In this article, Joel Warner and I examine possibly the oldest and most reliable joke form: the ever glorious, occasionally treasured and often reviled “stupidity jokes.” “Nearly every country has stupidity jokes,” [Christie] Davies told us when we visited him in Reading, England. The fact that he’s uncovered a nearly
Although Rufus may not be tittering at your puns and Princess may not enjoy your Knock Knock jokes, it’s likely that they still have a sense of humor. From observing Koko the gorilla to tickling rats, scientists from all over the country are trying to get their paws on what makes up the
Valentine’s Day is looming. Regardless of what you think about the day, it’s a time of year that people give thought to their relationships. In a past blog, I have talked about the value of a good sense of humor – and how it is important to relationships. Recently, I
What is the purpose of our giggles and guffaws? Joel Warner and I travel to Tanzania, talk with neuroscientist Robert Provine (author of Laughter: A Scientific Investigation), and scour for answers in this Slate article. Provine’s discoveries suggest that laughter is inherently social, that at its core it’s a form of communication
And here is…HERE WE ARE 1:20 Friends 5:45 Trolley experiment 13:15 Pedestrian in academia 22:10 Morality of laughter 23:45 Humor Code 28:50 Google for science 33:30 Theory of Funny 36:25 Laughter and/or Humor 40:20 Comedian’s laugh & Reddit 44:25 Controlling laughter 47:20 Laughter in animals 52:40 Benign Violation 56:10 Laughter
In this article, Joel Warner and I discuss when jokes are ‘too soon.’ How long does someone have to wait before making a joke about a sensitive topic? We explain how to find a balance using the benign violation theory. The benign violation theory highlights the role of psychological distance
When we released the Humor Code, Joel Warner and I wrote a series of articles for Slate. In our first article, we talked about my attempt to create a universal theory of humor (i.e., the benign violation theory). Over the past five years, at the Leeds School of Business at
Repost of one of my most popular posts. I am interested in the ways that people cope with pain. I recently saw my friend, Heather Irmiger (@irmigrrr), who is a world-class professional mountain biker. I asked her: How do you cope with physical pain? She differentiates two types of pain
Welcome back to another episode of “Aging Single,” where Peter McGraw explores the intricacies of aging, retiring, and dying solo. This time, in episode
Welcome to the final episode of I’M NOT JOKING. Comedian JD Lopez returns from Episode 1 to debrief and reflect on Peter’s experience building
