LIFE WITH A CAPITAL 'L' Chapter SIX, "LAUGHING" sec THREE

Chapter SIX, sec. THREE  Prize Surprise

Arthur Schopenhauer, of the early nineteenth century and another of those interminable philosophers, said correctly that laughter occurs when we recognize incongruity. Good. But then at the close of the nineteenth century and before Darwin because the star of such things, evolutionist Herbert Spencer proposed that incongruity fostered a downward movement. The “conscious is unawares transferred from great things to small,” he stated. That, I suppose, seemed not funny to a social evolutionist. Not good. But at least incongruity, things out of keeping, out of place, or out of agreement,got recognized as that which tickles us. It makes us laugh. It distracts us from “great” things.

Freud tossed a psychological faggot or two onto the crackling discussion. Other than my knowing that the German diphthong theory breaks down in the pronunciation of his name, I know little about Freud. Still, I thank him for noticing that humour grants relief from unpleasant emotions and that it is among the most important human emotional defenses. There is no question but that pressures of real life require a defense or two. It is a fine thing to learn that laughter nearly always accompanies humour, and that both prove psychologically and physiologically good for us. 

But humour does not have to accompany laughter. Only an element of surprise, massive or minuscule, does. We laugh when our minds or emotions are snoozing, when the incongruous strikes our thinking. Whether it is something we see, hear, taste, touch, or smell, if that somethingis unexpected even to a slight degree, we are inclined to laugh. And laugh we do. Laugh we must, to be authentic, to be real. We must prize surprise, for from it we gain blips and basketsful of joyous reprieve. Please, turn the page to see what I saw recently.

“This Page Intentionally Left Blank”

I hope you smiled some as you puzzled over the page you just turned. Only yesterday I came upon three pages like it as I scanned a financial report. The report proved generally boring, full of figures I failed to understand. But, when I came to those “blank” pages, I cracked up. Maybe practiced readers of boring reports expect such things but they completely surprised me. I enjoyed the incongruity so much I saved a page. 

Having to tell a reader not to worry about a blank page, that’s good. The report compliers probably felt as I did in chapter five, “If you write us, do not write asking about this. The page is intentionally blank.” But best, of course, is that the page is notblank. Ludicrous? Yes. Incongruous? Yes. Funny? At least to me. Maybe all reports should required their monotony broken with an occasional un-blank blank page, a “Far Side” cartoon, a Dave Barry or P.J. O’Rourke quote. 

Surprise! Laughter. Ah, such a pleasant reprieve.

Real people laugh a lot, but that may be among the hardest lessons for conscientious people to learn. They so seriously approach life, after all. Perhaps we all need reminding that conscientious people are not necessarily authentic people. Any of us can conscientiously commit to artificial behavior, to inappropriate attitudes, or to uncalled for sobriety. Real people laugh a lot because they have learned three hard lessons. They know that:

·      We all make major and minor mistakes worth laughing at

·      Things we hold dear are worthy of laughter

·      Our selves are significant, but also hilarious

COMING UP: SURPRISE: REAL PEOPLE MAKE MISTAKES