What is humour? As someone who lacks the capacity to be humorous, funny, crack jokes, etc I have contemplated this question a great deal over the years. I have concluded that most humans have no real sense of humour. However that is not a big issue for most of us in our lives - the bigger issue is "can we make others laugh?". It is our ability, or inability, to make others laugh that makes us likeable, agreeable, sociable, and promotable. Bringing levity to a dull mob is a huge asset in today's world where group think is the norm. But humour is not about making people laugh per se it is more about understanding the essence of a joke. And a joke at its core is about the absurdity.
I recall my first economics lecture [Eco 101 - micro economics] when the professor made the usual joke and everyone laughed rather nervously. "Look to your left then to your right - only one of you will pass this course." Of course on the face of it this whole notion is as absurd as the whole notion that Economic is a Science. The truth is that there are likely clusters of three scattered around the three hundred odd [and these people are all odd simply because they are in this class] who will all pass with Credits, Distinctions, or even High Distinctions. Equally there are clusters of three who will all fail or record a "did not complete" on their academic sheets. This joke persists year, after year, after year because the whole premise of it is absurd.
In the workplace I found an equally absurd joke which is often repeated with calm sincerity. "Our Department of Human Resources is full of talented professionals." My response is "what are you smoking?" Within corporate, and other settings, I have found some of the least talented, and most unprofessional staff, hang-out in Human Resources. The big joke they take themselves so seriously. They prance around like the "chosen people" who have something important to say - which is patently absurd and thus extremely funny. Their reality is HR is a cost centre, not a profit hub, for the enterprises and thus they will always attract the students who failed Eco 101. Ha, ha, ha.....
The serious message in all this nonsense is that if you can make others laugh then you have a truly great asset in a world of conformity, mediocrity, and group think. Women are much better at this than men. Perhaps they are more social beings who are able to fit in wherever they must and still continue to perform their role. Perhaps this is why there is a push today to make women more ruthless and less girly. Perhaps the world has strayed from accepting the absurd and thus there is no room for being funny and making others laugh.
I laugh at so much these days because I find it absurd and I trust that you do too [all these robots gladly walking around in mask is absurd and thus funny to me]. The absurd can make us laugh and laughter will ultimately set us free. The troubling aspect of all this is that many young women have lost the propensity, or ability, to laugh and to find fun in that process. Many young women force a giggle not a belly laugh - it is sad and in its own way it is absurd.
Richard.
My mind as a minimalist is developed on a unique sense of what I call minimal-you which, in turn, is based on individual needs not collective wants. For instruction on how to establish your sense of you: go to minimal-you.com and hit the "become a minimalist" button in the banner heading. This will take you to a payment scheme for a 10 day programme that will teach you how to design, enforce, and live with mind filters: these help you to be the best person you can be.
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