Ja: La ciencia de cuándo reímos y por qué

by Scott Weems

Humor, like pornography, is famously difficult to define. We know it when we see it, but is there any way to figure out what we really find funny? In this fascinating investigation into the science of humor and laughter, neuroscientist Scott Weems uncovers what’s happening in our heads when we giggle, guffaw, or double over with laughter. Beginning with the premise that humor arises from inner conflict in the brain, Weems explores such issues as why surprise is so important for humor, why computers are terrible at recognizing what’s funny, and why cringe-worthy stereotypes make us laugh the hardest. From the role of insult jokes to the benefit of laughing for our immune system responses, Ha! reveals why humor is so idiosyncratic, and why how-to books alone will never help us become funnier people. Packed with the latest research, amusing anecdotes (and even a few jokes), Ha! is a delightful tour of why humor is so important to our daily lives.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Humor, Psychology, Comedy, Neuroscience, Audiobook

Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Scott Weems’s career began as an officer in the U.S. Coast Guard, where he served as communications officer onboard the USCGC YOCONA in Kodiak, Alaska. His travels then took him to New Orleans, Boston, Los Angeles, Annapolis, and Little Rock, earning graduate degrees in psychology, education, and creative writing along the way.

He also has a Ph.D. in cognitive neuroscience from U.C.L.A. and once made a little girl cry by telling her that some people go to school until the 26th grade.

In his spare time he whitewater kayaks and plays golf, and occasionally writes about himself in the third person.

Reviews

[Brigid Keely · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Ha!: The Science of When We Laugh and Why," by Scott Weems, is a look at the reasons humans (and rats) have a sense of humor and laugh at things. What causes the laughter? Why do we do it? What are the benefits? Sadly, it's pretty slow paced, Weems doesn't seem to have a handle on the specifics of why certain jokes are considered funny, and in the parts that I read has chosen to focus only on male comedians... all of whom have made their careers denigrating women & other minorities.

Two examples of jokes he included in the book include:

1) a cartoon showing a smiling man raking leaves while a "buxom woman" is tied to a tree. According to the text, people who don't find this funny are overly anxious, possibly schizophrenic, and afraid of being bound. To me, this sort of "joke" isn't funny because firstly it doesn't make sense. Why is the woman tied up? I mean, other than the idea that women should be passive (and silent) and deserve being bound? Why is the woman tied up while the man does yard work? How does she feel about being tied up? It reminded me of all the other "jokes" (including the peace on earth/silent night christmas cards including bound and gagged women) that emphasize that women should be silent and passive, that their voices are unwanted, that their agency is not desirable.

2) a "young, pretty" woman answers the door to find "a patient" of "her doctor husband" who hoarsely asks her if the doctor's home. She says no, then invites him in. The unstated punchline is that she wants to fuck the guy, but it ONLY works as a "joke" if you accept the idea that women are unfaithful sluts who fuck strangers/have constant affairs behind their (successful, hard working) husbands' backs. If you don't accept that as a baseline, you have a woman inviting a sick person into her home... to wait for his doctor to return to treat his illness.

Other jokes in the book include how stupid fat women are and how husbands/fathers hate their wives/children and would rather they be dead than have to listen to them.

Weems mentions a series of stand up comedians, all male, all of whom base part or all of their career on how awful women are and how much they hate them. Oh, how hilarious! How very edgy! They just say what everyone is thinking, in a socially acceptable and violent way! Wouldn't it be great if you could just punch sluts right in the face? Dang, black people don't tip, what's up with THAT???? Lol having sex with a fat woman is just like bestiality! How many times can I say fag while claiming to not be homophobic but threatening to hurt/kill "fags"? Weems doesn't touch at all, at least in the parts I read, on how much of comedy and jokes is in-group bonding, emphasizing what the group has in common (hatred of women, hatred of black people/Jews, hatred of gay people, etc). Based on the comedians, and the jokes, he selects for display it's really clear what in-group he's part of and what he considers acceptable.

The writing is also just... not very tight. Mary Roach, to give one example, is a much better pop sci author. Her writing is bright and fast paced and personal, but backed by facts and science. Weems' writing is... not so much, especially when he jams in personal anecdotes.

I saw this book mentioned on "Star Talk" and was interested in it. Unfortunately it doesn't live up to what it could have been and I got tired of being shown just how little the author cares for women. If you asked him I'm sure he'd say he's not misogynist and point to his mom, wife, female friends, etc as proof. But I wonder how many women he works with, how many younger women he's mentored, and why he thinks so. many. jokes. about how shitty women are were acceptable in this book or why it was acceptable to only mention male comedians.

Mention of Tig Notaro would have been great. Margaret Cho. Wanda Sykes. Gilda Radner. Kristen Schaal. Joan Rivers. The world, including the world of comedy, does not start and end with dudes standing around and reinforcing the status quo.

[Nathaniel Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a tremendous reader of pop-science books, and I flatter myself that I can usually spot the differences between the ones that take the science seriously (Ramachandran, Sacks, and even Mary Roach, for all her winking and nudging) and the others (*coughcoughGladwellcough*) that take a couple of possibly interesting points and then inflate them until they flail and flop like those dancing wind-sock puppets outside of car dealerships. Ha!, I'm happy to report, is solidly in the former camp. Relatively light, almost no math or complicated terminology, and entertainingly written, it makes a nice overview of the quirks of the human laughter response. It hit all the points I expected (I read a *lot* of pop-neurology, so most of this is familiar ground for me) and made a couple of connections and conjectures that were new to me but seemed at least plausible (with the caveat, of course, that IANAN: I Am Not a Neurosurgeon).

I recommend this book if you're interested in the topic (or think you might be). It might even be worth a purchase for entertainment/learning value. (I reread Mary Roach's books every few years, for instance.)

Unfortunately, books that are good tend to lead to short reviews. Take it as a compliment, if you're out there, Mr. Weems.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected more...more evidence-based research and less social commentary and stories and jokes. I didn't need the jokes.

[د.أمجد الجنباز · Rating 5 out of 5]

يتحدث الكتاب عن الاساس للضحك والنكتة والفكاهة
وسببها وكيف تحدث ولماذا تجعلنا نضحك
الكتاب يركز على الاساس العلمي، وليس على كيفية صنع النكتة والفكاهة

["Nico" · Rating 1 out of 5]

The author regularly draws conclusions that don't follow from the studies he cites, has nothing but apologia for racist and ableist jokes, confuses irreverent jokes with subversive humor, and makes no mention of the insula on the topic of disgust even in his apologetics of "filthy foreigner" jokes. It's bad science.

[Karla Baldeon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review on Spanish.
Mi idea preconcebida al empezar el libro es que el humor es bastante particular a varios sistemas contextuales de cada sujeto. Y este libro lo confirmó, claro.
Pero existen otros puntos de importancia que este estudio sacó a colación, como lo beneficioso para la salud, desarrollo de la inteligencia y adquisición de conocimientos que nos da el humor cuando lo sabemos enfocar. Y la satisfacción química neuronal que nos produce tampoco es nada para menospreciar.
Así que, queridos amigos, rían, rían. Los vuelve más inteligentes, más sanos y más atentos a aprender. Todas excelentes razones para considerarlo imprescindible en nuestras vidas.

Video reseña:
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CQ_6ym5B...

[Mark York · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book summarized a lot of psychology on humor and why we laugh. It also discussed the history of humor in our society and standup comedy. I felt that it was a collection of facts and anecdotes that lacked a clearly-developed thesis or takeaway message. Still, it was worth the read, especially if you want to understand humor.

[Art · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book synthesizes current scientific research on humor, which continues to emerge, according to the author, a cognitive neuroscientist.

By age ten, humor correlates with IQ. Keeping a funny outlook is the best way to stay cognitively sharp.

Fun conclusions throughout the book: Common sense walks, humor dances. … A humorous attitude signifies an engaged mind. … People who are quick to laugh are quick to forget stressful experiences. … Because the human brain can hold two or more opposing ideas at the same, it often resolves the apparent conflicts with humor, which recognizes the incongruities. … Humor is a psychological coping mechanism for a life full of absurdities and ambiguities. …

Among the many strands of study in this field, one found that liberals adapt easily to complexities and contradictions, while another suggested that the more people dislike nonsense, the more conservative their views.

A well-known story of humor therapy, retold here: In 1964, Norman Cousins received a tough diagnosis. Rather than going down the institutional hospital path to recovery, he checked into a hotel that cost a third of what the hospital charged. Cousins controlled his own medical destiny, in part, by watching funny movies and laughing himself to health. Dopamine and endorphins came to the rescue. Head First: The Biology of Hope and the Healing Power of the Human Spirit, which followed this: Anatomy of an Illness as Perceived by the Patient.

Now, fifty years later, many hospitals include humor therapy as part of the recovery. Laughter deceases stiffness and reduces blood flow. Funny humor can reduce pain with fewer drugs or smaller doses.

A fun book, but not a funny one, per se, although jokes serve as examples of humor in all flavors. This book studies humor more than laughter, despite the subtitle. The Library of Congress catalogued this book under humor, therapeutic. Twenty pages of friendly notes. A solid four stars.

NPR Books struck my funny bone when the author interview aired in March: http://www.npr.org/books/titles/28725... … which led to this NYTimes blog: http://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/well/...

My sister and I come from a fun family. Dad was the silly jokester and funny party guy, my mother the eternal optimist.

When my sister began her practice as a social worker, she wanted to become a humor therapist. We all took an interest in her work with the humor-impaired. As it turned, not everyone wants to laugh or see the bright side at difficult moments in their lives. She started adding other techniques.

I, however, was the class clown, By the time theater class came along in my large high school, I excelled at comedy — improv, in particular. Maybe I should have stuck with that. Oh, well. This book reinforces the value of a funny and positive attitude toward life.

[Don · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perhaps the author wrote about a boring subject in an interesting way. Or perhaps the author wrote about an interesting subject in a boring way. Whatever the case, I found the book mostly boring.

[Arensb · Rating 3 out of 5]

For starters, note that this is not a funny book, it's a book about what's funny; if you want to laugh, try the humor section at the library. And it won't make you a funnier comedian, except maybe a little bit by accident; if that's what you want, find a workshop at a comedy club. This isn't what Weems is trying to do: rather, as the subtitle says, this is a science book, about this strange thing called humor: what is it? Why do humans find it enjoyable? How did it arise in the first place?
These are deep questions about a complex topic, and Weems gives us an idea of the scope of the problem: "humor" encompasses everything from slapstick and knock-knock jokes, to Jon Stewart's political commentary and Lenny Bruce's rambling monologues.
Crucially, Weems asks us to distinguish between laughter, a noise we make with our mouths, and mirth, the mental state of being amused by something funny. The two are related, but distinct. And unfortunately, researchers have devoted a lot more attention to laughter than to mirth, because it's infinitely easier to measure.
The book gives some insight as to what goes on in the brain when we get a joke: it involves parts of the brain that are involved in conflict resolution; not surprising, since humor usually involves misdirection and having to make sense of absurd premises. It also involves some of the same areas stimulated by heroin; again, not surprising, since mirth gives us pleasure. It points out that "sense of humor" is not a single thing, but a collection of things: the ability to recognize that something is funny is not the same as recognizing why it is funny, is not the same as being able to come up with something funny.

Unfortunately, the book is also a bit scattershot and disorganized. At times, Weems seems to forget the distinction he drew between laughter and mirth, and treats the two as equivalent. And the book strays into areas that seem only tangentially related to the core subject, such as the health benefits of laughter (or is it mirth?). Some of the research he cites seems rather tentative (e.g., experiments that were performed on a small number of subjects, and not replicated).
But more disappointingly, to me, the book feels disjointed: there doesn't seem to be much attempt to bring the different aspects of humor together into a single overarching theory, or at least an attempt to figure out what such a theory would look like. Weems presents us neurological research, and psychological research, and sociological research, but it's not clear to me how these different lines of inquiry help each other.

Some day, I'd like to find a pop-science book that explains humor, and if it can't do that, at least gives a good overview of where things stand. While Weems has made a game attempt at this, I'm afraid it falls short of the mark.

[Daniel Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Here, neuroscientist Scott Weems seeks to uncover the science behind humor—why we laugh and so on. In his words, "Ha! is about an idea. The idea is that humor and its most common symptom—laughter—are by-products of posesssing brains which rely on conflict."
The book has three broad sections:
- What is humor? ("what makes us laugh, how do our brains turn conflict into pleasure")
- What is humor for? ("what purpose does humor serve, and what does it say about who we really are?")
- So what? ("why should we care . . . and how does it influence our physical, psychological, and social well-being?")

There is some value here. He brings up some interesting points, insights into how the brain works, and ideas or arguments that merit contemplation. His references to other studies is helpful for those interesting in further reading (at times, this felt more like a survey on humor studies as a result). Ultimately, though, I was disappointed for a host of reasons:
- Many of his claims take on more of an absolute or constant nature than I felt warranted. In most cases, qualifiers would have made his arguments more tenable.
- It was replete with judgment calls and value statements paraded as absolute or objective truths.
- The book is packed with logical non sequiturs—conclusions that do not follow from the observations or arguments presented.
- In some places, statements are flat-out wrong.
- He does well to cite numerous studies, but they, too, appear (given the summary shared with us) to have dubious elements with some of their methodologies and/or conclusions.
- In places, he appears to contradict himself with statements on the subjectivity and complexity of the topic, betraying the 'conclusive' studies or 'objective' claims he had made earlier.

I don't think he (or the researchers he cites) are idiots; I think they are fumbling around as they try to bring scientific rigor to a topic with a tremendous amount of variables and judgment calls.

So there is some value here, but in the end, this is neither a conclusive nor scientific work.

[Sergio GRANDE · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite the name “Ha! – The Science of Why We Laugh and Why”, half of this book deals with the subject of humour which is not necessarily the only causal of laughter, as the author tells us.

Be warned, it’s a good read but it’s brimming with scientific research and a few circular arguments. But in short, we laugh mainly as a result of a self-administered rush of dopamine, which is also generated while we laugh.

Confused? Read the book.

And remember that laughing is healthy. Scientifically proven.

[Juan Fuentes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lo mejor, las anécdotas, porque la parte de divulgación muy flojita.

https://liblit.com/scott-weems-ja-la-...

[Mullmuzzler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uno de los libros más interesantes que he leído sobre el cerebro humano, el fascinante estudio que realizó el Neurocientífico Cognitivo sobre el humor Scott Weems, la risa y su funcionamiento en los seres humanos. El autor narra con maestría y de una forma muy dinámica y entretenida muchos de los estudios realizados sobre este tema que pocas veces se aborda de manera científica. En su mayor parte el libro relata muchos de los experimentos realizados a través de los años para entender cómo el humor está vinculado a la vida humana (y sorprendentemente también en algunos casos a la vida animal), estableciendo relaciones y patrones de análisis que llevan al autor a llegar a conclusiones valiosas sobre la importancia de la risa a nivel tanto individual como social. Todo el libro es muy entretenido y por momentos está lleno de humor (valga la redundancia con el tema en sí mismo), en cada capítulo se tiene una extensa documentación y referencias a toda la investigación realizada lo que sustenta de manera palpable el extenuante trabajo realizado por el autor quien a pesar de lo complejo del tema siempre lo explica de una manera simple y sencilla para el público en general. Es sorprendente encontrar que la risa tiene efectos medicinales, intelectuales y pedagógicos que pueden ayudar a las personas en todas las etapas de la vida pero también se observa que es un ejercicio y entrenamiento mental el cual conviene fomentar ya que al igual que el ejercicio físico se puede perder la condición si no se realiza de forma constante. Este libro es una joya oculta que vale mucho la pena leer y sorprenderse con cada hallazgo encontrado por el autor.

[Ashley Lambert-Maberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable read, and (despite the title, which makes it clear) slightly more scientific than I was expecting. I quibble with some of the author's phrasing, I think, more than his conclusions/insights (an example: there's a picture of a cat beside a litter box, and his owner says "Never, ever, think outside the box." ... according to Weems, we're not supposed to laugh because a dumb owner is talking to a cat who can't understand, we're supposed to laugh because the man's warning the cat against being inappropriately creative. No, we're supposed to laugh because in this case "thinking outside of the box" literally means the cat would do its business in the wrong place. This happens a few times, and it's derailing).

(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s).

[Alana Seymour · Rating 2 out of 5]

While there were some insights in this book that were interesting, it was more Freudian than I thought it would be, and I wasn't sure if I totally bought all of it. Additionally, after reading so many Malcolm Gladwell-esque books, I felt like the storytelling here fell flat in comparison. There definitely could've been more compelling ways for him to get his point across (but I'm not necessarily saying humor, since I know he prefaces the book with the explanation that books about humor aren't always funny themselves).

In any case, I do like the idea that smarter people are funnier. Have I mentioned I'm hilarious? Kidding.

Anyway, hopefully there appears another book about humor that is more gripping.

[Tim Oldakowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't say enough good things about this book. While I don't study neuroscience...or any science for that matter...I found this book accessible in explaining, well, "when we laugh and why." I cannot wait to teach this in my Critical Reading class next spring. This is not a how-to book. You won't become funnier from reading it, nor will you be prepared to do stand up...but you will come away with an understanding of the importance and value of humor. Many times in my life I've been told that I'm not as funny as I think I am, or that I need to be more serious. And for the first time in my life I have scientific support to show that this is not the case. A terrific, terrific book!

[Isra · Rating 5 out of 5]

La verdad es que es muy recomendado, esta es una invitación a todos ellos que se animen a leerlo, no perderán nada. Es que es un gran libro. Tal y como explica, no es un manual para hacer chistes... Simplemente es un libro que te explica toda la ciencia que se encuentra tras el motivo de la risa y por qué nos reímos de los chistes. Es un libro asombroso, liviano y a su vez entretenido. Para la búsqueda científica que tenía sobre el humor, aclaró muchas dudas y logró hacer que comprenda gran parte de este mundo. Gran libro de principio a fin.

[Mixter Mank · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read Robert Provine's LAUGHTER and Peter McGraw and Joel Warner's THE HUMOR CODE, I conclude that Scott Weems's HA! is the best of the three. Content-wise, there's a lot of overlap between them, but Weems is more direct in his methods, with little allegiance to any one theory of humor. It's the best-written, and, better still, there's little to no attempt at humor in the writing. (Leave that to the comedians!)

[Almudena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un buen libro sobre un tema muy interesante.
La pega: a veces el autor se limita a citar o describir estudios que aparentan, incluso, ser contradictorios entre sí. El resultado es una especie de popourri donde no queda claro cuál es el criterio del autor, o la calidad de dichos estudios. Tratándose de un tema complejo, las contradicciones no son necesariamente algo negativo. Pero, en ocasiones, da la sensación de que nadie lleva el timón del libro.

Interesante en cualquier caso.

[Cassandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

A priest a rabbi and a monk walk into a bar. The bartender says, "What is this? A joke?" This book was a pleasure. I really enjoyed learning about humor and the jokes sprinkled throughout the narrative. It had weak moments for me, particularly discussing gender differences, but picks up again towards the end. The book covers a lot of inconclusive research on humor and its effects. It's most strong when discussing the anatomy of a joke.

[Stephen Bouren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ultimately the book was a snoozefest. I listened to the audiobook, which employed a dude with what sounded like a computer-generated voice to perform it, so that certainly didn't help. I was hoping for a Mary Roach or Bill Bryson like look at the topic, but Weems comes nowhere close that level. He also inserts weird personal commentary/opinions a few times in the book, which were not at all welcome.

[Nilendu Misra · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of those hidden gems. Purchased this book many years ago from a used book sale. Today, just happened to start browsing it. Extremely well written - lucid, good metaphors and not overly fluffy for such a pop-science books. Especially the description of brain activities to resolve ambiguity, generate insights and reward with dopamine are likely the best in this very competitive, and crowded, sub-space. Laughter was very well dissected and yet did not die like a frog would.

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book, with lots of laughs, as you might expect. However
, the real purpose was analysis of humor. For instance, what is it that makes us laugh and what does laughing do for us. One note, “”it is hard to be in a bad mood when you are laughing. “ Also humorous presentations help people learn better. Another plus, I just liked the way he presented , as if in a conversation.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read. Gives you a different perspective on the many forms of humor and how it is delivered. Loved the first and second chapter discussing mostly the neuroscience behide the mechanisms of laugher because thats really my peak interest. But, the rest of the book really is less in depth with "dopamine" and more intriguing with evidence based laughter/humor studies conducted and their results.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall the science behind this was pretty good, but I found the focus on stand-up comedy to be too heavy. I was looking for a more well-rounded explanation of all the situations in life in which humans find things funny, and the tropes of stand-up are only a small snippet of that. Anyone know a book that has what I'm looking for?

[Duchess_Nimue · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not connect with the author. At all. The sentences that perfectly describes the book for me is: My wife cries a lot. Or a normal amount for a woman her age. What is that supposed to me? That's not funny.

[Richard Edbury · Rating 4 out of 5]

Won't make you funny in of itself, and is rarely funny. This sounds damning but the book is actually pretty interesting, it covers the science behind humor in a fairly enjoyable way. This is something I would recommend reading if you care about being funny, just not the first book to read.

[Jason Cady · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was published the same year as The Humor Code and strangely they cover a lot of the same ground. I read this right after finishing The Humor Code, so I did not enjoy Ha! as much as I would have otherwise.

[Sebastian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read about 75 to 80%. Fantastic exploration of the complexities and insight from decades of research on the complex neurology of humor. Petered off towards the end because the perspective shifted towards how to be funnier or write funnier, which is less interesting to me personally.