“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 fe-
males desire their potential mates
to be bright. How do we know that
someone’s intelligent?” In Western
cultures, at least, it’s often by the
person’s sense of humour.Becausecreatingandappreciating
jokes requireustomakeconnections
betweenmanydiscretepiecesofin-
formation,havinga senseofhumour
demonstratesthatwepossessa wide
breadthofknowledgeandthatwe
know howtothinkaboutitinnovel
and innovativeways.
A studyof 400 universitystudentsQuestion everything
Let the absurdities of
ever yday life be your
muse. Jerry Seinfeld
made his career
wondering, “Why does
this happen?” For
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. To
get their juices flowing,
they move: “Dickens and
Hugo were avid walkers
during ideation; Burns
often composed while
‘holding the plough’;
Twain paced madly
while dictating;
Goethe composed
on horseback;
Mozart preferred
the back of a
carriage.”Don’t worry, be happy
The myth of the morose
comic notwithstanding,
happy people are funnier,
say Austrian researchers.
“Increased depression is
associated with greater
problems in the use of
humour to cope with
stressful events.”
Fortunately, humour 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,”
says comedian Demetri
Martin. Example: “The
worst time to have a heart
attack is during a gameof
charades.”Surpriseswork
“Leadtheaudienceto
assumeonething,then
surprisethemwith
somethingdifferent,”
comedycoachJerry
Corleywriteson
standupcomedyclinic.
com.Example:“Never
sayanythingbadabouta
manuntilyou’vewalked
a mileinhisshoes.By
thenhe’sa mileaway,
you’vegothisshoes,and
youcansaywhateveryou
want.”Goeasyonyourself
If you’vetriedthesetips
andtheroomstillisn’t
eruptingintolaughter
everytimeyouopenyour
mouth,fearnot!While
creatinghumour
exercisesyourbrainthe
most,simplyappreciating
a goodjokeora funny
storybringswithit ample
benefitsforyourhealth.PHOTOGRAPH BY MIQUEL GONZALEZ
39
Laugh Yourself Smarter