When people think of funny they often think of one thing: laughter. Laughter is the best medicine, other than drugs, and perhaps every other cure. It is a fact that the more you laugh, the better you feel. But is there any connection between laughter and funny bones? Have a look for a minute…
Humor is good for you, if it is natural, clean, and doesn’t result in any negative or unhealthy effects. Laughter can be infectious, so if you are having a good time with some friends, don’t turn your back on them, and keep cracking jokes and giving them good times, you may share the laughter and experience the instant relief from stress caused by a good laugh. Laughter can be contagious causing amusement or even laughter. Laughter is sometimes the best medicine, other than drugs, for those who suffer from serious mental health problems, such as depression, schizophrenia or post traumatic stress disorder.
So what is funny anyway? We all have a sense of humor, whether we consciously know it or not, and we find things funny whenever we see, hear, read, or feel something funny. Some cultures seem to have a sense of humor that is unique among human cultures, whereas other cultures may not have the same sense of humor, and so not have anything funny to share. What causes amusement and laughter then, in a sense that can be shared, or is there any connection between laughter and something funny?
Humor and its effect on the brain has been studied extensively. There seems to be a genetic component to humor, meaning that we inherit it from our parents and it carries on through many generations. It is said that if your mother was a funny woman, then your son will also be a funny man. I believe that genetics are involved, but there are other factors, such as life experiences, that can contribute to a person becoming funny.
The physical attractiveness factor cannot be ignored when discussing funny people. Physical attractiveness is one factor, but it does not affect the ability to be funny, only the way in which you are perceived by others. This is not to say that there is no link between physical attractiveness and a sense of humour, just that there may be different ways in which humour is attained. While a woman with a beautiful body can be humorous, she does not necessarily need to have a sense of humour to achieve it, nor do men without facial features that could make them a potential target for a humorous bone. Men are generally perceived as being funnier, even if they do not have inherently funny bone structure.
In conclusion, there is a link between humour and physical attractiveness, but it is not the sort of link that you would typically associate with a quality of humour that would be described as being humorous. Physical appearance cannot be used as a yardstick by which humour can be measured. The definition of a funny person is someone who can be seen as having an impaired sense of humour or a lack of self-deprecating wit; not necessarily someone with a large chin and wide open eyes. So if there is something that makes you laugh, you might want to think about what it is that makes you laugh. If there is not something that makes you laugh, there may well be something that makes others laugh. For me, the answer to the question ‘Does humour affect me?’ | is that I am happy if I can keep up a session of witty banter with a complete stranger and if I have nothing in common with that person, there is nothing funny about me.