The ability to appreciate humor begins with scripts, which are assumptions about the world derived from our experiences. To understand a joke, we have to understand at least two scripts; our initial assumption, and the alternative one formulated by the joke. A humorous response is triggered because of our capacity to discern the difference between these two situations.
To illustrate how scripts work, here are a few one-liners written by stand-up comedian Steven Wright:
- I saw a bank that said “24 Hour Banking,” but I didn’t have that much time.
- I bought some batteries, but they weren’t included. So I had to buy them again.
- I washed a sock. Then I put it in the dryer. When I took it out it was gone.
- I went into a store and asked the clerk if there was anything I could put under my coasters. He asked why I wanted to do that. I told him I wanted to make sure my coasters weren’t scratching my table.
Wright takes everyday actions and forces listeners to modify their scripts. Humor works because it takes advantage of how generalized these scripts are. Humans are the only creatures that can process humor, because we are able to juggle multiple scripts simultaneously.
One more post in which we destroy humor by making you understand it just a little too well.
(via The American Scholar, h/t Explore, Image via Wired)
