Endless YouTube nutshot videos, Anonymous hacking#Epilepsy_Foundation_forum_invasion) an epilepsy support forum with flashing GIFs, the infamous banana peel on the sidewalk… Not particularly high-brow humour but many people find such things amusing.
The harmless surprise hypothesis fits my data pretty well. But are you sure repetition-based humor isn’t just conditioning people to laugh at a certain thing (catch-phrase or a situation)?
On the other hand, butt-of-a-joke hypothesis also sounds plausible.
It varies even more based on personality. There are darker forms of humor for which harmlessness and surprise are both dampeners.
Now that I think about it, there’s humor that’s based on repetition—the catch phrase that gets funnier each time you hear it.
I’m pretty sure about harmlessness—the lack of harm may only apply to the person who’s laughing.
What sort of humor are you thinking of?
Endless YouTube nutshot videos, Anonymous hacking#Epilepsy_Foundation_forum_invasion) an epilepsy support forum with flashing GIFs, the infamous banana peel on the sidewalk… Not particularly high-brow humour but many people find such things amusing.
“Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you fall into an open sewer and die.”
- Mel Brooks
There was a sinister touch of amusement buried under my experience of outrage when I read that.
The harmless surprise hypothesis fits my data pretty well. But are you sure repetition-based humor isn’t just conditioning people to laugh at a certain thing (catch-phrase or a situation)?
On the other hand, butt-of-a-joke hypothesis also sounds plausible.