Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site looking.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!looking!brad From: brad@looking.UUCP (Brad Templeton) Newsgroups: net.jokes.d Subject: Re: Theories of Humour Message-ID: <426@looking.UUCP> Date: Wed, 25-Sep-85 12:55:10 EDT Article-I.D.: looking.426 Posted: Wed Sep 25 12:55:10 1985 Date-Received: Thu, 26-Sep-85 07:18:28 EDT References: <1117@mtgzz.UUCP> <67700005@trsvax> <424@looking.UUCP> <883@utcs.uucp> Reply-To: @looking.UUCP (Brad Templeton) Organization: Looking Glass Software Ltd. Waterloo, Ontario Lines: 35 Summary: In article <883@utcs.uucp> flaps@utcs.UUCP (Alan J Rosenthal) writes: >>... Why do we laugh most at extreme cleverness? > >We don't. In fact when something is extremely clever we are less likely to >laugh at it. It causes a deeper appreciation of the humour which involves >less laughing and more saying "Gee, that's clever". Wrongo. One fundamental rule for the standup comic is that how a joke is written and how it is told are at least as important as the essence of a joke. For example, last night David Letterman did a "top 10 list" of the heaviest Kennedys in the world. He started off 10: Rose Kennedy 9: JFK 8..7: Various other Kennedys 6: Actor George Kennedy 5: Kennedy Center in New York 4: Ted Kennedy 3: Kennedy Space Center 2: Ted Kennedy with clothes on 1: Ted Kennedy after lunch. I was on the floor. You may not be now because this lacks all sort of presentation associated with the list. Nobody would laugh nearly as much if Dave had simply said, "Ted Kennedy weighs more than the Kennedy Space Center", or more simply, "Ted Kennedy is fat." Many funny jokes consist of a fairly simple message based on one of the various theories that have been talked about. In this case, we have a simple insult. What makes it funny is how cleverly you get the message through. -- Brad Templeton, Looking Glass Software Ltd. - Waterloo, Ontario 519/884-7473