Psychology Tutor: Mentor (PSI) Psycho-Social Incarnation

A sense of humor

Originally uploaded by tanakawho

It’s easy to identify basic elements commonly found in humor. Often something that stands out as funny includes some element of surprise – something that isn’t expected: Timing. Extreme exaggeration. Pretzel logic. Incongruity.

But that doesn’t explain why the humorous has such a positive impact on us. Why, as they say: “Laughter is the best medicine.” Personally, I think one of the main things that makes us value humor so much is this: Sharing. As much as anything, humor makes a connection with others.

That’s why when you come across something really funny, one of your first responses is to want to share it with someone else. Or why, when you tell someone something funny that happened to you, they usually want to respond with a story about something similarly funny that happened to them.

And even when you can’t immediately share it with someone else, humor often still makes some kind of you’re-not-alone connection. “Yeah – I’ve been there.” Or even: “You, too? – I thought I was the only one!” As Victor Borge said: “Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.”

And so, we share jokes about our goals and dreams:

• “The key to success is low goals” (J. Nations)
• “I’m sick of following my dreams, man. I’m just gonna ask where they’re going, and hook up with them later” (Mitch Hedberg)
• “Sometimes before bed, I look in the mirror and wonder just what I’ll be doing in ten years. Then I look at the clock and think, ‘Probably flossing’” (April Van Scherpe)

We share jokes about just getting out of bed in the morning:
• “An object at rest cannot be stopped” (from The Tick)
• “I haven’t slept for ten days because… that would be for too long” (Mitch Hedberg)
• “Right on the alarm clock is the snooze bar, which is basically a built-in cheating option. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it sooner, but finally I just taped it down” (Arj Barker)

We share jokes about work and school:
• “Schools. I got an F one time on a question that asked my opinion.” (Gallagher)
• “He says there aren’t any easy answers. I say, he’s not looking hard enough!” (Bart Simpson)
• “In some ways we are more confused than ever, but we feel that we are confused on a higher level and about more important things”

We share jokes that are completely silly:
• “My plans to be spontaneous fell through at the last moment”
• “I was trying to daydream, but my mind kept wandering” (Steven Wright)
• “First things first, but not necessarily in that order” (Doctor Who)
• “I think that all good, right thinking people in this country are sick and tired of being told that all good, right thinking people in this country are fed up with being told that all good, right thinking people in this country are fed up with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am” (Monty Python)

We share quips that have a ring of truth:
• “The bottom line is only the tip of the iceberg” (Jay Green)
• “If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?” (Albert Einstein)
• “There is no remedy for love, but to love more” (Henry David Thoreau)
• “We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be” (Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.)

We share them by putting them on tee-shirts:
• “Ask me about my vow of silence”
• “Being vague is as annoying as that other thing”
• “National Sarcasm Society (Like we need your support)”
• “Say No to Negative Thinking”
• “Sometimes I wonder… ‘Why is that frisbee getting bigger?’ … and then it hits me”

We share them by putting them in email taglines:
• “Don’t question authority – it doesn’t know, either!”
• “Hyperbole is the best thing ever!”
• “I don’t think…I know! I don’t think you know, either…”
• “No sense being pessimistic. It wouldn’t work anyway”
• “My fallacies are more logical than your fallacies”

And occasionally you find someone like me – who creates a blog just to have yet another avenue for sharing funny quotes, quips and comments. You can find my blog at: http://mcblaisdell.blogspot.com/

May your days be filled with laughter and sharing,
Matthew Blaisdell