This made me think hard, I admit. What makes a statement, an act, or even a meme a joke? Sometimes, we just seem to know and find it amusing, hence the laughter.
Psychologist, neuroscientist, and philosophers are trying to figure out which aspects of a joke or a situation makes them funny.
There are various theories, for example, a theory proposes that people find amusement in the misfortunes of others.
Perhaps the oldest theory of humor, which dates back to Plato and other ancient Greek philosophers, posits that people find humor in, and laugh at, earlier versions of themselves and the misfortunes of others because of feeling superior.
They also thought that laughter may have evolved to improve societal connections.
There are a lot of theories discussed, however, there are still unanswered questions such as:
Why does our appreciation of humor and enjoyment change depending on our mood or other situational conditions?”
The question of what humor is may be answered years from now. There are more theories explained in the article over at Scientific American.
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