“There’s a gigantic study,” Bieder-
man notes, “that’s been done in
38 cultures. It turns out that in every
culture, both males and females de-
sire their potential mates to be bright.
But we don’t have our IQs tattooed on
our forehead. How do we know that
someone’s intelligent?” In Western
cultures, at least, it’s often by the per-
son’s sense of humor.
Because creating and appreciating
jokes both require us to make connec-
tions between many discrete pieces of
information, having a sense of humor
demonstrates that we possess a wide
breadth of knowledge and that wequestion everything.Let the absurdities
of everyday life be your muse. Jerry
Seinfeld made his career wondering
“Why does this happen?” Example: “Why
does moisture ruin leather? Aren’t cows
outside a lot of the time?”
get the blood flowing.Funny people
tend to be more creative, according to
brainpickings.org, and to get their juices
flowing, creative types get moving: “Dick-
ens and Hugo were avid walkers during
ideation; Burns often composed while
‘holding the plough’; Twain paced madly
while dictating; Goethe and Scott com-
posed on horseback; Mozart preferred the
back of a carriage.” He might have also
liked this gag: Why couldn’t Mozart find
his teacher? Because he was Haydn.
don’t worry, be happy.The
myth of the morose comic not-
withstanding, happy people
are funnier, say researchers in
Austria. “Increased depres-
sion,” they write, is “associ-
ated with greater problems
in the use of humor to cope with
stressful events.” Fortunately, good hu-
mor can be contagious. The researchers
also found that cheerful people tend
to laugh more, which can help you feel
funnier, even if you are prone to telling
corny jokes such as this: Which side of a
duck has the most feathers? The outside.make it snappy.“My building blocks
are little jokes and short ideas,” explains
comedian Demetri Martin. Example:
“The worst time to have a heart attack
is during a game of charades.”surprises work! “Lead the audience to
assume one thing, then surprise them
with something different,” comedy coach
Jerry Corley writes on standupcomedy
clinic.com. Example: “Never say anything
bad about a man until you’ve walked
a mile in his shoes. By then he’s a mile
away, you’ve got his shoes, and you can
say whatever you want.”go easy on yourself. If you’ve tried
these tips and the room still isn’t erupt-
ing into laughter every time you open
your mouth, fear not! While creating
humor exercises your brain the most,
simply appreciating a good joke or a
funny story brings with it ample benefits
for your health.Genius Specialrd.com 63