Comments on: Laughter: A Scientific Investigation

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 21 Oct 2013 17:45:06 +0000

Widely Appealing/Useful Laughter Insight Despite not digging deeply into De Bono’s lateral thinking/humor etc texts (?perhaps a style thing), I am very glad to have read the seemingly similar-topic ‘Laughter’ by Provine. It’s not overstating to say that this book is probably relevant to all who deal with people (i.e. everyone)- addressing as it does conversations, relationships, family, mental & physical health, tickling fights (!), evolution, group dynamics, marketing and consumerism in the media and religion, and coaching performance.

By: Prof David T Wright

Prof David T Wright — Mon, 21 Oct 2013 17:32:57 +0000

A Breath of Fresh Air I have been reading, writing, and teaching about humor and laughter for over a decade, and this is one of the best books I have seen. The title is an accurate prediction of the book’s content: The approach blends the skepticism, humility, and freedom from biases that are the defining traits of the true scientist. Provine pursues laughter in its larger context of our history as a species rather than the usual context of the history of Western Thought. He is seeking what laughter actually is and does, not what the army of laughter promotors desire it to be and do. This is, in some ways, a book of questions – the right questions – that will generate productive research. Because Provine follows laughter everywhere it leads, the resulting presentation is wide ranging, taking the reader into a variety of fields that are rarely if ever addressed in the same volume. Although some of these fields (e.g., opera and brain disorders) are highly specialized and esoteric, Provine defines terms and provides background in a way that permits readers to accompany him into unfamiliar territory. This book belongs in the reference library of everyone whose vocation or avocation touches the study of laughter. I would also recommend this book for any thoughtful reader in pursuit of fresh insights. Although some parts may not be of interest to everyone, there is plenty of material about those accessible and universally-appealing topics of sex, power, and the gender wars.

By: R. Hardy "Rob Hardy"

R. Hardy "Rob Hardy" — Mon, 21 Oct 2013 17:09:40 +0000

No Laughing Matter Don't expect to get lots of laughs by just reading _Laughter: A Scientific Investigation_ (Viking) by Robert R. Provine. It's not merely that Provine is covering a serious subject. He is as good as his word: his book is a scientific investigation, and he is neuroscientist by profession who has done original research on laughter published in such non-newsstand rags as _Ethology_ and _Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society_. And it's not that Provine is an unentertaining, dour writer; he has a light touch, and good explicative skills, he is happy to share a joke, and his stories about some of the ways he has done experiments are funny. For instance, we can share his bemusement over his initial explorations of why people laugh; he got a group into a clinic and played them funny tapes. He failed to get anything but a few chuckles. It was his first demonstration that laughter was a social behavior, not a laboratory one. He went on to study people in social situations.