Why you’ve got to laugh…
Okay, you say you don’t want to. That the world is looking pretty awful these days: there’s a an actual genocide in Gaza, in America a mafia ‘don’ (or should I say ‘Don’) is plundering the country’s treasury and having opponents bundled off the street and imprisoned in far-away hell-holes… so is there any point to a book on jokes?
Well, naturally enough, a lot of people don't think so. But this book is not actually a joke book (though it uses a lot for illustration)it's actually a more sociological study of both the role and mechanisms of humour.
But it’s not pompous – it’s a lot of fun. That’s why the reviews editor at the Sun, the UK’s largest selling tabloid gave it a four star review (that’s the max) and called it the ultimate “feel good” book, while Talk Radio Europe crowned it grandly “the funniest book on philosophy ever written”. Okay, the full quote included the word “probably” but still!
So what's this book about – and why, apart from some good jokes, might you enjoy reading it?
Well, when you think about it, a good joke requires, demands, a very special kind of deep thinking - a kind of world-upturning, no-holds-barred problem solving. It's the same skill that produces the great insights of art and commerce, the insight that sees solutions and creates opportunities. And yes, such skills can be approached through exercises and study, but there's no good reason to think such sensible methods work any better than having a sense of humour.
So why not, at least for a moment, throw all conventional thinking to the wind, and start re-examining the world through the very special, very beautiful prism of jokes and riddles?
Oh, and here for starters, is one of my favourite jokes. It’s joke number three in the book. There are lots more!
Sherlock Holmes Goes Camping…
The famous detective, Sherlock Holmes, and his indefatigable assistant, Mr. Watson, go on a camping trip. In the middle of the night, Holmes, ever a light sleeper, wakes up, and stares up at the night sky with thousands of stars twinkling down on them. Holmes, renowned for his own powers of deduction, leans over and nudges Watson: ‘Watson! Wake up! Look around and tell me what you see!’
Watson rubs his eyes and says: ‘Well, Holmes, I can see many uncountable millions of stars stretching away as far as the eye can see.’
‘And what do you deduce from that?’
‘Why.... that the universe is incomprehensibly old and vast.’
‘Very good, Watson! Is there anything else though?’‘Uh, well, Holmes, yes, meteorologically speaking, I deduce that tomorrow will be slightly warmer than today with fine clear skies.’
‘Excellent, Watson! But is there anything else - perhaps more practical - that we can deduce immediately?’
‘Certainly Holmes. we can deduce from the position of the Great Bear that it is now a little after 3.00 a.m. Now what, may I ask, do you deduce, Holmes – and then please can we go back to sleep?’
‘Watson, you fool, the wind has blown our tent away!’
The joke is nicely philosophical because it says that understanding the world hinges on having first adopted the right kind of perspective. It’s a lesson that is also central to the success of many jokes. All Watson’s observations are logically ‘valid’ - but only Holmes’s deduction is useful.
The important distinction is not between ‘valid’ and ‘invalid’ arguments (which is a mathematical matter any fool or computer can be taught to recognise) but between ‘sound’ and ‘unsound’ ones - a difference which requires sensitivity to background knowledge and context. Yet how often do you hear people classifying positions as logical and illogical, as compared to sound and unsound? Logical language has the grandeur that we need jokes to provide an antidote to, to strip away the pretensions of those who offer sophisticated explanations for phenomena when simple ones will do. Philosophers beware!
Other chapters cover the role of political jokes in both Russia and the USA, whether women have a different sense of humour, why ANIMALS definitely do – and practical advice on stand-up from an expert.
Grab a copy!
THE ‘AH-HA!’ MOMENT - Direct from the publisher!
Or via Amazon THE ‘AH-HA!’ MOMENT
Comments
Post a Comment