Laughter expresses our emotions and conveys them to others through facial expressions and characteristic sounds. Its main function is to convey joy, tell others that a person is feeling good, and invite them to share a good mood.
Laughter allows you to establish contact with your interlocutor or audience. It can also have a schadenfreude nature, as when people laugh together at a common enemy. Laughter, multiplied by intelligence and emotions, is a powerful weapon, a demonstration of the ability to resist evil. Gogol also wrote: “Even those who are no longer afraid of anything are afraid of ridicule.” So where did laughter come from?
The nature of laughter
Most researchers believe that laughter arose approximately two to four million years ago, although no fossilized “examples of laughter” have survived.
Evolutionarily, facial expressions as a method of communication appeared earlier than articulate speech. According to biologists, human laughter originated from panting, a series of sharp and short exhalations and certain facial expressions (stretching lips and baring teeth) in primates. With these signals they showed their relatives that they were not dangerous and were peaceful.
Subsequently, such communication took hold among our ancestors involuntarily. They did not need to prove their affection; they laughed because they felt good with their fellow tribesmen. Laughter became a way of communication among our ancestors, a communication tool that allowed us to join society and show it our affection.
Also hominids, a family of primates that includes humans and great apes. Together with gibbons, they form the superfamily of hominoids, who could laugh at the attempts of the bravest relatives to walk on two legs instead of four: they stumbled and fell, causing everyone to laugh. In the repertoire of modern clowns, falls are also a mandatory element of the program.
Such communication through laughter became so firmly established that it became involuntary: our ancestors not only tried to demonstrate with a smile their good intentions, but also that they liked their fellow tribesmen. Subsequently, laughter became a natural reaction to a joke, joy or a feeling of happiness.
Photo by Stormy All
Although today we do not notice the function of laughter in bringing people closer together, it still performs the same tasks as in ancient times: a laughing person automatically wins over those around him. Even if he looks stern, if you smile at him, everyone around will feel that this person does not pose a threat.
Theory of funny jokes: basic course
Laughter theory isn't the funniest thing unless the researcher gives examples. While some scientists are digging into the laughing brain, showing stand-up comedy, tickling mice and inviting clowns for IVF, others are analyzing jokes and trying to build a general concept: what makes a joke funny. Even Freud writes about the techniques of wit. He is trying to derive the universal rules of humor: intensification, work with verbal material, ambiguity...
There are three main theories of laughter—that is, theories about why jokes are funny. The theory of non-conformity to expectations is, simply put, “unexpected”. Superiority theory, which goes back to Aristotle through Hobbes - it suggests that we laugh in schadenfreude because we are awesome compared to others or us before. The experiential theory says: a person relieves psychological stress when he laughs.
The first explains the “why” rather than the “why”, so upon closer examination it will help construct funny jokes. Or at least unfunny.
Viktor Raskin's semantic theory of humor is related to the theory of non-conformity to expectations. He believes that a text can be characterized as a joke when two conditions are met: the text combines two different scenarios and contexts; these two contexts are in a certain sense opposite or opposed.
As a text that falls under two conditions and is therefore a bomb joke, Victor Raskin tells the joke: “Is the doctor home? - whispered the patient with a sore throat. The doctor’s young wife whispers in response: “No. Come in."
Another researcher, Tom Veatch, elaborates on Ruskin's theory. From his point of view, humor contains two semantically incompatible elements: one is socially normal, the other represents a violation of the order as we perceive it - the laws of nature, society and morality.
Veatch quotes this joke: “Mommy, mommy, what is a delinquent? “Shut up and hand me the crowbar!”
The “subjective moral order,” which assumes that the mother explains to her son at the first cry what is good and what is bad, is violated. The listener chuckles. True, not loudly.
By the way, the “subjective moral order” can also be of a linguistic nature, when words turn out to be not what they seem. For example: “Stirlitz was walking through the forest and came across a branch. “You should go home, girls,” he said, “there is a war after all.”
Let us especially note: jokes are based on the violation of order as we perceive it. This leads to two rules for why, in theory, your jokes fail:
- Your joke violates some order that the listener does not know or is not aware of. If the left part of the frontal lobe still understands, at the very least, that this is a joke, then the right part does not understand what to laugh at. Example: “Argon walks into a bar and orders beer. Bartender: “We don’t serve inert gases.” Argon doesn't react."
- Your joke disrupts an order that the listener does not consider order. Seriously, we might give our lives for your right to joke about anything, but we didn’t sign up to laugh at this crap. Example: “The old ladies on the bench: “Lucky Ivanova!” Husband, lover! And yesterday they raped me!’”
As writer Alvin White said, “Analyzing humor is like dissecting a frog. Few people are interested, but the frog dies from this.” Nevertheless, we are proud to present to you:
Disclaimer: A sober audience is a relative contraindication for using this guide. Choose a dispassionate delivery style or free your right hand to use it as a gesturing tool. If used successfully, bitches of any gender will climb on you themselves. Let the orgy begin!
Combine vivid fact with exuberant detail.
Choose details that are absurd or, conversely, exaggerated. It is better to place a striking fact at the beginning or first third of the joke.
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Once my sister was bitten by a moose. At this time, she was scratching her initials on the elk with the end of a toothbrush, which her brother-in-law, a dentist from Sweden, gave her.”
— Monty Python
“Don't open the door to your hidden potential! You won't like it. All that will be there is a small, mangy gray cat with diarrhea, sitting on a mattress with springs sticking out. With bulging eyes. Meowing at you. MEOW. And he probably smokes.”
— Dylan Moran
Make your points paradoxical
The paradox can be based on the meaning of the thesis, the meaning of individual words, or the outrageous contradiction of your words to everything we love and believe.
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What if I lose my job? I hate my ******** [damn] job, but what if I lose it?”
— Dylan Moran
“Stop being a fagot and suck that f*** [dick]!”
—Louis C.K.
“I told my niece that every time she loses, the angel gets AIDS. And guess what? She wins!
— Sarah Silverman
Work with styling
Describe the fight in the spirit of biblical myths, and getting a doctorate in the terminology of courtyard gopniks.
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Then Saint Atilla raised a hand grenade in his hand and exclaimed: “Bless, Lord, your hand grenade, with which You can, in Your mercy, smash Your enemies into small pieces.”
— Monty Python
“You are a wolf. I despise you. You are leaving me for your lover. You are leaving me for Ptiburdukov. Today you, vile one, are leaving me for the insignificant Ptiburdukov. So this is who you are leaving me for! You want to indulge in lust with him. The she-wolf is old and disgusting at that!”
Physiology of laughter
From a physiological point of view, laughter is a motor act with contraction of the diaphragm and vocalization (the work of the vocal phenomenon), breathing of an antispasmodic nature. Spasms indicate instability of the central and autonomic nervous system: when we laugh, involuntary body movements, even convulsions, occur.
Laughter is the coordinated work of the whole brain. It is localized in the brain stem. Also involved in its organization are the cerebellum, which coordinates human movements, the midbrain and the hypothalamus, which regulates the endocrine and nervous systems and forms emotions. The hypothalamus is connected to the entire central nervous system via nerve pathways.
The command to laugh is formed in the cerebral cortex with the participation of the frontal and temporal lobes. When a person hears or sees something funny, excitement appears in the cortex within 0.4 seconds.
During laughter, the left hemisphere, which is responsible for logical thinking, is blocked, and the right hemisphere, responsible for abstract thinking, is turned on. For this reason, when laughing, a person is not able to critically assess the situation, loses touch with reality and even falls into a trance state.
There are areas in the brain that are associated with the perception of certain types of humor. The left superior temporal gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus, and temporoparietal junction are responsible for understanding the relationships between incompatible elements underlying a joke. Absurd jokes are perceived by the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus, puns by the extrastrial cortex.
A smile moves 15 facial muscles, and to frown, you need to use as many as 43 muscles.
Laughter always begins with a smile, which is created by stretching the two large cheekbone muscles. Then the remaining pairs of zygomatic muscles come into action - some contract, others relax. The muscles of the larynx, neck, and pupils are also involved in creating laughter.
Children begin to laugh from about three months of age, but can cry from birth. Laughter, therefore, is a more complex experience than crying, but not as complex as speech (children begin speaking at one year old).
Laughter and humor are very different from each other. In infants and children, laughter occurs most often as a result of physical stimulation, while adults laugh for other, more social and intellectual reasons. Humor is based on a subtle game of the mind, associations and connecting the incompatible.
What's stopping you
You are hampered by fears, tightness and high standards for laughter. Don't try to be this brilliant guy whose jokes are all very, very smart and subtle. After all, then you yourself will hardly laugh. Which life is better - laughing more or laughing less?
Let go of the bar and laugh heartily! This is better! Why these restrictions - supposedly you have to be a brilliant and smart guy. Get rid of it and learn to laugh at everything!
Your mind will always find excuses not to laugh. It's all ego and limiting beliefs, barriers in the head.
Let go of ego and personality, have fun. You can interpret everything in a funny way. Literally everything! Young children are always cheerful and laugh often; society has not yet instilled seriousness in them. This exercise will help you learn to laugh.
You can watch a lot of videos on how to learn to laugh at everything for your own pleasure and never worry about it again.
The benefits of laughter for the body
Laughter is not only pleasant, but also good for health: cheerful people are half as likely to have heart disease as sad people; it also helps patients with bronchopulmonary diseases: the air coming out at a speed of about 100-120 kilometers per hour clears congestion from the lungs mucus.
According to recent studies by Italian scientists from the Institute of Psychosomatic Medicine, 30 minutes of laughter a day improves the performance of the entire body, thereby prolonging life. All this happens thanks to the cumulative effect of laughter.
Laughter saturates the body with oxygen, increases the level of the joy hormone endorphin and reduces the amount of stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline. Even the anticipation of watching a funny movie or comedy show can lift your spirits.
Among other things, laughter has an anesthetic effect. Of course, it cannot replace anesthesia yet, but laughter therapy with the help of therapeutic clowning has long been used in some clinics.
Laughter improves the quality of sleep, protects the body from stress, and normalizes the functioning of the heart, liver and lungs. It's all about the vibrations that laughter causes: they stimulate blood circulation and metabolism. Laughter can even be equated to physical activity: during laughter, approximately 80 muscles of the abdomen, shoulders, and chest are involved.
For unknown reasons, modern people laugh less than their ancestors - about five minutes a day, whereas just half a century ago people could laugh three times longer.
Learning to laugh
There is one useful exercise.
Always laugh loudly, openly, from the heart everywhere
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Don't be afraid to look a little ridiculous, strange and stupid
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Some people want to learn to laugh beautifully - this is nonsense.
Let laughter open, and you will open yourself.
Don't hide or suppress it, laugh with real natural laughter, just the way it is
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Nothing will happen, no one will do anything to you.
Open up to the world. Thanks to laughter, you will lose your inner heaviness.
Don't judge your ability to joke
Instead of assessing your condition, analyzing how much fun you are creating around, just let it all go and don’t think about it.
It's pointless to worry and evaluate your sense of humor, whether it's perfect or not.
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Otherwise there will be the opposite effect.
When you stop judging yourself how funny you are,
you will never have questions about how to develop a sense of humor and become interesting.
Laughter can be a wonderful medicine. It's a good workout for your abdominal muscles and heart, and regular laughter can help strengthen your immune system. In our busy, serious lives, however, laughter may be the exception rather than the rule. If you want to live a happy, healthy life filled with joy, you should learn to laugh. Let laughter into your life! If you don't know how to do this, the tips below are just for you.
How to identify shortcomings?
To change and correct your laughter and make it beautiful, you need, first of all, to determine what exactly needs to be changed, that is, to identify shortcomings. There are several ways to do this. The first is a frank conversation with friends, loved ones or family. Just ask someone who has known you for a long time and is not afraid to tell you the truth to describe your laughter. Let him tell you what he likes and what, on the contrary, irritates or confuses you.
The second method is suitable for shy natures. Invite your friends over, come up with some fun activity and place a camera somewhere in a corner or other secluded place, immediately forgetting about it. Don't think about filming, relax and laugh. After the party, watch the recording and rate your laughter. List everything you liked and didn't like.
If you are embarrassed by the camera and you cannot relax, constantly thinking about it, then just read a funny joke or watch a funny movie or video and laugh in front of the mirror.
