The Philosophy of Laughter

Monty Python once wrote a sketch about "the funniest joke in the world," in which an accomplished comedian wrote a joke so funny that he died of laughter while writing it, and anyone who heard the joke suffered the same fate. The rest of the skit is all about how society would handle the joke, and it's all funny and worth watching. But, the idea of such a joke got me thinking about whether or not such a thing could exist. Not only that, but is there anything that is considered funny by anyone who hears it?

And what makes something funny in the first place? is there a predictable way to make people laugh? Can you take a paper and pen and map out a path to someone's funny bone? Without even knowing the person? Comedies are getting less funny to me as I get older. Or maybe, is it because they're aimed to please more people? Generic humor is always the more popular, but any real funny person I've ever known has never been concerned with being popular (in fact I will violently confront the next person who makes a chuck norris joke or claims to be Rick James!).

The funniest guy I know was a shy kid who I befriended through middle school, and in high school became a complete eccentric who eventually became accepted as the funniest kid on earth. As much as he is liked, however, he is also hated by anyone who can't take a joke or is easily offended. I like talking to him because he's kind of a philosopher. He knows a lot about how people think and how to make them angry or happy just by talking to them. He still doesn't know the funniest joke in the world, though, in fact he rarely prepares any jokes at all. he says The good ones just kind of come straight out of you, they seem like the one possible thing to say at the time, and I'm inclined to agree.

Just look at comic strips: a funny guy sits around all day trying to think up a joke that will be laughed at by all who read it, and the result is "Peanuts," "Garfield," "Family Circus," "Adam@home," "Born Loser," etc etc, all over my funnies page! Where, I ask you, is the funny?

I'm rick james, bitch, and i'm about to go chuck norris all over your ass.

now that I got that out of the way. Yeah I saw that python skit the other day. I don't think it's possible to be funny to everyone. but it could be possible to die of laughter.

Thank you, Maddox, for a close look at exactly how likely it is that your Rick James impersonation will win you laughs and popularity:

http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse....lle_graph2.gif
-maddox

Quote:

---

Originally posted by ledzeppelin
I'm rick james, bitch, and i'm about to go chuck norris all over your ass.

---

That was philosophical.

Quote:

---

Originally posted by Dangeruss

And what makes something funny in the first place? is there a predictable way to make people laugh? Can you take a paper and pen and map out a path to someone's funny bone? Without even knowing the person? Comedies are getting less funny to me as I get older. Or maybe, is it because they're aimed to please more people? Generic humor is always the more popular, but any real funny person I've ever known has never been concerned with being popular (in fact I will violently confront the next person who makes a chuck norris joke or claims to be Rick James!).

---

How apt that you would mention Maddox. If you ask me, he's one of the most hilarious people I could think of. Of course, a quick skim of his hatemail page will reveal that this view is not held by all. Some (many) people hate him because of his insulting style.

This applies nicely to your mentioning of generic humor and those with a concern for popularity. Maddox has neither. It's a testament to how generic humor will always be more popular and less funny, and that the inverse is true of more 'niche' humor (for lack of knowing what else to call it).

Truly the best kind of jokes are the ones that aren't funny when you tell them again later.

I find people who are amused by life are usually able to convey what they find humorous. It's all in the perception. Love life and laugh at it, and you will be able to help others do the same. Be miserable, self-centered, pessimistic and cynical, and that's what you'll communicate.

(There's a complication here, of course... and that's dark humor - where the absurdities of misery, pessimism and cynicism are exposed in amusing ways. Dark humor is often the best - to those who get it. That's not a given.)

Deep down, I think people really WANT to feel good. Those who really do draw the world to them. Laughter is obviously part of it.

In all seriousness, on two separate occasions, I have laughed so hard that I have thrown up. ** It's okay. Take a minute to get a good mental image of that. ** I suppose the next step is laughing so hard I die.

You have to admit, there are worse ways to go.

“Funny” is relative. A phrase is funny if a particular person perceives it as absurb. However, what is perceived as absurd and/or illogical is dependent on the culture in which the perceiver is in. For example, I often hear of atheists believing that various concepts in religion are funny due to their absurdity. However, person B, religious person would find a joke that centered around this to be far less funny than the atheists. This is because that which is held as absurd in the joke actually corresponds to person B’s perspective on reality. This rule also holds true for plays on words such as puns as well. The reason jokes are less funny the second time they are told is due to the fact that unpredictability also heavily figures into the equation of what is considered funny.
For example, lets take the sketch you gave into account. Part of what is considered funny is the absurdity of someone dieing from laughter. This goes against your perception of reality. However, if you believed that this fate was not only possible but also likely, you’d less likely find it funny.

Quote:

---

Originally posted by LunarMoon
...The reason jokes are less funny the second time they are told is due to the fact that unpredictability also heavily figures into the equation of what is considered funny...

---

Agreed, but the point I was actually getting at is that the best jokes are often unfunny upon a retell due to the fact that some of the best jokes only apply to the particular situation in which they were told.

Which brings up the whole other issue of context. Not only is the person to whom you are telling the joke going to determine its success or failure, but so will the situation in which it's told. For example, a person may find a death-related joke rather unfunny if made in the middle of a funeral of one of his relatives, where otherwise he might have burst out laughing.

Quote:

---

Originally posted by Mark75


Which brings up the whole other issue of context. Not only is the person to whom you are telling the joke going to determine its success or failure, but so will the situation in which it's told. For example, a person may find a death-related joke rather unfunny if made in the middle of a funeral of one of his relatives, where otherwise he might have burst out laughing.

---

There is also delivery to consider. Inflection and timing are everything. I've never seen anybody else pull off a Jack Benny joke, for example...

my friends say that I have excellent "Timing." I couldn't figure out what they meant for a while, I thought they meant that I was always on time (because I usually am). Then I realized that when I make a joke "without missing a beat," I can feel the exact moment that will maximize the effect. don't you get this rising sensation that lets you know just when to make a crack? is there an objective way to figure out what that time was if one didn't get the feeling?

Quote:

---

Originally posted by Dangeruss
don't you get this rising sensation that lets you know just when to make a crack? is there an objective way to figure out what that time was if one didn't get the feeling?

---

Figure THAT out, and you have just managed to bottle comedy.

Quote:

---

Originally posted by Dangeruss
my friends say that I have excellent "Timing." I couldn't figure out what they meant for a while, I thought they meant that I was always on time (because I usually am). Then I realized that when I make a joke "without missing a beat," I can feel the exact moment that will maximize the effect. don't you get this rising sensation that lets you know just when to make a crack? is there an objective way to figure out what that time was if one didn't get the feeling?

---

yes, I love that feeling! Whenever I make a really funny joke I don't even really think about. I just comes to mind and I say it impulsively at the right time. When I think about it a few seconds afterwards I'm like, "hey when did I think that up, it just came to me and then I said it right there." Now that kind of neat impulsive humor is for cracks and funny comments. It always happens in spontaneous situations. You can' t really think them up, they just sort of brim around you until the moment comes.

Another humor that I do not have as naturally is relating an event to someone. This is way harder to make funny because you loose the element of suprise and expectation is different. It takes a lot of work in timing and emphasis, and for me anyways, I'm more concious of how I'm working the humor.

The most fun though is spontaneous situations where you pull a really good comment. I am always finding situations for these comments, and then comes impulsive humor.

It's an interesting topic!! It makes me wonder to what extent humor can be mechanized. Like what rules can their be to make a person funny? How much of it is just creativity and personality? In some areas of humor I think mechanics can be applied. After I've become more concious of how to "relate an event" and be really funny while doing it, meaning I've actually tried to observe people my friends who do it well and pick up on different techniques a lot through trial and error, I seriously have seen a sweet improvement in getting to people to laugh.

Does anyone else have experiences with spontaneous wisecrack humor versus the "relating a story" humor abilities? curious, if anyone shares that in common with me. peace out! :cookiemonster:

Oh yeah. When a spontaneous joke is at hand, I feel like it's the one possible thing in the world to say. Like if I don't say this right then and there I'm going to regret it for the rest of my life. This is good for making jokes, but bad for getting along with people who offend easily. I don't know many ways to get better at it other than being around other people who are good at it.

As for telling stories, there are a few tricks of the trade. Usually the key is in the shock factor. Prepare a false conclusion, and allude towards it, so that the listener thinks he knows how this is going to end. Then, bam! turn it around on him and catch him off guard. By the same token, a story can be even funnier if the person can sense a direction that the story is going in, and it builds and builds in that direction until you resolve it. Like in a comedy where an action is repeated, and the audience sees it coming but still loves to see it come and happen just as they expect it.

Double entendre is another favorite technique of mine. Last week I ran into a friend at the bank, and she asked how I was and I said "Well, I just hit that ATM machine and I'm $4.20 overdrawn." She thought this was pretty funny, and at the time I did too (I wonder why? :rolleyes: ), although I'd probably rate it as a standard sitcom-level joke in retrospect. Anything that challenges the listener to figure out a joke works pretty well, they get a kind of special feeling when they catch your wit.

Another thing is just the way you say things. Playing with syntax, using diction to imply things without saying them, and just generally presenting a story in a whimsical way gets people into it. If you tell a joke in the lifeless colloquial, it's hard to get someone's full attention. Using fresh and interesting language draws them in and makes them likely to think that whatever you say is funny. People who used to read my livejournal said that it was hilarious, even though I didn't really tell any jokes. It was just the nonsensical way that I ramble when I have no one to talk to but myself that made it, I think.

Entertaining myself is easy. I see humor in so very much... from the truly bizarre "workings" of government to the extremes people go to in order to maintain dignity and on and on. (Charlie Chaplain's humor was all about this very common theme... people trying to maintain dignity in the face of humiliating circumstances.)

When I'm asked what's so funny, though, it rarely translates. It is a special skill to be able to allow others to look at a situation the way you do and see the humor in it. By the time I'm through explaining the absurdity, the moment is gone. People who are good at this sort of thing have the ability to choose very efficient language and get the job done when it counts.

This is what really interests me , the inner workings of the human mind . Like say if you 'come up' with a funny comment right at that moment , you didnt consciously come up with it , your sub-conscious did . It makes you wonder , how much stuff our conscious mind really does come up with , i think the answer is that the subconscious is constantly ticking away and instantly knows the answer to any question that is asked of it , its just that to "know" the answer consciously you have to have good neural connections between the workings of the conscious and subconscious areas of thought . And maybe training these pathways by positively reinforcing them when things happen right is just how we learn and get smarter , but in reality we know the answer , or atleast our sub-conscious does , you just have to train the conscious mind to get in touch with the sub-conscious .

Just a thought anyways , it just 'appeared in my head' , i didnt even have to consciously think about it . :wink:

Quote:

---

Originally posted by Darkmatic
Just a thought anyways , it just 'appeared in my head' , i didnt even have to consciously think about it . * :wink:

---

A good friend, (a fellow engineer,) refers to this phenomenon as "letting your co-processors work." When stuck on trying to resolve something, it is often best to just put it to rest - move on to something else.

I can't count the programming, electronic and mechanical problems that have been solved out of the blue at odd times when I've used this. I'll wake up with a solution... or be doing something else and just have the answer pop into view, completely intact. There seems to be no linear thought involved.

Quote:

---

Originally posted by pj


A good friend, (a fellow engineer,) refers to this phenomenon as "letting your co-processors work." *When stuck on trying to resolve something, it is often best to just put it to rest - move on to something else.

I can't count the programming, electronic and mechanical problems that have been solved out of the blue at odd times when I've used this. *I'll wake up with a solution... or be doing something else and just have the answer pop into view, completely intact. *There seems to be no linear thought involved.

---

Yeah , exactly my point . Most schools of thought on the subconscious mind think that it has control over certain primitive functions , but the sub-conscious is obviously capable of extremely complicated problem solving of its own accord . It makes u think , how much stuff your conscious mind actually comes up with , and how much your sub-conscious comes up with , and then lets your conscious know the informations there . We have barely even scratched the surface as to the processes of the mind .

This has to do with laughing.

Is it true that if you laugh, others will feel happier? And how can you tell if its real laughter or fake laughter?


On the topic of being funny...

Sometimes I can't stop laughing, but others time I think something;s funny but I just smile. Everybody has a different senseof humour. (Why am I even here? I'm no {Philospher!)