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originally posted by: MaxTamesSiva
Do aliens have a sense of humor?
'American people used to be funny, we don't win at being funny anymore. I want to change that. I want us to be funny, I'm funny all the time. People look at me and laugh. I want to do the same for you.'
originally posted by: MaxTamesSiva
From it's beginnings circa 14th century, from the Latin word umor "body fluid" related to umere "be wet, moist," and to uvescere "become wet." We can already sense that there's something funny about it's origins. Why at the tail end of the Middle Ages? Does this mean that before the 14th century people are bereft of humor?
Religious Implications
What is the essence of laughter?
which brings me to the question can humor be weaponized?
originally posted by: MaxTamesSiva
Wicked answers spygeek, I appreciate it, but I fear and tremble in your choice of favorite author.
So according to the experts life is a joke and probably most of us don't get it? Life is what we make of it while we're still alive if we ever did get the joke?
As DISRAELI pointed out, humor or rather humour is very subjective. I'm glad that both of you dissected it this early, well, somebody's got to do it. How about comparative humor? Say English as compared to American or those bizarre Japanese game shows and gag shows? I'm now a fan of Monty Python, I'm more into Benny Hill and Mr. Bean before.
Speaking of taking something seriously by not taking it seriously, I love the Dadaist! They invite criticisms by criticizing and sometimes even went as far as insulting their audience. They are fully aware of the absurdity of life and art. Then André Breton took it upon himself to start Surrealism; yeah, the guy who said that “The purest surrealist act is walking into a crowd with a loaded gun and firing into it randomly.”
I always hate it when I hear someone says " It was surreal..."
I couldn't find a copy of their manifesto on-line that Hans Richter reproduced in his book Dada: Art & Anti-art. Maybe I'll scan my copy and post it here, interesting layouts and typography.
originally posted by: MaxTamesSiva
a reply to: spygeek
So le Carre it is. Love Waking Life. I can relate more to the self-deprecating English humor.
Chomsky who was rarely funny said something like we have to pay less attention to what a person says and more to what that person avoids to say. What will humor be like if it was dissected by a linguist, a philosopher or a philologist? Not much fun?
To paraphrase Nietzsche: "That which doesn't makes us insane, makes us saner." Today is Nietzsche's 171st birthday.
originally posted by: MaxTamesSiva
a reply to: spygeek
I kinda like old Noam, enough to name our cat after him and I agree to what he said about education. Just from my observation, the changes in the list of required reading in high school and colleges and there was a thread here recently about Japan doing away with the humanities courses. Why not require the kids to read the dialogues of Plato, Doestoesvski or the preeminent experts in humor?
Nietzsche is like the Robin Williams of philosophers, he likes to cluster-bomb his readers with aphorisms that will take some time to fully ponder. Same with his music aphoristic.
How about music and humor? All I think of now is Weird Al.
originally posted by: boymonkey74
a reply to: spygeek
Very true about here in the UK having a funny poke at the Ginger mist folk.