filter icon   The Filtering Traits   filter icon

Jul 2, 2018
The Humor Personality Spectrum Tapestry - v. 1.5
The Humor
Personality Spectrum
Tapestry
         check to the right icon
Select the section
that interests you.
The Muses
    A Note to Stella Marrone
Main Page   ← You are here
Author's Note
Preface
Introduction
    Evolutionary Selection?
    The Current State of Understanding Humor
    Examples of Humor (several contextual genres)
The Big Picture
Humor Examples (collection)
Research Articles
     Short Alleles, Bigger Smiles?
     ... and others
Summary Essays
     The Power of the Presidential Tweet
     How Amusement Parks Hijack Your Brain
Commentaries
     Essays
Multiple Filters in Play
Getting It All Together
Moving Forward

Offered by David Apollo

Author's Note
"Did we get it?"
"Did we understand the truth spoken within the humor we encountered?"
"Seriously?" - David Apollo


JP Sears, AwakenWithJP, 4 Dec 17, "How to Take Yourself Less Seriously"
- skip to 2:11 or 2:55 if you want to skip intro
Can someone who :
  • regards himself as serious about almost everything,
  • is primarily fact oriented,
  • holds mathematics, scientific skepticism, and analytical, rational analysis as the foundational prerequisites for understanding all natural truths (and they are ALL natural).
  • is not easily indoctrinatable,
  • has a laser-like Bullshit Filter,
  • is curious about nearly anything factual,
  • rarely commits fictional entertainment (FUN or otherwise) into long-term memory,
  • usually filters all rhetoric encountered for "just the actual facts" ...
... actually provide credible insight and observations on Humor?

"Yea, I think so. Isn't that funny?" - David Apollo


The most effective communicators actually get past "communicating that they are serious about whatever they are communicating." Even though they may actually be Serious. Most of the people that they are communicating with are even more attentive when engaged in an enjoyable way. Folks will listen to something Serious, but listen with greater interest to something Fun.

Usually with much, much greater interest.

Serious people have Fun when engaging with what is Real. They get an even greater kick out of considering what is Real in a Fun way. The Real, in an ironic or unexpected context, attracts the greatest amount of attention. It is more enjoyable.

This is the domain of Humor. And thus The Humor Personality Spectrum Tapestry.

All the Personality Filters are asymmetric with regard to how we manifest and perceive ourselves and others vs. how others perceive us and manifest themselves. Since none of us are built ("filtered") the same way, we all wind up judging what we believe is Real differently. Who is correct? In the end, probably none of us are, but we each get close in different ways.

This leads to experiences of irony, cognitive "disconnects", and unexpected situations and consequences. Humans, apparently, have evolved to regard these as amusing. The actual trait advantage for having the perception of amusement is debated, but it is certainly a genetic trait. Most humans have it. Humans consider that when they "feel amused" it is because they "get it." And, most humans seem to "get it" to some degree or another, although most also "get it" slightly differently from one person to the next.

Amusement happens either when we have had a "Mis-anticipation" (expecting one thing and then experiencing another) or when we observe another misanticipating as well.

We are Amused. The experience of Humor has manifested itself.

→ The Author's Note was last updated 15 Jan 2018 12:00 PST ←

Preface
multiple filters picture
"It's like deja-vu, all over again." - Yogi Berra

We start each Personalty Spectrum Filter discussion by reminding the reader several things about the filters, ensembles, and tapestries. ← Click there.
By no means is it implied or should it be construed that the Humor Personality Spectrum Tapestry is the result of a single gene. Rather, several genes, many expressed differently for each individual, work together to determine an individual's Humor Tapestry phenotype.
In fact, with regard to the Humor Tapestry it is probably a bit more clarifying to reiterate the statements above in a more declarative manner:
There is no single gene (whose expression or structure is variable and can be altered,) or for that matter a single event, that is causative of "experiencing irony as enjoyable, interesting, fun". Either by genetic variation, environmental influence, or random fluctuation resulting in a recognizable clinical impact.

ConserveLiberty suggests that Humor is primarily invoked in humans when unexpected irony is encountered and when stress is relieved. It is especially welcome when "current topics of personal interest" are addressed in an unexpectedly ironic way. Humor brings us together, Home.

The impact of the Humor Personality Spectrum Tapestry, depending on how effective its "setting" is, will be seen as enabling a spectrum of behaviors, manifesting the ability to:
  • detect and perceive irony,
  • recognize unexpected differences,
  • interpret creatively,
  • spin improvisationally,
  • share or engage candidly in hardships such that stress (understood) is not "front and center,"
  • relax, de-stress, entertain, and
  • engage and dialog as a friend, as a partner.
"Are you 'for real?', that's unbelievable, I can't believe you just said that!"
The most effective communicators (Comedians) can interact simultaneously both with those who are thinking seriously and those who are considering things more frivolously. They transcend the asymmetric perceptions among those manifesting different phenotypes of The Serious Spectrum Filter settings. And they do it with Humor. All with the same audience at the same time. All enjoying what they are hearing.

Humanity itself is amusing:
  • Shakespeare got that - "A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool."
  • Einstein got that - "The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits."
  • Jesus got that - "Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to cast a stone."
  • The Buddha got that - "Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth."
"What is True is that I actually cannot tell a joke well."
"How do I know? It's funny you should ask." - David Apollo

Humor and Amusement primarily occur when we encounter "unexpected ironies and differences" and realize that we need to take Life a little less seriously THAN THE WAY WE THOUGHT it should be seriously regarded. That The Truth is a little bit different that what we thought The Truth was.

Misfortune amuses not because we take joy in our hardships or the hardships of others, but rather because we are reminded that Life, which is Only Real, needs to be taken as Real as It Is, rather than as real as we think that it is or should be. Comedy is manifested within Tragedy when we comprehend that we are often so committed to our own beliefs that we don't (or won't) see reality coming UNTIL IT DOES.

"Getting" all that, we chuckle. And learn to not take ourselves too seriously. Maybe. And not for long.

All these together, existing in ensemble with each other, result in the execution of perceptions and behavior that ConserveLiberty refers to as Humor.

<b>they leave you pic</b>
"Then, there was the time I was married to my sweetheart.

All understood us as a perfect match for each other.

She was my soul mate.

Then, one day, out of the blue, she left me. Devastating.

Best thing that ever happened to me."

From ConserveLiberty's perspective, the Humor Personality Spectrum Tapestry is composed of a variety of Humor Ensembles. One of those, for example, would be the Critical Thinking Personality Spectrum Ensemble. There are several others, and some will be addressed later.

Since ALL humans possess Humor, it turns out that both men and women of all ages express and experience humor as a core driver of their interaction with reality. Humor is manifested differently by men than by women, and by the very young, the very old, and ages in between. This is true both from a developmental biology orientation and a "personality filtered interpretation" perspective. The manifestation of Humor is also influenced by the impacts of cultural indoctrinations.

[ gauges pictures ]
Thus, it may be that one or more of the Libido Personality Spectrum Ensembles is also involved.

Numerous genes are involved, functioning together as a tapestry of ensembles of filters, which together under the right circumstances result in our ability to manifest Humor. We refer to all these together as the Humor Personality Spectrum Tapestry.

Since we are all wired differently we all manifest Humor slightly differently from one another. Some of these "differences" are not entirely within our intentional control. Others are. Who knows which is which? Because issues surrounding Humor have important relevance to all sorts of other behaviors, evolution has most likely selected for behaviors and perspectives that are very much interested in those elements that may be productively related to our survival.

"You know, there is something funny going on about Humor." - David Apollo

→ The Preface was last updated 15 Jan 2018 12:50 PST ←

Back to the Table of Contents     conserveliberty     Next - Introduction →



freedom to be pic Consider thoughtfully.



filter icon   Check out other Filter posts   filter icon





filters/20171024_filter_humor.php