News Topic - Greece
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Inside Jokes: Science Writer Jim Holt Explores Why We Laugh
What do you get when you cross scholarly research and dick jokes? Nothing to laugh at, normally. But science writer Jim Holt defies the Heisenberg principle of humor — you can't study it without killing it — in his book Stop Me If You've Heard This: A History and Philosophy of Jokes. We caught up with him walking into a bar.Wired: One question you tackle is who invented the joke. Weren't we cracking wise back in the caves?Holt:No, the classic joke form — setup with incongruity, punch line that resolves the incongruity—seems to have come out of Greece and Rome. There's this guy in Greek -mythology called Palamedes who invented practically everything — numbers, currency, lighthouses, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He also supposedly invented the joke. And, of course, he was stoned to death. Wired: So where do new jokes come from? Holt:It used to be that all the jokes I got came from Wall Street. Now, with the Internet, they're sort of everywhere and nowhere at once. But the ideas for jokes are cultural — concepts that keep reappearing in different guises over the centuries.Wired: There are lots of theories about why we joke. Which do you find most plausible?Holt:Well, there's the superiority theory, that jokes express scorn for your inferiors — cripples and cuckolds and foreigners and the like. Plato said we laugh at vice. Then there's the Freudian interpretation, that it's all about sexual repression. Finally, there's the seduction theory, based on the observation that men do most of the joking while women do most of the laughing. Christopher Hitchens wrote a piece in Vanity Fair arguing that the only way most guys can impress women is to make them laugh.Wired: But your favorite explanation is a mashup of Kant and evolutionary biology, right?Holt:V. S. Ramachandran, the brain researcher, has a theory about the origin of laughter — that when you're in the jungle and there's an apparent threat, the first member of the kinship group to notice that it's not a real threat emits this stereotyped vocalization. And it's contagious, so everyone starts laughing. That's also the basis of the relief theory of humor, that there's a release of the energy you had summoned up to solve some puzzle. Kant said that the essence of humor is a strained expectation dissolving into nothing. Wired: Did you find any candidates for the perfect joke?Holt:I did find what might be the shortest possible joke: "Pretentious? Moi?"
Wired News – 10 hours, 25 minutes ago ¦ comment?
found in Technology
What do you get when you cross scholarly research and dick jokes? Nothing to laugh at, normally. But science writer Jim Holt defies the Heisenberg principle of humor — you can't study it without killing it — in his book Stop Me If You've Heard This: A History and Philosophy of Jokes. We caught up with him walking into a bar.Wired: One question you tackle is who invented the joke. Weren't we cracking wise back in the caves?Holt:No, the classic joke form — setup with incongruity, punch line that resolves the incongruity—seems to have come out of Greece and Rome. There's this guy in Greek -mythology called Palamedes who invented practically everything — numbers, currency, lighthouses, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He also supposedly invented the joke. And, of course, he was stoned to death. Wired: So where do new jokes come from? Holt:It used to be that all the jokes I got came from Wall Street. Now, with the Internet, they're sort of everywhere and nowhere at once. But the ideas for jokes are cultural — concepts that keep reappearing in different guises over the centuries.Wired: There are lots of theories about why we joke. Which do you find most plausible?Holt:Well, there's the superiority theory, that jokes express scorn for your inferiors — cripples and cuckolds and foreigners and the like. Plato said we laugh at vice. Then there's the Freudian interpretation, that it's all about sexual repression. Finally, there's the seduction theory, based on the observation that men do most of the joking while women do most of the laughing. Christopher Hitchens wrote a piece in Vanity Fair arguing that the only way most guys can impress women is to make them laugh.Wired: But your favorite explanation is a mashup of Kant and evolutionary biology, right?Holt:V. S. Ramachandran, the brain researcher, has a theory about the origin of laughter — that when you're in the jungle and there's an apparent threat, the first member of the kinship group to notice that it's not a real threat emits this stereotyped vocalization. And it's contagious, so everyone starts laughing. That's also the basis of the relief theory of humor, that there's a release of the energy you had summoned up to solve some puzzle. Kant said that the essence of humor is a strained expectation dissolving into nothing. Wired: Did you find any candidates for the perfect joke?Holt:I did find what might be the shortest possible joke: "Pretentious? Moi?"
Wired News – 10 hours, 25 minutes ago ¦ comment?
found in Technology
Police searching for missing womanGreece police need your help in trying to find an 81-year-old woman. Police say Ann Judge left her home on Mill Road at around 10:30 this morning and never returned home...
WHEC.com – 12 hours, 31 minutes ago ¦ comment?
found in Local: New York: Rochester
Greece Police Searching For Missing Woman
Greece, N.Y. - Greece Police are asking for your help in the search for a missing elderly woman.
13WHAM.com – 15 hours, 18 minutes ago ¦ comment?
found in Local: New York: Rochester
Greece, N.Y. - Greece Police are asking for your help in the search for a missing elderly woman.
13WHAM.com – 15 hours, 18 minutes ago ¦ comment?
found in Local: New York: Rochester
Greece jails two judges for trial-fixing
ATHENS, Greece, July 4 (UPI) -- Greece sentenced two former judges to lengthy jail sentences for trial-fixing for a wealthy businessman after a nine-month trial in Athens.
United Press International – Jul 4, 2008 6:39 PM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Top Stories
ATHENS, Greece, July 4 (UPI) -- Greece sentenced two former judges to lengthy jail sentences for trial-fixing for a wealthy businessman after a nine-month trial in Athens.
United Press International – Jul 4, 2008 6:39 PM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Top Stories
Alert after tick bite kills farm worker
ATHENS, Greece, July 4 (UPI) -- A farm worker's death from Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever from a tick bite in northern Greece put hospitals on alert Friday, Greek health officials said.
United Press International – Jul 4, 2008 1:22 PM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Top Stories
ATHENS, Greece, July 4 (UPI) -- A farm worker's death from Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever from a tick bite in northern Greece put hospitals on alert Friday, Greek health officials said.
United Press International – Jul 4, 2008 1:22 PM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Top Stories
Into the swing of things
Croquet, bocce courts displayed at church park in Greece.
Democrat & Chronicle – Jul 4, 2008 08:53 AM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Local: New York: Rochester
Croquet, bocce courts displayed at church park in Greece.
Democrat & Chronicle – Jul 4, 2008 08:53 AM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Local: New York: Rochester
Angelos Charisteas in Ipswich's sights
Angelos Charisteas , the player who scored the winner for Greece in the final of Euro 2004, is a transger target for Championship side Ipswich Town, according to newspaper reports.
Telegraph.co.uk – Jul 4, 2008 08:13 AM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Sports: Soccer
Angelos Charisteas , the player who scored the winner for Greece in the final of Euro 2004, is a transger target for Championship side Ipswich Town, according to newspaper reports.
Telegraph.co.uk – Jul 4, 2008 08:13 AM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Sports: Soccer
New croquet, bocce courts on display at church park in Greece
Grace and Truth SportsPark in Greece anticipates the opening of two new croquet and bocce venues at the Spirit of America Celebration on Independence Day.
Democrat & Chronicle – Jul 4, 2008 06:30 AM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Local: New York: Rochester
Grace and Truth SportsPark in Greece anticipates the opening of two new croquet and bocce venues at the Spirit of America Celebration on Independence Day.
Democrat & Chronicle – Jul 4, 2008 06:30 AM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Local: New York: Rochester
Edison and Hellenic agree €1.5bn joint venture
The Italian power utility, which aims to become the second-biggest power operator in Greece, is planning to supply 12% of the market and reach a capacity of 1,500MW
Financial Times – Jul 4, 2008 02:31 AM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Business: Companies
The Italian power utility, which aims to become the second-biggest power operator in Greece, is planning to supply 12% of the market and reach a capacity of 1,500MW
Financial Times – Jul 4, 2008 02:31 AM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Business: Companies
More news briefs
City house blaze displaces 9 peopleMissing Greece woman foundCommencement Park names chiefSeats open up for Steely Dan show
Democrat & Chronicle – Jul 3, 2008 05:55 AM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Local: New York: Rochester
City house blaze displaces 9 peopleMissing Greece woman foundCommencement Park names chiefSeats open up for Steely Dan show
Democrat & Chronicle – Jul 3, 2008 05:55 AM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Local: New York: Rochester