(A version of this post originally appeared on Pete’s blog.) Some pretty bright folks have asked the question, what makes things funny? Despite efforts from the likes of Aristotle, Kant, and Freud, there’s been little agreement on the answer. There are hundreds if not thousands of different humor theories, many of which fall into one [...]
(Posted previously on Wired) CHICAGO — The 2012 Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor Conference is probably the only convention where it seems appropriate for a sock puppet to deliver the opening remarks. And not just any sock puppet — a sock puppet stand-in for Patty Wootan, the organization’s outgoing president, who couldn’t make it [...]
(A version of this post was originally published on Pete’s blog.) Apes, babies, and people everywhere (with the possible exception of Switzerland) enjoy humor. But why is humor so prevalent? And why is it so pleasurable? Why do we seek spouses, friends, books, movies, television programs, websites, and LOL cat photographs that make us laugh? [...]
It’s 7 am, we’re struggling with jet lag from flying into LAX the night before, and we’re in the wilds of Burbank, California, about to audition for the world’s only team of professional laughers. We’ve come to Los Angeles to explore the comedy culture that stretches from the film sets to the TV studios to [...]
