Rodney Danger Field
is a perfect example of how humor can trigger laughter.
Laughter is
a physical response to Humor, but it may have its origins in our ancestors as
they were getting away from predators and other dangers, and when they were
successful, laughed as a means to express their relief that they are safe and
no longer in Danger. Which is really the
basic foundation of what makes humor elicits laughter. Humor exploits a potential danger that we are
all familiar with, then spins the story in a way that results in a solution to
the problem or danger, and the danger or threat is avoided; either by
endangering someone else and not us, or simply a cleaver solution to the
problem.
Laughter is
another way to socially signal a way of getting a collective group of people to
cling together, as our best leaders and bosses use humor to trigger laughter as
a signal for unity and cooperation. Some
of our finest leaders were quite humorous people like President Ronald Reagan, Margret
Thatcher, General Paton, etc., …
So, if you
want to climb your way to the top, then become an expert at humor and learn how
to make others laugh. When enough people
start to follow you, your chances of becoming a leader or boss will greatly
improve.
The field of
study that specializes in the study of laughter and how it effects our body is
called gelotology . These Specialists have hooked up
electroencephalograph’s (EEG) to subjects, then studied their response to
Humor. Observers looked at:
1)
The Left side of the cortex (the layer of cells
that covers the entire surface of the forebrain) and analyzed the words ad
structure of the joke
2)
The Brains Large Frontal Lobe also became very
active
3)
The Right hemisphere of the cortex carried out
intellectual analysis required to “get” the joke.
4)
Brainwave activity then spread to the sensory
processing area of the occipital lobe (The area on the back of the head that contains
the cells that process visual signals)
5)
Stimulation of motor sections evoked physical
responses to the joke
As a joke
practically stimulates all of the different sections of the brain to trigger
laughter, and if any part of the brain is malfunctioning, it may be very difficult
and perhaps impossible to get that person to laugh. Which means stimulating laughter can be a
good diagnostic tool to test one’s brain functions very quickly.
In Autism it
has been noticed that laughter is very difficult to stimulate as brain
functions may be seriously impaired.
Other brain malfunctions have exhibited similar traits like the lack of
a since of humor.
Since
Laughter seems to stimulate all the different sections of the brain, experts
seem to think since laughter is normally a series of intense exhales, this is
also a function of pushing more than normal amounts of oxygen into the lungs
and expelling more than normal amounts of CO2 out of the lungs on each breath. Because of the brain doing triple time the
work analyzing the humor.
Even though
humor is driven by the forces previously mentioned, there are 3 sub categories
of humor to examine:
1)
The
Incongruity Theory: Humor can arise when familiar topics are
replaced with things or actions that normally don’t go together. Researcher Thomas Veatch says a joke can
become funny when we expect one outcome, and another happens instead. When a joke begins; our minds and bodies are
already anticipating what is going to happen and how it is going to end. And when the joke ends up taking a different
direction our thoughts and emotions we experience an incongruity between the
different parts of the joke as humorous.
2)
The
Superiority Theory: Can
come into play when we laugh at someone else’s mistakes and misfortune because
it didn’t happen to us. We suddenly feel
superior because this. So, we laugh at
it.
3)
The
relief theory: is the basis for a
device movie-makers have used effectively for a long time. In action films or
thrillers where tension is high, the director uses comic relief at just the
right times. He builds up the tension or suspense as much as possible and then
breaks it down slightly with a side comment, enabling the viewer to relieve
himself of pent-up emotion, just so the movie can build it up again! Similarly,
an actual story or situation creates tension within us. As we try to cope with
two sets of emotions and thoughts, we need a release and laughter is the way of
cleansing our system of the built-up tension and incongruity. (According to Dr.
Lisa Rosenberg, humor, especially dark humor, can help workers cope with
stressful situations. "The act of producing humor, of making a joke, gives
us a mental break and increases our objectivity in the face of overwhelming
stress," she says.)
Why can’t I tickle myself?
Do
you ever notice that no matter how you try to tickle yourself, you can’t
trigger yourself to laugh, but if someone else does it; you breakout laughing. Apparently for tickling to work there needs
to be an element of surprise, and when you do it to yourself, the element of
surprise is missing.
By Edmund and
The Daily Health Guide
Sources:
Youtube
Videos
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