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. Did you go to a haunted house last week? There are two kinds of comedy associated with haunted houses: You observe people being scared and then laughing about it. You laugh at people’s reactions to being scared. Both seem to be happening here. Check out more here. Alf Lamont,
I am speaking about business and humor at the Funny Bizz conference tomorrow. New York friends, get your tickets here. Some info: In the land of infinite distraction, the one who tickles the funny bone reigns supreme. As business, entertainment, and comedy become ever more intertwined, savvy startups, leading ad
Working with a team of researchers at the Moral Research Lab (MoRL), I recently published a paper about how the most popular experimental stimuli in moral psychology has some problems. (See abstract below; The Atlantic also wrote about it.) Before we get started, here is some info about those stimuli,
Note: this page has been translated into Finnish by Fijavan Brenk. I have started on my next big question: Can science make people funnier? It is important for me to (first) show that people can become funnier either on their own or with help. For example, standup comedians hone their
Guest post by comedian Sergiu Floroaia. Sergiu Floroaia is a Romanian stand-up comedian, comedy writer and comics writer. He contributed to magazines such as FHM and Playboy. He is also a friend of The Humor Code. When death knock-knocks at the door Sick jokes follow the death of a celebrity
Is solitude just for introverts or monks? Think again. Heather Hansen, co-author of Solitude: The Science and Power of Being Alone, talks to Peter
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
