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/sci/ - Science & Math

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4765582 No.4765582 [Reply] [Original]

What's the science behind humour and laughter?

Why do we find silly and stupid things funny?
>the expansion of memes everywhere
>most being silly/stupid (rare exception of intelligently punny, ironic, or sarcastic ones)

Why do we find sillyness and stupidity funny?
>pic related
>inb4 "you find that funny?"

>> No.4765586

I don't know about humour, but laughter is a social thing. You rarely laugh aloud on your own, but you do more in the presence of others to signify you understood the joke and are on the same wavelength.

>> No.4765593

>>4765586
I laugh to myself all the time but, yes, you are right, not aloud to myself (it's a noise though but usually quietened unless it's REALLY funny)

But why that response? Why that uncontrollable ... whatever it is. I mean, what exactly is laughter? Quickly breathing in air and screaming it out?

>> No.4765598

but.. do you
>feel?

>> No.4765599
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4765599

Probably a combination of:

A) Pattern recognition. Brain rewards us for recognising the humorous
B) Another way to force social bonding (people tend to laugh more in groups)
C) By product of other advantageous traits

>> No.4765610

I know that the actual action of laughing, the muscles involved in laughing and producing those movements, produce endorphin which in turn causes you to feel even happier and more likely to laugh even more. It is why you often get into fits of laughter where you can't stop. Positive feedback cycle

>> No.4765611

>>4765582
Daniel Dennett asked this same question along side why things are sexy and sweet, you can
check out his AWESOME book Inside Jokes: Using Humor to Reverse-Engineer the Mind its on
why things are funny...
but he best put it as "the art and reward of debugging"

he gives a nice ted talk on it you can check it here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wkR9KOh4wg

in general hes awesome and you should check out
more of his shit, but if you want to know the
answer, start here.