[ExI] Nature of Humor: Grinning and Laughing

Lee Corbin lcorbin at rawbw.com
Thu Sep 18 16:07:06 UTC 2008


Ben writes


> "spike" <spike66 at att.net> speculated:
> 
> > what I think Lee was asking was not do we laugh
> > at jokes we are reading.  Everyone does that.

Spike was mistaken about what I was asking, and
his is also mistaken about "everyone does that".

> > But do we ever just think of something and laugh.
> > I do, but that is a very interesting question, which
> > goes back to one I asked a few years ago in this
> > forum: when something is funny, why do we stop
>> laughing eventually? When we are sad, why do we
>> stop weeping?  What changes?
> 
> I understood the question to be "do we laugh when
> there is no-one else around, so no social benefit?"
> 
> Can you clarify, Lee?

You're quite right, Ben. I don't know that the evolutionary
psychologists have a ready answer.

The shocking fact---to me, shocking, at least---is that there
are a number of people who do *not* grin or laugh when
others are not present, even if they find something quite funny.

It happens to be true of a good friend of mine, an exceedingly
kind man (who is a lot nicer than I am). One night, not long after
a number of us had read a book on evolutionary psychology
that addressed this point---the book making the claim that
the purpose of laughter and smiles was to signal---he
commented that this explained why "you don't laugh or
smile except when others are around".  I was astounded,
and I said so (unfortunately).

For I myself laugh uproariously (as several other people have
admitted too) at things I read or see on TV, especially when
no one else is around. (I'm a little more subdued in company,
because I don't want to be thought thoroughly insane, laughing
at certain things that I just don't believe my present company
would find very funny.)  Worse, I often walk from my car to
my office with an enormous grin on my face at some thought
that is entertaining me, and sometimes I wonder what people
walking past me must think.

(Incidentally, for those of us who do do that, why is it, do you
suppose that we don't see others doing it much, unless they
happen to be on a cell phone or something? Has this list
attracted a number of people with rich inner lives, or something?)

I have some speculations regarding this phenomenon---originally
inspired by my friend who claimed never to laugh or smile unless
in the company of others---but I won't go into them right now.

Unfortunately, the chance that any of these people---who
laugh and smile only when around others---coming forth here
and giving us some information about it is practically nil, thanks
to too many of you having pointed out that for so many of us
it's "normal". Because I suspect that it is rather non-normal
for people to ordinarily smile and laugh only around others,
though my appreciation and admiration would know no bounds
if someone in this audience could admit that he or she in fact
is one of the people whose laughter only occurs in public situations.

Lee

> There's probably also a social component. What would you think of 
> someone who always laughed twice as long as everyone else? It would get 
> tedious after a while, no?  You'd probably end up regarding them as a 
> complete prat.
> 
> Hm, that's interesting. If there's a 'right amount of time' to laugh 
> for, in a social context, i wonder if this time varies between different 
> groups of people?
> 
> Ben Zaiboc




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