> “group X tries to raise its status relative to group Y in the eyes of group Z.” Rao's Gervais Principle made the same point about jokes and audiences. (alth

> “group X tries to raise its status relative to group Y in the eyes of group Z.” Rao's Gervais Principle made the same point about jokes and audiences. (although its model also allowed for the single-person joke: the ultimate in small-audience humour is self-amusement)