There’s no punchline. Laughter is a serious scientific subject, one that researchers are still trying to figure out. You may have laughed at a prank on April Fools’ Day. But surprisingly, only 10 to 15 percent of laughter is the result of someone making a joke, said Robert Provine, professor of psychology, who has studied laughter for decades. Laughter is mostly about social responses rather than reaction to a joke. “Laughter above all else is a social thing,” Provine said. “The requirement for laughter is another person.”
The article, “To Scientists, Laughter Is No Joke. It’s Serious,” ran March 31, in the Associated Press.
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I read your article and enjoyed it very much. However, I must disagree with your statement that the requirement for laughter is another person.
Haven’t you ever been alone and done something so stupid it made you laugh? And didn’t you turn around to make sure no one saw the stupid thing you did?
Or haven’t you ever come upon a concept that you, in your imagination, took to the nth degree in a ridiculously humorous way that also made you laugh?
I don’t think you have to have another human being or other living animal present to create laughter.
Loretta Korsmo