What is humour? Why do we laugh? And why is the root of a good joke almost always error?
Good jokes, bad jokes, clever jokes, dad jokes - the desire to laugh is universal. But why do we find some gags hilarious, whilst others fall flat? Why does explaining a joke make it less amusing rather than more so? Why is laughter contagious, and why did it evolve in the first place?
Using the oldest jokes and the latest science, in The Comedy of Error, Professor Jonathan Silvertown investigates why we laugh: from laughter's evolutionary origins, to similarities and differences in humour across cultures, and even why being funny makes us sexier.
As this unique book demonstrates, understanding how humour really works can provide endless entertainment.
| ISBN: | 9781913348182 |
| Publication date: | 12th November 2020 |
| Author: | Jonathan W. Silvertown |
| Publisher: | Scribe UK an imprint of Scribe Publications Pty Ltd |
| Format: | Hardback |
| Pagination: | 192 pages |
| Genres: |
Humour Non-Fiction Social and cultural anthropology Evolution Neurosciences Popular philosophy Semantics, discourse analysis, stylistics Communication studies Social, group or collective psychology Psychology: emotions Cognition and cognitive psychology Popular Science |