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In his article, Giovanni Sabato mentions several possible explanations for what humans consider funny. The first is “superiority and relief”. This idea, which dates back to Plato and other Greek philosophers, is the idea that “people find humor in, and laugh at, earlier versions of themselves and the misfortunes of others because of feeling superior”. Later, the theory of “release” emerged. Freud popularized this idea that we laugh to release “pent-up nervous energy”. Another theory, which aligns with the deadpan discussion above, is that “people laugh at the juxtaposition of incompatible concepts and at defiance of their expectations”.
The explanations above raise valid points, but they leave too many holes when trying to explain humor scientifically. It would be impossible to accurately test these hypotheses, and they do not account for all types of humor. A more recent theory came from the 2011 book Inside Jokes: Using Humor to Reverse-Engineer the Mind by Matthew M. Hurley. Hurley’s theory is that “people derive amusement from finding discrepancies between expectations and reality when the discrepancies are harmless, and this pleasure keeps us looking for such discrepancies”. “Moreover, laughter is a public sign of our ability to recognize discrepancies. It is a sign that elevates our social status and allows us to attract reproductive partners.” Yet, psychologists were not satiated by this explanation either. As a review of the book mentioned, “Why does our appreciation of humor and enjoyment change depending on our mood or other situational conditions?”
While scientists still have not agreed on a clear answer of what causes us to find things humorous, that’s no reason to stop yourself from laughing at harmless, inexplicably funny photos. If this list prompted you to say “hmmm” or scrunch your eyebrows, be sure to upvote the images you found the most bewildering. Feel free to sit in your confusion, and let your imagination wonder how these images came to be. Then let us know in the comments which pictures you found the most intriguing!
