5 ms·
Not to be nitpicky but I would say there are definitely situations where laughter is not a positive (edit: or beautiful) thing – laughing at someone else's misf
by fastball 5y ago
Not to be nitpicky but I would say there are definitely situations where laughter is not a positive (edit: or beautiful) thing – laughing at someone else's misfortune, laughing in pain, etc.
- lostlogin 5y agoCompletely agree. However some of the most painful things I’ve done have been objectively hilarious. I wish I’d seen me drop a beehive.
- nomilk 5y agoFrom Paul Graham's 'Taste for Makers' essay: > humor is related to strength. To have a sense of humor is to be strong: to keep one's sense of humor is to shrug off misfortunes, and to lose one's sense of humor is to be wounded by them.
- bckr 5y agoAbsolutely. Nevertheless, and to nitpick, "beauty" and "positivity" are not isomorphic.
- fastball 5y agoSure, but I wouldn't call laughing as the world burns "beautiful" either – more "psychotic".
- bckr 5y agosee baskethead's comment nearby
- jcims 5y agoI just have to say that i have had a word stuck on the tip of my tongue for an embarrassingly long time, maybe six months now. I’ve had occasion to use it several times recently on a project but it was just stuck wherever words get lost. I’m cruising HN in a post completely unrelated to what I’m doing and there it is, in living color: isomorphic. I could feel the tension release in my brain as it sunk in. Thank you!
- narag 5y agoNow you can use it in all kind of improper situations and laugh out loud isomorphically.
- jcims 5y agoIt's totally getting abused.
- hetspookjee 5y agoNow I’m looking for the word for the phenomenon that you’ve described and we all can relate too!
- amelius 5y agoBut rats and cows don't know that.
- timeon 5y agoHow do you know?
- baskethead 5y agoTragedy and comedy are the basis of all theater.
- bouvin 5y ago“Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you fall into an open sewer and die.” Mel Brooks [1] [1] https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/21470-tragedy-is-when-i-cut-my-finger-comedy-is-when https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/21470-tragedy-is-when-i-cut...
- fastball 5y agoBut not all theater is meant to make you laugh?
- trollied 5y agoIndeed. I have a nervous laugh that sneaks out in less than ideal situations :(