Silly point

Demystifying humour is serious business. After all the funny bone can be seen literally as the humerus whose medial epicondyle when poked is notoriously prone to make us jump. Or it can be contemplated as that metaphoric osseous strand within us that prompts at least a chuckle when thrummed. But figuring out how exactly the latter happens is no joking matter.

What makes cartoons funny? Why do we like bawdy lines? Are Sardarjis inherently hilarious or does their ability to laugh at themselves make us want to smile? Is humour just a question of looking at life through a cracked window? If Sigmund Freud is to be believed, feelings of superiority or incongruity provoke humour; Mark Twain, however, thought sorrow and not joy is the core impetus — a belief that lies at the heart of the sad clown.

So far, that funny bone has eluded dissection and analysis. Now researchers at the University of Colorado-Boulder claim to have homed in on three criteria for funniness: situations or narratives that underline incongruity (thumbing a figurative nose at social or moral mores), are benign and are also reconcilable. In other words, if it sounds unreal, won’t harm anyone or lead to some real repercussions, we don’t mind seeing the rum side of most things. They say that’s why rude behaviour in TV comedies, slapstick fisticuffs and a host of patently impossible situations evoke as many giggles as pure clowning around.

But the funny thing is, humour doesn’t always travel well because cross-cultural perceptions diverge dangerously on what is offensive and incongruous; and today’s hyper-connectivity means hyper-sensitivity has to be factored in. Little wonder then that the humerus often becomes a bone of contention instead of cachinnation.