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I think humor paired with axioms has an important part to play in progressing moral codes. Jokes and limericks are memetic - highly contagious ideas - so they c

I think humor paired with axioms has an important part to play in progressing moral codes. Jokes and limericks are memetic - highly contagious ideas - so they can travel through cultures with little capital and seemingly little effort required. Going beyond a gag, you can use humor to make an otherwise boring and hard to understand issue like net-neutrality more enticing to listen to, as John Oliver did so masterfully on Last Week Tonight. The way he often does it is by making a point of comparison with pop-culture artifacts (person, movie, consumer goods, historical event) in an analogous and equally absurd situation. If we could codify this kind of story-telling, we could simplify the passing of moral programs.

unfamiliar 11y ago
"this kind of story-telling" is only appealing if you already agreed with the principle. I'm sure someone with a good reason to be against net neutrality could easily pick holes in the Last Week Tonight segment if they wanted.
- icanhackit 11y ago
  "this kind of story-telling" is only appealing if you already agreed with the principle You need to understand something before you can agree or disagree with it. That's the point of the kind of humor John Oliver uses - take something boring, use humor to attract ears/eyeballs, use well-known cultural artifacts to make a point of comparison, viewer now grasps principals of the issue while being entertained/having reward center tickled. He also uses analogies because they reveal the absurdity of something without directly attacking someones existing beliefs, leaving wiggle-room to switch sides.