Humor

For years we have been interacting with others by using humor. We do not mean by telling stories or ethnic jokes; what we do mean is to play off of the moment and the circumstance. We have used this intuitive style in grocery stores at checkout counters, in banks with tellers, in airports with ticket agents, in graduate classes, in management seminars, in management groups, and in board rooms. Almost, without exception, people like to laugh.

In these situations from the ticket counter to the board room, we have left feeling either satisfied as a customer, or pleased with the joint decision of a board. Our counterparts with whom we have interacted also have seemed to be pleased and, in most cases, smiles were on their faces.
What is this thing called humor and how can it help us move organizations into the 21st Century?

We have seen intuitive humor operate effectively in most cases, here in the United States, and in international situations. Recently, while in a meeting with one of the sheiks from the United Arab Emirates, there was a pause in our discussions and the Arabic people all began to laugh. We thought we had done something wrong, but my Arabic friends said oh no, it is just a bit of local humor. Likewise, we have used intuitive humor in Luxembourg, Paris, and Frankfurt recently very successfully. People of all cultures like to laugh.

There might be nothing new or interesting in saying that creativity fuels both humor and design. But is it possible to reverse this equation? Can humor or rather the thought structure and method of humor fuel creative thinking or more specifically design thinking?

This paper attempts to study the innate structure of humor, and the method used in its construction. Some of these methods used to construct humor will be explored further to create frameworks that can be valuable in the design process as an alternative system of structuring information to create interesting insights and solutions.  It is important at this point to clarify that this paper is not aimed at providing a method to infuse humor in the final output of the design process. This study is aimed solely at understanding the thought process used in the construction of humor and analyzing how such a thought structure could be valuable as a creative stimulus in the design process. To this point, this paper also examines the structure of creative thought briefly as a bridge mechanism between humor and design thinking.

A partir da análise de centenas de decisões judiciais e da literatura mais atualizada sobre o tema, o livro, que é adaptação da tese de doutorado do autor, busca trazer ao leitor o panorama mais completo possível sobre os conflitos entre liberdade de expressão humorística e direitos da personalidade no Brasil. /// Grounded in the analysis of hundreds of court decisions and the most recent literature on the subject, this book (developed from the author's doctoral dissertation), seeks to bring the reader a complete overview of the conflicts between freedom of humorous speech and reputational rights.
https://loja.editoradialetica.com/humanidades/o-humor-e-os-limites-da-liberdade-de-expressao-teoria-e-jurisprudencia

Most of us can recall chuckling, or even laughing out loud, at a humorous musical passage and perhaps recalling how much that experience increased our enjoyment of the music. This study focuses on humour in the instrumental works of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven: composers who have been singled out by contemporary and modern scholars for their ingenuity and mastery of the Classical style. In the most general sense, musical humour arises when composers play with established conventions of musical discourse by writing something incongruous according to the stylistic context.
Chapter 1 demonstrates how historical critics understood the role of contrast in examples of musical humour and wit. It then surveys many recent music-theoretical discussions of musical humour, before briefly introducing how elements of contrast, “valence shifts,” and “opposition” are involved in musical humour from the Classical period. This study’s analytical and theoretical approach to musical humour draws on recent studies of musical humour, form, and communication in the Classical style, as well as concepts from recent linguistic theories of humour.   
Chapter 2 introduces the two primary strategies Classical instrumental composers employed to create musical humour: “opposition” and “excess.” Chapters 3 and 4 discuss a wide range of musical examples to explore how composers deployed formal functions and musical topics to produce humour. These discussions provide a sense of the wide range of effects that fall under the umbrellas of opposition and excess.
Chapter 5 concludes by briefly examining some performance applications of this study and suggesting some further potential sources of musical humour.

This article aims to investigate the relationship between nostalgia, solitude, and skepticism in Emil Cioran’s thought. In the first place, we will examine how the concepts of Sehnsucht, saudade and dor are interpreted by Cioran as similar forms of radical nostalgia. In the second place, we will see how the skeptical attitude of doubting reality relates to the nostalgic impossibility of belonging to reality itself. Finally, we will suppose that the metaphysical feeling of being isolated and separated from the world implies a skeptical criticism of subjectivity itself and a humoristic interpretation of existence.

Humor research has developed along a trajectory, and branched out in many directions, that were foreseen and stimulated by Paul McGhee. From his initial interest in children’s humor and cognitive development as a graduate student at Ohio State University to his work applying humor in myriad settings, McGhee has broadened our understanding of humor and expanded its horizons. As early as the 1970s, Paul expressed interest in the neuropsychology of humor and laughter and in the evolution of humor in nonhuman primates. The development and validation of the Sense of Humor Scale is an integral part of the 7 Humor Habits Program used effectively to train humor skills. McGhee played an early role in advocating humor and laughter as a learnable tool in the promotion of health and well-being, and in the training of health-care personnel. His work has been recognized through various Lifetime Achievements awards and other honors.

What makes some jokes so funny? Can comedy really effect social change? Is laughter just catharsis—a therapeutic release of personal and social discontent—or can it also voice real opposition? Another basic question that we often take for granted, why do we laugh?  In this course, we will approach the topic of comedy from every angle, while also keeping the funny alive. We will read philosophies and theories of comedy, satirical newspapers, and social histories of stand-up. We will watch funny movies, TV shows, Internet memes, viral videos, and talk about them. And, of course, we will write and perform our own comedy in the classroom.

Despite Prachett's popularity, his commercial success never fully matched his critical acclaim. This is partly due to critics often still having difficulty with seeing past the 'fantasy' label of most of his novels. What is more, the corpus of his work has, as of yet, not generated the amount of scholarly comment that one might expect due to the public reaction to his death. And although there are a number of academics who have already taken it upon themselves to analyse the Discworld series, for instance, in terms of its potential significance for the fantasy genre and even its political and social implications, more detailed analyses of Pratchett's linguistic style to this day remain quite scarce. This paper provides an attempt to close this gap a tiny bit by providing an overview over the usage of figurative language in his novels with which he imbued his
humorous observations, his playful puns and his usage of idioms and for which he will be remembered just as much as for his narrative capabilities.

В статье исследуется состояние изучения анекдота в зарубежной науке 2-й пол. ХХ – нач. XXI вв. В поле зрения находятся работы ученых из стран Западной Европы, Америки, а также постсоветского и постсоциалистического пространства. Анализируются объекты исследований и подходы к анекдоту как материалу изучения.

Satires offer themselves to the audience in all kinds of forms: from novels to pamphlets, from cartoons to ritual performances, from learned wit to slanderous attacks. This was as much the case in early modern Europe as it is in contemporary (Western) society. Still, in all their variety, satirical utterances seem to share at least one characteristic, namely their double bind to both seriousness and laughter. In this paper, I analyse this double bind with the help of two Dutch cases of satire from the late eighteenth century.

The first case consists of a political periodical from the 1780’s, that makes use of the ‘magic-lantern formula’, which means that it imitates the live performance of a magic-lantern show or raree show (peepshow), a regular feature at eighteenth-century fairs. This Lanterne magique of toverlantaern applies the ‘magic-lantern formula’ to perform slanderous ridicule. The second case is an almanac-like series of booklets, published between 1792 and 1801 by the eccentric physician Pieter van Woensel, under the title De Lantaarn (‘The Lantern’). In these illustrated booklets, Van Woensel offers his ironic critique on contemporary politics and society.

The two cases differ in many ways. The Lanterne magique is highly partisan and uses a harsh kind of humour that is solely aimed at scapegoating political enemies. Van Woensel’s Lantaarn is ideologically ambivalent and uses the weapon of irony to lay bare the ludicrousness of the day. Nevertheless the two are related through their taking together of seriousness and playfulness/jest, their shared intention to make the audience laugh but at the same time to convey to it a more serious (political or moral) message.

Perhaps it is especially this double face of satire that makes its meaning oftentimes so difficult to grasp, not only for the audience, but also for scholars and literary critics. Looking at satire through the lens of its simultaneously serious and playful intentions might thus lead to a better understanding of the working of satire in general.

An experiment tested the hypothesis that exposure to humorous material prior to taking a difficult math test can inhibit the amount of anxiety associated with the test, and thus enhance performance. In keeping with our hypothesis, participants performed better on a math test after first being exposed to funny cartoons versus non-humorous poems or nothing at all. Mediation analyses suggest that state anxiety mediated the relationship between exposure to humorous cartoons and math performance. Participants who were first exposed to cartoons performed better on the math test because they felt less anxiety while taking the test.

Traditionally, positive psychology (PP) considers humour as one of 24 character strengths and associates it with the core virtue of transcendence, a view perpetuated in Second Wave PP. We debate the need for a wider conceptualisation of humour and a more pragmatic recognition of its benefits and applications within the framework of Third Wave PP. Anecdotal and observational findings relating to the use of humour during the Covid-19 pandemic are considered. We draw on empirical research revealing the diverse benefits of humour and laughter in different cultural settings, including during lockdown. Using examples, including Covid-19 humour, we contend that the depiction of beneficial humour in PP is incomplete, for example, it relates not only to transcendence but to all six core virtues, and misleading as it may not necessarily relate to any. A more practical and broader depiction of humour within Third Wave PP would be helpful, including emphasising the potential of multiple character strengths to support humour development. In particular, we highlight the need for laughter, currently viewed as a by-product of humour within PP, to play a more prominent role. Widening the portrayal of humour and laughter in PP will be helpful to value and harness their individual, and joint, benefits and applications. In this chapter, we call for Third Wave PP to encourage new research directions by embracing the complexity of humour as 1) an interlinked character strength; 2) associated to all core virtues; 3) benefitting overall personal development; and 4) differentiated from but co-equal to laughter.

Este artigo busca resgatar a acepção setecentista do termo humor, no intuito de reavaliar um lugar-comum que, desde o século XVIII, associa esta qualidade à obra de Haydn. Esta relação perdura até os dias de hoje, a despeito da mudança de acepção do termo humor, sem que haja, em grande parte dos casos, preocupação em definir este conceito. Para proporcionar uma melhor compreensão do sentido do termo nas críticas setecentistas que se referem à produção de Haydn, dividimos esse artigo em três partes: a primeira busca situar os textos que discorrem sobre a noção de humor no final do século XVIII; a segunda parte dedica-se à reconstituição, propriamente dita, do sentido do termo humor no século XVIII; a terceira, à aplicação desta acepção na leitura de artigos setecentistas que relacionam a música de Haydn à qualidade humorística. Abstract: This article attempts to recover seventeenth century meaning of the term humor, in order to reevaluate a commonplace that has been, since Haydn´s own time, associating this quality to his work. This relation remains valid until today, despite many changes in the significance of the term humor, without any concern for defining this concept, in most cases. This article is divided in three parts: in first place, there is a contextualizing of the sources dealing with the notion of humor in the seventeenth century; the second part is dedicated to the reconstitution of the term humor in the seventeenth century, and the third part regards magazine articles that related Haydn's music to the notion of humor, during his own time. 'O aparecimento de C. Phil. Em. Bach, o humorista sério, e de Joseph Haydn, o romântico cômico, deram finalmente aos berlinenses e aos vienenses uma nova vida e diferenciaram seus gêneros para sempre". 1 Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung [Jornal Musical Geral], 1813 O epíteto "humorista sério", com que Johann Friedrich Reichardt, autor da crítica acima, se refere à produção de Carl Philip Emannuel Bach, é, para o leitor moderno, no mínimo, intrigante, se considerarmos que as acepções modernas mais comuns de humor relacionam o termo a idéias de comicidade em geral, como graça e jocosidade. 2 O paradoxo que se estabe-lece entre as categorias "humor" e "sério", aponta para a necessidade de se resgatar o sentido setecentista do termo humor, que qualifica freqüente-mente a música de Haydn. Isto ajudará a entender melhor o conteúdo de críticas como a Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung [Jornal Musical Geral], acima, ou comentários de muitos autores que, no século XVIII, relacionam a idéia de humor à obra de Haydn. No início do século XIX, a associação entre a produção de Haydn e o seu aspecto humorístico já é um lugar-co

Humor is a complex and multi-faceted phenomenon composed of a variety of cognitive, social, and emotional processes. This paper will discuss humor appreciation in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and individuals with Williams syndrome (WS), a rare genetic disorder mainly characterized by intellectual disabilities, high social approach tendencies and high positive emotions. Drawing on research on the comprehension and appreciation of humor in individuals with ASD, this paper aims to better understand how the particular cognitive, social, and emotional profile of individuals with WS might affect their appreciation of humor and how such research could ultimately lead to a greater understanding of the nature of humor.

The following work sought to explore the basic aspects of the development of thought around humor and how its bad reputation originated and led to the notion of its nature being inadequate to the Fine Arts throughout history. Through a thorough exploration of the state of the art around the subject, this basic research developed a fundamental context for future development in methodology for the analysis of humorous artistic practices.

In the article I discuss how Norwegian men who have changed their last name in marriage to their wife's, react to the reactions from others. The unusual choice of using the wife's name in marriage amongst Norwegians lead to a variety of reactions. Here, I look at how the men negotiate manliness in relation to humorous reactions, mainly from other men of whom they are not related, and the ideals of manliness expressed through the humour and the men changers reactions to the humorous remarks.

In this chapter we explore the role of humorous memes in co-constructing polarized positions in contemporary US political discourse. Such polarized positioning, we argue, is mostly based on a disregard for the other that draws heavily on irony as a rhetorical resource. Our analysis focuses on the memes posted as responses to two different controversial Twitter threads initiated by the former president of the United States, Donald Trump. Through our discussion, we consider the importance of examining memes rhetorically as a way to highlight the different assumptions informing and reproduced both in Trump’s discourse and that of his opponents. At a broader level, our study contributes to a more holistic understanding of the role that polarizing discourses play in our current populist conjuncture, and their perils and potential in the overall struggles to (re)establish alternative forms of common sense.

Es gibt verschiedene Methoden, mit Ausnahmezuständen, Katastrophen und Tragödien umzugehen. Eine davon ist Humor. Seit dem frühen 20. Jahrhundert beschäftigen sich Volkskundler*innen mit den entstehenden Witzezyklen nach Tragödien. Seit der Entstehung der Massenmedien können sogenannte Disaster Jokes (im Folgenden werden aufgrund der englischen Literatur einie englische Begriffe benutzt, um keine Sinnverfälschung vorzunehmen) ganz neue Dimensionen annehmen und verbreiten sich unter neuen Bedingungen. Medial vermittelte Tragödien können eine große Anzahl nicht unmittelbar betroffener Rezipienten erreichen. Was sind die Funktionen solcher Witze? Handelt es sich bei ihnen um einen bloßen Ausdruck des Wunsches nach Comic Relief und der Traumabewältigung oder gibt es weitere Ambivalenzen, die dieser 'kranke Humor' in der medialisierten Welt adressiert?
Die Anschläge vom 11. September stellen nicht nur eine historische Zäsur dar, sie fanden auch zu einer mediengeschichtlichen Umbruchszeit statt. Sie markieren das erste globale Mediendesaster. Die Bilder des Terrors gingen in Echtzeit um die ganze Welt. Dass sie dabei zwischen Werbe- und Entertainmentaspekten platziert wurden, allgemein an einen Hollywood-Blockbuster erinnerten und so montiert wurden, dass bestimmte Emotionen der Trauer hervorgerufen werden sollten, sorgte für ein Ambivalenzgefühl bei den Rezipienten. Welche Rolle spielt diese Ambivalenz beim humoristischen Umgang mit 9/11?
9/11 markiert außerdem die erste globale Katastrophe im Internetzeitalter. Die Anschläge kennzeichnen die erste Tragödie, bei der der offiziellen Berichterstattung in den Massenmedien eine Gegenöffentlichkeit entgegengesetzt werden konnte, die keiner Montage und keiner Zensur ausgesetzt war: Die Internet-Community. Zum ersten Mal in der Geschichte gab es die Möglichkeit einer Echtzeitreaktion auf eine Tragödie in einem virtuellen, global vernetzten Raum. Heute sind Reaktionen auf öffentliche Katastrophen im Internet ganz normal – 9/11 jedoch war die Premiere. Gelten für den virtuellen Raum dieselben Regeln der Reaktion auf Tragödien wie für den realen? Welche Rolle spielt die Anonymität im Netz?
Die virtuelle Gegenöffentlichkeit ermöglichte neue Kommunikationsformen und damit auch neue Witze-Genres. Mit Internet-Memes –  humoristischen Inhalten in Text-, Bild- oder Videoform – entstand ein neues Genre, dessen Relevanz bis zum heutigen Tag weiter zunimmt.  Was ist ein Meme und wie funktioniert es? Was macht ein erfolgreiches Meme aus?
Der Einzug von Disaster Jokes in die virtuelle Sphäre war eine logische Folge der neuen Umstände. Der analoge, verbal vermittelte Disaster Joke durchlief beim Einzug in den virtuellen Raum eine Transformation: Er wurde zum Disaster Meme und damit vor allem visuell. Nach 9/11 bildete sich im Internet ein ganzer Witzekomplex rund um die Anschläge, der in verschiedenen Wellen auftrat und Rückschlüsse auf die Art und Weise zulässt, wie Desaster-Humor im Internet funktioniert. Kann man den digitalen Witzezyklus rund um 9/11 als humoristische Zäsur in der Mediengeschichte verstehen? War er der Beginn einer seither üblichen, humoristischen Umgangsweise mit Tragödien im virtuellen Raum, die ein durch die Massenmedien entstehendes emotionales Vakuum adressieren kann? Und wie entwickelte sich das Genre Disaster Meme seither weiter?

In spite of their unquestionable elements of idealization, critics have pointed out the importance of De oratore as a source for the study of the Roman aristocracy’s social practices. The analysis of one of the basic resources of «positive courtesy» - i.e. humor - in the excursus de ridiculiis shows that it is presented as a powerful catalyst for social intercourse. As long as it fits to some sort of «laughable ethics», humor would be a key factor in creating solidarity among elite members, whose relationships present, as a rule, a strong agonistic slant.

In this article, we review the state of research in the field of Jewish Humor, mainly Yiddish and Hebrew Humor. In Eastern Europe, in modern times, a new field for research developed, in which writers-humorists created a new literary Jewish chapter in poetry, in prose, and for the theater. This Humorous Literature started to be first in the Jewish Press and subsequently in book form. The History of the Humorous Literature in Yiddish and Hebrew, including its different genres and a variety of writers in the interwar period, is part and parcel of the History of Modern Yiddish Literature. This article was published in HUMOR MEKUVAN, the Hebrew Journal of the Israeli association for Humor Research, December 2014 pp. 45-59.

Este trabajo se centra en el fenómeno de los i-memes (internet memes) y comprende un estudio de caso a partir de un acontecimiento local que tuvo repercusiones y trascendencia globales: la cumbre del G20 celebrada en Buenos Aires (diciembre 2018). Entre las distintas piezas meméticas que circularon en relación al evento tuvo cierto predominio la imagen del entonces presidente Mauricio Macri lagrimeando tras el espectáculo Argentum, realizado en el teatro Colón como agasajo para los líderes concurrentes a la cumbre. Esta imagen tuvo múltiples reapropiaciones en las redes, mayormente con finalidades humorísticas. En los casos analizados en el trabajo, las apropiaciones meméticas sirvieron a fines satíricos, tendientes a desvalorizar la gestión y el liderazgo del ex-presidente, en el marco de crecientes conflictos poíticos, económicos y sociales alrededor de su Gobierno. Esto devino en la consolidación de un nuevo meme, que aquí llamamos "Macri Llorón" y cuya longevidad superó el contexto cronológico de la cumbre del G20, registrando reapariciones significativas en momentos posteriores del Gobierno de la alianza Cambiemos; fundamentalmente, su derrota electoral del 2019 a manos del Frente de Todos.

An important challenge for communication scientists is to characterize and understand hybrid genres. Satirical news is such a hybrid genre and comprises a blend of the genres of comedy, news, and political opinion. This theoretical article aims to contribute to this discussion by further specifying the concept of discursive mode. Discursive modes designate certain communicative orientations toward a particular genre element. We make our argument concrete by introducing a typology of metaphorical humor in satirical news. Our humoristic metaphors in satirical news (HMSN) typology, demonstrates that satirists can realize and switch between 4 different discursive modes through metaphors. These discursive modes comprise different combinations of core rhetorical functions in satirical news (humor, education, and evaluation). We describe each type of metaphor in our typology and present a research agenda identifying key issues that require future research and empirical verification.