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Having watched what it did to family members, it's hard to me, personally, find any joke about Alzheimer's or dementia funny. The structure and phrasing work t
by zdragnar 2y ago
Having watched what it did to family members, it's hard to me, personally, find any joke about Alzheimer's or dementia funny.
The structure and phrasing work to tickle the part of my mind that enjoys juxtaposition, though, so that was nice at least.
- SoftTalker 2y agoSome people use humor to cope with unpleasant things. No offense is intended.
- jfengel 2y agoIntended or not, people do get hurt by it. We've all got different ways of handling it so the best we can hope for is some mutual compassion and thoughtfulness. One factor in that is to realize that the effect is more relevant than the intention.
- ipaddr 2y agoSome people get hurt by normal everyday items and things. Trying to avoid hurting anyone turns you into a person who would hurt everyone.
- kelseyfrog 2y agoAt the same time, if someone says it hurts when you do this, "sorry, but things hurt people," leaves a lot to be desired.
- DavidPiper 2y ago> Trying to avoid hurting anyone turns you into a person who would hurt everyone. Other than the citation needed, it is possible to avoid hurting _some_ people, with surprisingly minimal effort, even if you can never avoid hurting anyone ever. The black-and-white argument you've presented - in its many forms of "if 100% outcome is not possible, it's worth 0% effort" - exists purely to absolve people of the responsibility to try.
- zdragnar 2y agoEh, I wouldn't go that far. The key to sensitive jokes is to know your audience. Throwing one out into a public forum isn't very likely to land, but in the right situation it might cheer up a person who is suffering from the very topic at hand.
- shagie 2y agoSociety of the Mind has a section on humor (27.6) that poses a theory of humor (see also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theories_of_humor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theories_of_humor ) and jokes that I find somewhat persuasive. One of the ways that we learn is "do X -> reward" and "don't do X -> no reward". But this is only training us one way - a positive way - about what is desirable. How do you learn what is not desirable. "Don't touch the oven when its on" is something that you learn through "do Y -> punishment" ... but is there a "don't do Y -> reward" path that can be found? Is there a way to positively train the "don't do Y" paths? A mother says to her son "don't forget to sweep the corners." The son replies "don't worry, I swept everything into the corner." You are rewarded for laughing at that joke. Why? Because it is something that you shouldn't do. In this joke, we have expressed an undesirable state to be able to learn from in a rewarding way rather than a punishing way. And somewhere, long ago, I recall a web page that had a short summary of each theory of humor and a joke that was not funny according to that theory. I doubt there will ever be a Grand Unified Theory of Humor.
- zdragnar 2y agoAre there theories of humor that don't boil down to "setup expectation juxtaposed with punchline reality"? If there was ever a grand unified theory of humor, that would be my guess.
- loa_in_ 2y agoTo avoid accidentally stepping into qualia territory, please define "punchline".
- zdragnar 2y agoTypically the line that reveals the juxtaposition itself, which is typically also the last line, or the last portion in the case of a one-liner. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punch_line https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punch_line Has a nice round up, though the section on the etymology of the term is a little disappointing.
- 2y ago
- bitwize 2y agoHow about this one then: The scientists involved must have been pretty shocked by this discovery. You might say they were... Reelin from the implications. Thank you, I'll be here all week. Try the veal!
- yieldcrv 2y agozdrangnar said they arent offended so its okay