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It's not a joke, because jokes have underlying meaning. It is somewhere between a "random accident" and the only way it could have possibly been given the const
by feoren 2y ago
It's not a joke, because jokes have underlying meaning. It is somewhere between a "random accident" and the only way it could have possibly been given the constraints of fundamental physics. I suspect that everything that could possibly be, is, but it's random that you are you and I am me and we find ourselves here in this corner of this galaxy in this part of the universe which might itself be the inside of a giant black hole. But even if our universe is random, that doesn't mean there's nothing to make sense of. There's lots to make sense of.
- kortilla 2y agoJokes don’t always have meaning. “I want to play a joke on Bob” can very easily mean “I’m just going to torture Bob a bit for my amusement”. The joke will not have meaning to Bob.
- alonsonic 2y agoIt has a meaning to Bob because the joke exists for a reason he can comprehend even he doesn't like it.
- Brian_K_White 2y agoThat's only true if he's aware of it.
- lazide 2y agoBut we try to not talk about Cincinnati.
- kortilla 2y agoNo, bob doesn’t know he’s even being intentionally fucked with. There are many videos of this style of “prank” available on the internet.
- mmooss 2y agoThere is a lot of subtle meaning layered into that: Cleverness: I'm funny and I'm confident enough in it to risk doing it publicly Status: The statuses of you and Bob allow you to play a joke on them. Often such jokes are a public demonstration of status, like children do more explicitly and often unconsciously in the schoolyard. Empathy: 'I say suffering is funny'; it asserts a willingness to violate a taboo, be unempathetic, and therefore potentially dangerous Personal power: I'm powerful and independent enough to do something on a whim etc.
- kortilla 2y agoYes, none of that meaning is apparent to Bob, which is my point.
- mmooss 2y agoI think it is apparent to Bob and to everyone else, implicitly but unmistakeably; it's a message on many levels.
- kortilla 2y agoNo, it is not apparent to Bob. Please stop willfully misinterpreting it. It’s a whole class of shitty jokes where you mess with people under the entire purpose of doing it without them knowing. If Bob knows he’s being messed with, that’s something completely different.
- mmooss 2y agoYou don't need to make up a state of mind for other people - the smart approach is to realize you have no idea what they are thinking - just politely say what you have to say. The second paragraph is fine. I don't see where it's expressed above (?); no willfullness involved - I didn't even realize that you thought were having such a heated discussion. The other commenter also didn't pick up on it either.
- 2y ago
- veunes 2y agoI like the idea that while everything may feel random, there’s still a rich tapestry of experiences and interactions to explore