a musing on humor

laughter comes from a place deeply human, so they say.

Ancient Greek and Roman physicians believed the 4 humors- bodily fluids that affected human health and disposition, were tied to seasons and elements. They were choleric, melancholic, sanguine, phlegmatic. This is similar to Indian Ayurveda medicine doṣas which used earth, water, fire, air, (and space).

They typology is as follows:

• Blood (sanguis) → associated with air, spring, and a cheerful temperament (sanguine).

• Phlegm (phlegma) → linked to water, winter, and a calm, sluggish temperament (phlegmatic).

• Yellow bile (choler) → tied to fire, summer, and an irritable, aggressive temperament (choleric).

• Black bile (melaina chole) → connected with earth, autumn, and a melancholic, depressive temperament (melancholic).

But what do the humors have to do with ha-ha humor?

I was first interested in humor, like sarcasm and parody, growing up with 90s TV shows and literature. I wondered how we developed a sense of what is funny. While it’s a subjective and even biological activity, not unlike crying or compassion, I found humor more elusive than other emotions. As diverse as our personalities, what we find funny differs, from farts, 30 Rock, Broad City, to Ren and Stimpy, Tim and Eric, to Mr. Bean and cats.

but do we only laugh because something is ha ha funny? no. 

After some click-clacking, I found “sardonic” as a form of humor that comes from the Greek “sardónios, refering to someone curling their lips at danger, laughing in its face.”

From wikipedia: “being sardonic often involves expressing an uncomfortable truth in a clever and not necessarily malicious way, commonly with a degree of cynicism.[3]”

So one has to be devoid of humor to face a truth, and at the same time have an incredulous expression?

The grim origin of sardonic: “among the very ancient people of sardinia…it was customary to kill old people…the sardi laughed loudly. (eugen fehrle, 1930).”

Violence is a natural response to structural oppression, but killing our elderly? what could be the reason for this? Was it an act of mercy knowing that the end of one’s existence is suffering? One could not mercy kill without having an incongruent reaction to it, like laughing. This idea is supported by the following:

• “laughter accompanies the passage from death to life; it creates life and accompanies birth. consequently, laughter… nullifies murder as such, and is an act of piety that transforms death into a new life.”

From the author of Dune: “the person who experiences greatness must have a feeling for the myth she is in. And she must have a strong sense of the sardonic. This is what uncouples her from belief in her own pretensions. The sardonic is all that permits her to move within herself. Without this quality, even occasional greatness will destroy a human.”

So the sardonic helps ground people and prevents them from abstraction and inhumanity. Laughter is guttural, irrational, and physiological.

Laughter is also social. According to an article, we might laugh when there is “shared relief at the passing of danger. And since the relaxation that results from a bout of laughter inhibits the biological fight-or-flight response, laughter may indicate trust in one’s companions.” (https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/emotions/laughter.htm)

“Provine has also noted that laughter is highly behaviorally contagious…like yawning, contagious laughter is modified by social factors.”

Laughter as catharsis:

There is a link between laughter with better pain tolerance. In an experiment, those who induced / forced  laughter had a drop in blood pressure and cortisol levels in comparison to those who did not simulate laughter.

All of this supports the argument that laughter and humor are complicated emotions that can relieve as much as it can reveal what lurks in the dark.

So ask yourself,  if the average adult laughs 17 times a day, are you getting your daily dose of laughter? 

z. Find more opportunities for laughter	surround yourself with funny people or places (see t. grandmas below)
y. Induce laughter even if nothing is outwardly funny	trick your brain
x. diversify your humor	weird/absurd humor > 20%   random or joyful laughter > 50%  sarcastic/self sabotaging < 10% animals = 100%
w. eat something spicy	cry if you can’t laugh
u. laugh at your bad jokes	especially if its bad
t. hang out with some grandmas	they gave birth to the jokers, but don’t kill them!!