I traded ideas with a physics teacher in a discussion forum and made a funny reference.
“These courses seem to move at warp speed (did I use that term right?), I quipped.
I expected an LOL. Or maybe a 🙂 in return.
Instead, he replied, “I am not an astrophysicist but traveling at warp speed appears to be a fictional representation of motion that happens so fast that one can warp space and time. This means that one can go faster than the speed of light which would demolish one of the most important pillars of modern Physics which is Einstein’s theory of relativity.”
Well. That missed the mark.
My attempt at humor – or at least the delivery of it – failed miserably. And this person gave me a thoughtful answer. I wasted his time.
No real damage was done to the relationship between this teacher and me. But. I won’t always be that lucky.
The point is. Humor is a fantastic way to build relationships in your writing. But if the reader doesn’t get the humor, wasting their time is the best outcome.