he has the skills. I made the point about bootcamps, skills are easily obtained. Implying the janitor could not gain the skills is insane. Thinking a SE could begin a janitorial job tomorrow and do it as well as the janitor is laughable. SE skills are just a bit harder to come by, they aren't special. If your skills can be learned in a 6 week course you are not an astrophysicist nor a brain surgeon. SEs are paid well and so have an overinflated self-value. Again, now that this is crashing with WFH. We have code chop shops in India, yet we still try and pretend coding is some modern-day magic language. ninja edit- hit reply b4 finished 2nd edit- reminded me of this [1] infamous That Mitchell and Webb Look sketch =) [1] ▶ this video

JokeView on HN
@kbenson2019 · in “Starship Prototype Unveiled”

That's the best description. "Joe over there? Oh, he's a rocket surgeon." Now I can't help remembering a sketch from Mitchell and Webb.[1] 1: ▶ this video

JokeView on HN
@neilv2019 · in “Tech Jobs Lead to the Middle Class, But Not for the Masses”

I don't think plumber vs. theoretical physics post-doc is a great example. Plumbing is critical skilled work, taking years to master, and is paid accordingly. I imagine plumbing is also very stressful, at times, such as when you're being careful not to flood a building, or avoiding breaking something that would require ripping open a floor to fix. Though plumbing guild training sounds not entirely different than academia. (And postdocs tend to get paid poo because the market, and their guild, permit it.) We should also be careful of to avoid the oopses of: "Brain Surgeon - That Mitchell & Webb Look, Series 3 - BBC Two" ▶ this video

JokeView on HN
@jwbensley2018 · in “Half of European flights delayed due to system failure”

It's very common that someone hasn't heard of everything. It's why down votes without explanation are bad, like on StackOverflow. It was in reference to That Mitchell and Webb Look: link ▶ this video

JokeView on HN
@dom02017 · in “Everything Is Broken (2014)”

We already have people that perform the software equivalent of rocket brain surgery... ANFSCD: Have a free laugh: ▶ this video

JokeView on HN
@AnkhMorporkian2017 · in “Takeover.sh – Wipe and reinstall a running Linux system via SSH without reboot”

I don't tend to link youtube videos on HN, particularly of the comedic type, but I'm just going to leave this here for anyone who wants a good laugh for their morning. ▶ this video

JokeView on HN
@louthy2014 · in “Orbital Sciences Antares rocket explodes after liftoff”

> We make jokes about how nearly nothing is "rocket science" or "brain surgery" for a reason ▶ this video My favourite of those.

JokeView on HN
@losethos2013 · in “Obsession”

▶ this video X_dot = A X + B U Y = C X + D U Rocket science I did simstructure -- rocketscience My master's degree is rocket science link Snort: you'll notice that little course called "nonlinear control systems" with the A after it? That's as far as you can go in math. Nonlinear differential equations. Ask any mathmetician. He'll tell you nonlinear differential equations is the end of the road.

JokeView on HN
@axod2009 · in “Are Silicon Valley Startups More Likely To Be Acquired?”

Yeah you'd have to be a rocket scientist to be able to look down the list and find the biggest numbers... Off topic, but very funny: ▶ this video

JokeView on HN
That Mitchell and Webb Look - Kill All The Poor2:40

That Mitchell and Webb Look - Kill All The Poor

fanvideos4u
430K views • 14 years ago
That Mitchell & Webb Look  -  Bronze Orientation2:55

That Mitchell & Webb Look - Bronze Orientation

analogmoose
2.8M views • 12 years ago
That Mitchell And Webb Sound -  No-One Drowned2:57

That Mitchell And Webb Sound - No-One Drowned

Robin Verhagen-Guest
200K views • 13 years ago
That Mitchell and Webb Look - Working from home1:51

That Mitchell and Webb Look - Working from home

jolaczad
1.2M views • 16 years ago
That Mitchell and Webb Look - Gift Shop Sketch I'm looking for a gift for my aunt2:17

That Mitchell and Webb Look - Gift Shop Sketch I'm looking for a gift for my aunt

Jack Govier
2.2M views • 16 years ago
That Mitchell and Webb Look: Homeopathic A&E2:33

That Mitchell and Webb Look: Homeopathic A&E

gudbuytjane
5.1M views • 17 years ago
Mitchell & Webb Sound - Identity Theft1:55

Mitchell & Webb Sound - Identity Theft

kevinmurphy
305K views • 19 years ago
Mitchell and Webb: "Are we the baddies?"2:50

Mitchell and Webb: "Are we the baddies?"

CrystalRoseCreations
2.5M views • 13 years ago
The Universe I, II & III | Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! | Adult Swim4:00

The Universe I, II & III | Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! | Adult Swim

Adult Swim Europe
2.8M views • 9 years ago
Silly Job Interview - Monty Python4:07

Silly Job Interview - Monty Python

Leandro T. Silva
7.7M views • 20 years ago
Get some patients - Yes, Minister - BBC2:10

Get some patients - Yes, Minister - BBC

BBC Studios
857K views • 16 years ago
Weekend Update: Kevin Nealon on the All-Drug Olympics - SNL2:09

Weekend Update: Kevin Nealon on the All-Drug Olympics - SNL

Saturday Night Live
667K views • 13 years ago
Did you see that ludicrous display last night?0:34

Did you see that ludicrous display last night?

RandyRandom
642K views • 16 years ago
Nick Burns, Your Company's Computer Guy: New Tech Guy - Saturday Night Live4:16

Nick Burns, Your Company's Computer Guy: New Tech Guy - Saturday Night Live

Saturday Night Live
756K views • 13 years ago
IASIP - Science is a Liar sometimes3:51

IASIP - Science is a Liar sometimes

Frank Reynolds (Best of Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia)
494K views • 9 years ago
Sexual Harassment and You - Saturday Night Live3:04

Sexual Harassment and You - Saturday Night Live

Saturday Night Live
1.7M views • 13 years ago
Tim and Eric - Celery Man1:48

Tim and Eric - Celery Man

Twinfold11
7.7M views • 13 years ago
A Bit Of Fry And Laurie - S01E04 - Doctor Tobacco4:49

A Bit Of Fry And Laurie - S01E04 - Doctor Tobacco

EggyDoyler
86K views • 10 years ago
Medieval helpdesk with English subtitles2:45

Medieval helpdesk with English subtitles

NRK
6.5M views • 19 years ago
Scottish Elevator - Voice Recognition - ELEVEN !3:36

Scottish Elevator - Voice Recognition - ELEVEN !

Noel N
3.9M views • 16 years ago