The Brief Etymology of the Word Humor

Humor most definitely is an instinct that evolved to serve some purpose in everyone’s lives. There is a meaning The story, What Makes Us Laugh by Leon Rappoport thoroughly analyzes the different theories in people’s reactions of humor. Rappoport discusses how certain jokes succeed and fail, why we laugh when we don’t think we should, and why sometimes we might not react to humor. I found this part quite interesting when he was saying certain people react with either boredom or fascination, with boredom being more prevalent. Personally, I would be captivated in this analysis of theories because not only is it interesting, but it also teaches one further about humor than one would not expect, especially the theory of superiority.

Humor impedes good writing in some instances. If the people reading or watching the piece are sensitive, the writer runs the risk of offending the audience. It entirely depends on an individual's

The article goes on to say that, a lot of jokes do not translate very well, and sometimes, they do not translate at all, mainly due to the differences in social structure and cultural norms; what may be considered funny in one culture, may not be in another.” (Psychology Today, 2012)

“Humour is the tendency of particular cognitive experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement.” The term Humour has been derived from the Greek language, which teaches that humour is the balance of fluids in the human body. Humour is savoured by different taste-buds like: Anecdotal, Blue, Dark/Gallows/Morbid, Epigrammatic, Hyperbolic, Ironic, Satirical, Satirical, Situational and Slapstick. Franz Kafka, the author of the outright existential classic ‘The Metamorphosis’ uses depressing humour to deal with the bitter deathly truths of life.

For me specifically, the word funny brings to mind jokes I’ve heard or read in my mind. More specifically, I picture chickens crossing roads, cows interrupting conversations, and a variety of different people and items knocking on doors. However, you may associate very different ideas with the word. My father and sister both find it extremely hilarious to watch other people undergo harm, while one of my best friends finds humor in making statements that have no blatantly obvious connection with the current conversation and often don’t make grammatical sense. Everyone has their own sense of humor just as everyone has their own favorite colors, whilst some may be the same,

People always say that laughter alleviates tension. If this is the case, then it makes sense that the use of humor when discussing uncomfortable topics can make the conversation easier and more light-hearted. One of Mark Twain’s most frequently used devices in works such as “Advice to Youth”, “To the Person Sitting in Darkness”, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is satire, which can provide society a method to bond over uncomfortable topics, and facilitate the ability to sustain that bond through an easier way to create discussion.

Humor’s foundations are made up of seeds of truth, from which comedy and laughter can grow from. Within these seeds different types of issues are found that cast a wide array of topics in which are discussed or given question to by humorists. As the evolution of humor continues to grow it can be seen that it will continue down a darker road, as history has

Humor is viewed by some people as an important part of life. Most people enjoy amusement, and some turn to humorists as a source for that amusement. Some further view humorists as holding an important position in society because society allows humorists to say things that others can and will not say. Due to their unique position in society, humorists serve a role that is certainly unique and can be important, but not vital. Furthermore, humor can very well have a dangerous side, whether intentional or unintentional, so humorists should try to be careful with their powerful position.

Humor is the art of turning something serious, and sometimes even heartbreaking into something that makes people laugh until they can’t breathe. As well as being incredibly entertaining, the skill of making something funny can be used to change the world. In his book Status Anxiety, Alain de Botton correctly argues that the role of humorists as messengers of taboo or restricted topics is vital to society. When presented with a serious topic, many people shy away out of fear of being offensive, but humorists revel in the idea of not only talking about that offensive subject but making jokes about it as well. But why do they get away with it?

Laughter can be an instinctive expression of lively amusement although we don’t usually realise the offence of the joke we are laughing at. Tamara discusses modern satire and its position in humanity.

Some humor advocates say that comedy must be able to region free, and that joke about out differences, weaknesses, eccentricities

Laughter is said to be the best medicine. While that may be true, it's important to always give the patient the right medicine, otherwise it is useless and, in some cases, harmful. The same can be said for humor: give a person a joke without thinking, and they could end up confused by the joke or offended by it. Because of this, many authors have several techniques to find the perfect joke befitting their audience in order to provide a clear and crisp way of showing the reader their message.

Greek Antiquity was a time of some of the greatest minds of all time, such as Plato and Aristotle, leading to many inventions and ideas that are still relevant today, from hydraulics to astronomy. One of the most influential realizations, however, came from the mind of a man named Hippocrates, as he began the real start of the practice of medicine.

Despite this there are some interesting anecdotal evidence that humor was used as a means to express wit and learning. Consider French writer Voltaire or even in relatively modem times Oscar Wilde and his extremely witty characters in The Picture of Dorian Gray. These writers used wit and humor to influence people, to stir emotions in their readers and their conversing abilities were fresh and exciting. Humor typically has an element of shock and awe and readers or listeners are shaken beyond their limits of self-control to burst into laughter. Uncontrollable laughter as related to humor was against the strict moral laws of Plato. Even Aristotle seemed to believe in some restrictions on humorous conversation. Humor was suited to a clown in restricted scenarios and serious self-respecting men and women did

According to the Oxford dictionary “Humor,” is defined as: The quality of being amustic or comic, especially as expressed in literature or speech, but what truly makes something funny? Comedy has been around for hundreds of years; as it is being examined four concrete theories have been developed to understand the idea of comedy: Superiority, Relief, incongruity, and Benign Violation theory.