“Rene Descartes died, therefore he stopped thinking” isn’t funny.
In the right context, I find it to be. It’s so obvious and uninsightful that it causes an unexpected pattern break if you expect any sort of twist or clever input.
And there is why it seems not entirely rational to discuss what is and isn’t funny...Shokwave believes that he has rationally shown that “Rene Descartes died, therefore he stopped thinking” isn’t funny. You have used his same logic to demonstrate that it IS funny.
I personally don’t think it’s funny, as delivered. But, with the right delivery, it could be hilarious, I suppose.
I’m fascinated by the rational discussion of “the nature of funny”, by the way. I was opining on the discussion of “the objective funniness of a particular joke”.
In the right context, I find it to be. It’s so obvious and uninsightful that it causes an unexpected pattern break if you expect any sort of twist or clever input.
And there is why it seems not entirely rational to discuss what is and isn’t funny...Shokwave believes that he has rationally shown that “Rene Descartes died, therefore he stopped thinking” isn’t funny. You have used his same logic to demonstrate that it IS funny.
I personally don’t think it’s funny, as delivered. But, with the right delivery, it could be hilarious, I suppose.
I’m fascinated by the rational discussion of “the nature of funny”, by the way. I was opining on the discussion of “the objective funniness of a particular joke”.