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Uncertainty is at the heart of humor
An extreme form of uncertainty, is at the heart of humor. Without uncertainty, e.g., if you know a joke's punch line, you are unlikely to laugh at the joke. For example:
A couple, married eighty years, announced that they were divorcing.
A couple, married eighty years, announced that they were divorcing.
The wife's best friend said to her, "Gladys, you've been married for 80 years! Why, in hell ... divorce ... now?"
Gladys replied, "Things have been bad for a while, but we
decided to stay married, until after the chldren were dead.
How do you think this version would have worked?
A couple, married eighty years and in superb health, but with children who had severe medical conditions and only days to live, waited until the children died to announce that they were divorcing.
The wife's best friend said to her, "Gladys, you've been married for 80 years! Your children are dead. Why, in hell ... divorce ... now?"
Gladys replied, "Things have been bad for a while, but we decided
to stay married, until after the children were dead.
Everyone who goes to a comedy club is a risk lover.
At least 99% of financial theory assumes that investors are risk-averse--they hate risk. Articles that assume that investors are risk lovers, are intellectual curiosities.
However, the people who attend shows clubs at comedy clubs are a different breed. They love risk, and I can prove it. First, some background:
Stand-up comedy's a hard life. It's a lot harder if your audience knows the punch line, before you get to it. That's why the Rule #1 in telling a joke is:
1. Put the punch line at the end of the joke, and the punch word at the end of the punch line.
Now, pay careful attention, because here's the theorem:
Theorem: Everyone who goes to comedy club is a risk lover.
Assume for simplicity and without loss of generality that "uncertainty" equals "risk".
Definition: A person who prefers more risk to less risk is a risk lover.
Argument:
- Every joke that one remembers hearing, comes not as a surprise, so it is riskless.
- Every joke that one remembers hearing is also a bad joke, upon retelling.
- Every good joke is a new joke with a punch line that comes as a surprise.
- Everything that comes as a surprise is uncertain, so it is risky.
- Hence, a good joke is risky.
- Everyone in the audience of a comedy club, prefers a good joke to a bad joke.
- Hence, everyone in the audience of a comedy club prefers something that's risky to something that's riskless.
- Hence, everyone in the audience of a comedy club is a risk lover.
Q.E.D.
