Amirlikestotellhisaudiences–
andoccasionallyhisstudents– that
hisdreamistobecomea“profes-
sionalcomedianandanamateur
neurosurgeon”.(“ThatwayI could
cutupbrainsforfun!”)Infact,he
hasalreadymanagedtocombine
theseseeminglyunrelatedpassions.
Amirisoneoftheleadingresearch-
ersstudyingthewaythebraincre-
atesandunderstandshumour.
Unlessyouhappentobe
aneuroscientistwho
moonlights as a
stand-up,thatspe-
cialtymightseem
trivialcompared
withotherfields
of cognition.
Butthequestion
of why we find
thingsfunnyhas
fascinatedphiloso-
phersforcenturies.
Thisisa particularlyex-
citingtimeforAmirandhisfellow
humourresearchers.Ithasbeen
onlyinthepastfewyearsthatscan-
ningtechnologies,suchasfunctional
magneticresonanceimaging(f MRI),
haveletusseehowthebrainworks
whenitisprocessinginformation.It
turnsoutthatjoking,longdismissed
bysomeasafrivolousdiversion
fromtheseriousbusinessofreality,
maymakeussmarterandhealthier.
Thereisevensomeevidencethata
senseofhumourhelps the human
species survive.B
y day, Ori Amir is a
mild-mannered30-some-
thinguniversityprofes-
sor.Heteachesunder-
graduatepsychologyand
neuroscience classes,
conductssophisticatedresearchinto
howthebrainfunctions,andkeeps
normalofficehoursontheleafycam-
pusofPomonaCollegeinSouthern
California.
Buthisstudentsaren’t
fooled.They’veseen
theYouTubevide-
os,the onesthat
document his
not-so-secret
otherlife.Inone
ofthem,Amiris
grippinga micro-
phoneandstand-
ingcentrestagein
a1400-seattheatre
wearinga stripedrug-
byshirt,fadedbluejeans,
batteredconstructionbootsanda
ridiculouslyshagg ywhitefurcoat.
It’sthesecondnightoftheGlendale
LaughsComedyFestival,andAmir
isgrinningbroadlyattheaudience
throughhisamplebeard,looking
likea crazed1.9metrered-headed
FozzieBear.
“Asyoucantellbymyaccent,I’m
a neuroscientist,”saysAmir.“They
telltheprofessorswhereI workto
dress‘businesscasual’.Thisisthe
bestI cando.Mywardroberanges
fromverycasualto inappropriate.”READER’S DIGESTAmirlikestotellhis
audiencesthathis
dreamistobecomea
professionalcomedian
andanamateur
neurosurgeonPREVIOUS SPREAD: MOLLY RICHARDSON (PHOTO ILLUSTRATION), MATTHEW COHEN (GLASSES), ERIC ISSELEE/SHUTTERSTOCK (OWL)32 April 2020