Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site looking.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!looking!brad From: brad@looking.UUCP (Brad Templeton) Newsgroups: net.jokes.d Subject: The source of humour Message-ID: <158@looking.UUCP> Date: Thu, 14-Jun-84 00:00:00 EDT Article-I.D.: looking.158 Posted: Thu Jun 14 00:00:00 1984 Date-Received: Fri, 15-Jun-84 01:11:13 EDT References: <255@tellab1.UUCP> Organization: Looking Glass Software, Waterloo, Ont Lines: 31 99 and 44/100% of humour is based on something bad going on, but it's not entirely fair to say that is the most important facet. There are several types of humour that are important in themselves. One fundamental element of humour is the unexpected. For something to be funny, it can't be unexpected. The more unexpected, the better the impact. "Why did the chicken cross the road", is a riddle, and you expect a punch-line, so the answer is unexpected. At the same time it's so stupid it reduces the status of the listener because they didn't expect it. This leads to another important aspect, the "status change". This is the source of rediculous humour, such as is sometimes done by Monty Python and the English in general. Parties in the joke gain, lose, or switch status. Only in the case of the "gain status" joke do we have a joke without pain, ridicule or embarassment. Examples of this include the unexpected success (good justice done), and in particular the pun. Some could argue that such a status gain for the joke teller or party of the joke implies a cooresponding demotion to others, and perhaps the listener, but this is not as important here. Now bad things work so well because they contain a lowering of status (the listener's value judgement of the parties within, telling and listening to a joke) and something unexpected. In particular, since normal conversation isn't gross, it's easy to be unexpected with something gross. When we see something good that is unexpected, we are happy in a different way, and don't laugh. Thus most unexpected things that make you laugh involve bad things. -- Brad Templeton - Waterloo, Ontario (519) 886-7304