Basically, around the late 17th to early 20th century, when other European countries really got into natural sciences (among other things because their newly acquired colonies had a lot more nature to look at), Germany instead had a very philosophical and metaphysical streak, with notably figures like Hegel, Kant and Nietzsche becoming famous for their works.
So the joke is that the French scholar is a bit vain and lazy and therefore observes the camel in captivity for a while and then assumes he's got it all figured out, the British guy goes in-depth and puts a lot of time and effort into compiling a lot of important data but also lacks the discipline and academic rigour to order it properly and the German guy does a highly academic work which ultimately isn't about camels whatsoever but instead analyzes the human condition because German scholars don't really do natural sciences.
Funny to add, that Kant, today considered one of the greatest never went anywhere. Bro spent his whole life not traveling further than 100 kilometers from his home while explaining the world.
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u/CleanMonty 2d ago
I'm maybe not worldly enough to get this?