Listening text

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                      "Why we laugh"

    

Why you should listen?

   As deputy director of the University College London’s Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Sophie Scott seeks out the neurological basis of communication, whether it’s speech or vocalised emotion.

   As a pioneering researcher in the science of laughter, she’s made some unexpected discoveries -- including that rats are ticklish, and that the one tactic that’s almost guaranteed to get someone to laugh is to show them someone else laughing. But as an occasional stand-up comedian with UCL’s Bright Club, she shows that she’s no slouch at getting laughs herself.

What others say?

   “For Scott, laughter is more than displaying amusement -- it's a primal way of showing people that we like them and want them to like us.” ” — CNN.com, October 15, 2013.

What i think?

I think laughter is like an emotional orgasm or a palpable release of stress. Laughter is like crying. It evokes a response but without context it doesn't have actionable meaning (other than what we project).Laughter is a response to humour, and it isn't innately positive, for example, racist and sexist jokes (demean people), insult comedy (can bully people), satire (humorous from the perspective of the author and the intended audience). But like any strong emotion, I believe it's important we consider the source of our response.

                                                                     

                                                            Why we laugh?