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> Maybe the evolutionary basis for laughter is that the pleasure of unexpected outcomes helps us cope with being wrong. Yes, but I think it's more nuanced than
by Alex3917 10y ago
> Maybe the evolutionary basis for laughter is that the pleasure of unexpected outcomes helps us cope with being wrong.
Yes, but I think it's more nuanced than that. Laughter doesn't come from unexpected outcomes, it comes from things that are unexpected in unexpected ways.
E.g. not being able to find your shoes because they're under the coffee table vs duct-taped to the ceiling.
I wrote about this here: http://alexkrupp.typepad.com/sensemaking/2010/06/how-writing-creates-value-.html http://alexkrupp.typepad.com/sensemaking/2010/06/how-writing...
- arsenide 10y agoI like this idea. Is it testable?
- Alex3917 10y agoI'm going to assert that my definitions are correct by virtue of being the most logically consistent and everyone else should adjust their views accordingly. But the theory is also easily testable. E.g. you can measure the humor response to unexpected events that violate the laws of physics verse unexpected events that don't violate the laws of physics. The Baillargeon toy car experiment I wrote about this is a good example of that, albeit that's not what it was designed to test.