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> If two people disagree on whether something is funny, who's wrong? You can't say either of them is. There's no reward function for funny. Laughter is the rew
by jessetemp 8mo ago
> If two people disagree on whether something is funny, who's wrong? You can't say either of them is. There's no reward function for funny.
Laughter is the reward. N of 2 is a small sample size, but if one person laughed you could say it was 50% funny.
> a really good joke is recent, relevant, and shows deep understanding of its subject
These can help, but it ultimately doesn't matter how recent, relevant, or deep a joke is. If no one laughs, it wasn't funny.
- mym1990 8mo agoLaughter is a decent signal, but it can be noise if the audience is uncomfortable or trying to please. Does the joke teller count as being part of the audience? I imagine if someone is telling the joke...they must think it is funny, so in most cases at least 1 participant thinks its funny. Sometimes jokes are unintended, maybe a faux pas, and it might be inappropriate for someone to laugh...does it make it not a joke, or does it make it not funny if I cannot laugh? Lots of layers to this, but I guess the old adage "it depends" is very fitting here!
- Tarq0n 8mo agoA lot of modern comedy is awful because it substitutes embarrassed laughter for amused laughter.