WARNING: Humor may be hazardous to your illness.

Several months ago I was asked to be a guest contributer on a friends blog. I asked him what he wanted me to write on and he said I could write on whatever I wanted. So, I chose to write about humor. I have decided to add that post to my blog in order to preserve it. Here it is:

Not many people see humor as an art, but I do. I think having the ability to make people 

laugh is an expression or application of human creative skill and imagination. Being able to respond pointedly and skillfully with wit or humor in a conversational exchange is something that most people wish they could do, including myself. I have found that there are a few simple and basic rules which govern the world of humor. As we all know, having a sense of humor is having the ability to perceive what is comical in a situation while expressing it in a way that makes it possible for others to see or feel the same thing. Humor is based on the audience's understanding, perception and interpretation. This means that if nobody understands, humor is lost. These basic rules are what keep funny people funny, and not-so-funny people quiet.

I think everyone has the ability to make people laugh. A guy named Doug Larson once said that "a pun is the lowest form of humor." Puns can be learned and used in almost any situation and by almost anybody. But don't be fooled, by definition, a pun really isn't a pun unless it is deliberate. When it is not intentional it is called a malapropism. What makes this so interesting is the fact that most people claim their puns to be accidental. What does this mean? It means that every time someone tells you "no pun intended," either they are lying, or it wasn't really a pun, but a malapropism.
Now, everybody knows that it is repugnant when somebody laughs at their own joke. This leads me to believe that the best kind of humor comes dry. The most ideal kind of dry humor would probably be "deadpan" humor. Deadpan humor is a type of non-comedic delivery in which humor is presented without a change in emotion or facial expression. The ones who can make people laugh without laughing themselves are the ones who rule the realm of comedy. Mark Twain was quoted as saying: "The humorous story is told gravely; the teller does his best to conceal the fact that he even dimly suspects that there is anything funny about it."

Just for the record, laughter isn't significant because of the internal exercise that it provides for a person, but because of the mood created in which the other positive emotions come out.

-Jacob Parry