July 27th
Now, what exactly is a sense of humor? And how it started in the development of our humanity and consciousness? Who it was that laughed the first time at someone making a stupid face or who said the first joke? Where the concept of jokes even came from? When you look at it — it doesn’t make any sense — something said or shown or done to provoke laughter when most of the time it is nonsensical, illogical, ironic, sarcastic, or uses wordplay. I mean — what is funny about someone slipping on a banana peel? Or Charlie Chaplin winking at the camera? Or Homer Simpson disparaging his neighbors? And yet all that is very funny. What about “dark humor” — where the subject matter is actually taboo in real life and can be very painful (ok — in this case, this kind of humor is used to provoke thought and discomfort to the audience, which I understand). Why laughing through tears can be therapeutic for those suffering from terrible trauma?
Of course, what is funny is very subjective (especially for those religious and conservative types who don’t have any sense of a humor and want everybody to be as painfully sad and suffering as them). Different cultures, races, genders, and those of different ages will find diverse things funny. And is there one humorous thing that is fun for everybody? I think only “Mr. Bean” or “Tom and Jerry” cartoons can come close to that (I don’t understand how anyone cannot like and find funny “The Simpsons” or “Airplane!” but there are people like that, unfortunately).
And another issue about a sense of humor — what about other civilizations from other galaxies and planetary systems? What about them aliens — do they have a sense of humor? Do they laugh? Are they capable of understanding jokes? Or is a sense of humor unique for us on the Earth? Maybe that is why we are being observed by them — how would it be possible to explain to them what humor is? or what irony is? or what sarcasm is? Or what is physical (slapstick) comedy — why is it funny to see a man being hit in the groin by football? Maybe having a sense of humor is not normal, maybe we developed that as a way to cope with the absurdity and misery of our lives, in the same way we developed religion and greed, and politics?
