Study: Female Funny Bone More Analytical

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Tomas
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Study: Female Funny Bone More Analytical

Post by Tomas » Thu Nov 10, 2005 1:03 pm

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know already!...It's from Fox News...

Here goes...

Study: Female Funny Bone More Analytical
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,174855,00.html


Wud ya'll thunk?

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Blair
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Post by Blair » Thu Nov 10, 2005 2:31 pm

I think humans are in love with humour, because it provides them with a way of releasing their paradoxes.

They laugh, in an indirect way, about truth, but don't have the understanding to apply it to themselves. So they carry on the next day, oblivious as to why they suffer so much.

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David Quinn
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Post by David Quinn » Thu Nov 10, 2005 3:40 pm

Yes, as you say, it's a way to overcome their frustrations temporarily without having to put in too much effort. Society benefits because any inclination to challenge the fundamental values of society is averted. Life can continue on as normal.

Also, humour is a strong bonding mechanism between people. We tend to bond with those who laugh at the same things we do, and we tend to sharply repel those who don't. It creates a strong "us vs. them" dynamic, which is a powerful social force.

The article above is interesting on a number of levels. The researchers, no doubt shackled by the need to remain politically correct, clearly misinterpret their own findings. The reason why women tend to be surprised by the punchline of a joke, and why they experience greater levels of pleasure and relief when they do laugh, is because they are permanently caught up in their own anxieties.

This is why their analytical processes are so active when they are listening to a joke. They are not analyzing the joke in a dispassionate, objective manner, but rather they are anxiously exploring the implications the joke might have for them on a personal level. Because they are so immersed in all this extraneous stuff, they are barely listening to the joke at all and do not see where it is heading. When they do hear the unexpected punchline, and they are able to deem that it contains no real threat to them, they can then laugh out loudly in relief.

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Ras866
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Post by Ras866 » Thu Nov 10, 2005 7:34 pm

DQ:
The reason why women tend to be surprised by the punchline of a joke, and why they experience greater levels of pleasure and relief when they do laugh, is because they are permanently caught up in their own anxieties.

This is why their analytical processes are so active when they are listening to a joke. They are not analyzing the joke in a dispassionate, objective manner, but rather they are anxiously exploring the implications the joke might have for them on a personal level. Because they are so immersed in all this extraneous stuff, they are barely listening to the joke at all and do not see where it is heading. When they do hear the unexpected punchline, and they are able to deem that it contains no real threat to them, they can then laugh out loudly in relief.
Those statements are completely unfounded, and I think you know it. Just because you (maybe) experience or have experienced this, does not mean everyone (much less, every woman) experiences this.

My sister laughs at jokes on sitcoms because she (and many other females) enjoy wit, humor, irony, satire, etc. for the sake of wit, humor, irony, satire, etc. Yes, they may be quite self-centered (like all humans are).

I really doubt that your "observation" holds any universal truth to it.
At least, I have observed a different response of females when hearing a joke. I certainly doubt they are "anxiously exploring the implications the joke might have for them on a personal level."

That is incredibly sloppy reasoning.

And I am getting on your case because ... I don't know ... I just had to say something when I saw this opinion parading around as a truth by a self-proclaimed sage. Someone needs to point out the silliness of these ideas posing as hard truths/facts.

Ras

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Blair
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Post by Blair » Thu Nov 10, 2005 7:44 pm

get over yourself, you pussy whipped jackweed.

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Post by Ras866 » Thu Nov 10, 2005 7:56 pm

Who was talking to you, prince?

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David Quinn
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Post by David Quinn » Thu Nov 10, 2005 8:30 pm

Ras,
Those statements are completely unfounded, and I think you know it.
They are backed up by the evidence presented in the above article.

My sister laughs at jokes on sitcoms because she (and many other females) enjoy wit, humor, irony, satire, etc. for the sake of wit, humor, irony, satire, etc.

I believe you. Women are complex creatures. Like men, they have areas of the brain which are capable of more objective forms of perception, and they can sometimes escape the torrents of feminine narcissism which constantly swamp them in order to access these areas.

Also keep in mind that people are often at their most relaxed and detached when watching TV or reading a novel, which allows them to be carried away outside of themselves for a short while.

I really doubt that your "observation" holds any universal truth to it.
In my experience, it holds for 99% of women.

At least, I have observed a different response of females when hearing a joke. I certainly doubt they are "anxiously exploring the implications the joke might have for them on a personal level."
They are nearly always performing this exploration, regardless of what they are doing. Relationships, social status and sexual attractiveness are of the highest importance to women. They literally obssess over them.

This is the reason why the fashion industry is so huge, why women spend so much time and money on beauty products, why they need to be regularly complimented, why they desire to be physically touched and hugged. They are constantly involved in a raging battle against their own insecurities and fears of being rejected. Even the coolest of them.

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Women and Humour

Post by avidaloca » Thu Nov 10, 2005 11:46 pm

I essentially agree with David's posts on this thread.

I have just had the luxury of working full-time in a small office cubicle for seven weeks with four women (three early-mid 20s, one over 35).

Their main topics of conversation were men and shopping. Anything I said was often construed as negative in some (often small) way until eventually I stopped speaking at all virtually. They take anxiety from all things, always. I am sure a joke would be one of them.

In the end, I was sacked for not "fitting in" to the group and not having the "right personality".

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Kevin Solway
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Post by Kevin Solway » Fri Nov 11, 2005 5:08 pm

My interpretation of the results:
men gravitate more to one-liners and slapstick while women tend to use humor more in narrative form and stories, Reiss said.
This is because men expect humour to have a "point", so to speak. It needs to achieve something, rather than to waffle-on for no reason.
The funnier the cartoon the more the reward center in the women's brain responded, unlike men who seemed to expect the cartoons to be funny from the beginning, the researchers said.
Men expect the cartoon to be funny, otherwise they wouldn't be watching it in the first place. What would be the point? If the cartoon/joke is not funny, men are naturally disappointed, since they have wasted some of their precious time.
Then, when they [women] saw the punch line, the reward center lit up, indicating something pleasant and unexpected.
The humour was unexpected to women, because they had no idea what they were doing, or that the material was supposed to be funny. For women, there is no point to what they do or experience, so they are pretty much amused by whatever happens.

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Dan Rowden
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Re: Study: Female Funny Bone More Analytical

Post by Dan Rowden » Fri Nov 11, 2005 8:27 pm

This is not a difficult situation to analyse. I can do it in a single sentence:

Men laugh knowingly; women, unexpectedly.


Dan Rowden

Kitoak
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Post by Kitoak » Sat Nov 12, 2005 7:08 am

I'm not sure where to begin, but I find both men and women like several different types of humor. Granted men appear to enjoy more physical types where as women more situational types.

My problem with the study is that they stated they used an MRI to scan to find out which areas of the brain are used, but an MRI scan takes up to 40 minutes.....of which both men and women of normal intelligents would loose interest. So I'm not sure how valid the scan is.

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Re: Study: Female Funny Bone More Analytical

Post by Dan Rowden » Sat Nov 12, 2005 2:04 pm

The greatest and most significant difference between man's and woman's sense of humour is the appreciation of irony. The more feminine the mind set the less that mind is able to see irony let alone appreciate it.

This applies to nations as well as individuals.


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Ras866
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Post by Ras866 » Sat Nov 12, 2005 5:39 pm

drowden:
This applies to nations as well as individuals.
Are you saying that some nations are more masculine than others?

And thus superior?

Which nations do you consider more masculine and which do you consider more feminine?

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Post by David Quinn » Sun Nov 13, 2005 10:56 am

Kevin wrote:
Quote:
Then, when they [women] saw the punch line, the reward center lit up, indicating something pleasant and unexpected.

Kevin: The humour was unexpected to women, because they had no idea what they were doing, or that the material was supposed to be funny. For women, there is no point to what they do or experience, so they are pretty much amused by whatever happens.
This doesn't explain the greater sense of pleasure and relief that women experience when hearing the punchline. This has to be anxiety-driven.

I think you sometimes paint women to absurd levels, Kevin. As we all know, they are not 100% feminine. They do have some masculinity in them, and hence they do have some sense of purpose in their lives - although, granted, it is usually confined to that of seeking approval and avoiding rejection. It is because they do have this sense of purpose, combined with very little consciousness and limited coping skills, that they permanently live in a state of anxiety.

As the research suggests, when a woman hears the punchline to a joke she first has to assess whether or not the joke is laughing at her and thus posing a threat. If it isn't, she can then laugh with gusto knowing that she is still nestled safely within the "in-crowd". The "unexpecteness of the punchline" is more a reflection of her insecurity, of the fact that she tends to regard everything as a potential threat, than her supposed purposelessness.

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Post by David Quinn » Sun Nov 13, 2005 11:10 am

Kitoak wrote:
I'm not sure where to begin, but I find both men and women like several different types of humor. Granted men appear to enjoy more physical types where as women more situational types.
Men also tend to like more metaphysical and intellectual forms of humour. And as Dan mentions, men tend to have a far greater sense of irony.

If you want to get an idea of woman's limited range of humour, you only have to out and listen to a few female comedians. They almost invariably focus on things like bad hair days, meds, superficial observations on men (e.g. leaving the toilet seat up), orgasms, giving birth, etc. Their material is usually insipid, conventionally-minded, anecdotal, personal and centered around their womanly anxieties. It is almost never philosophical, lofty, timeless, universal, deep, etc.


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Matt Gregory
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Post by Matt Gregory » Sun Nov 13, 2005 11:44 am

DavidQuinn000 wrote:Kevin wrote:
Quote:
Then, when they [women] saw the punch line, the reward center lit up, indicating something pleasant and unexpected.

Kevin: The humour was unexpected to women, because they had no idea what they were doing, or that the material was supposed to be funny. For women, there is no point to what they do or experience, so they are pretty much amused by whatever happens.
This doesn't explain the greater sense of pleasure and relief that women experience when hearing the punchline. This has to be anxiety-driven.
They could have been faking it. Women feign emotions all the time.

Edit: I guess that's anxiety-driven, but the anxiety could come from the concern of "am I supposed to think this is funny?", "will people think I'm dumb if I don't get it?", etc.

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Post by avidaloca » Sun Nov 13, 2005 12:30 pm

the anxiety could come from the concern of "am I supposed to think this is funny?", "will people think I'm dumb if I don't get it?", etc.
That's because, as you know, they are always concerned with cohesion and not individuality.

Let me try this Steven Wright joke on you:

"Black holes are where God divided by zero".

I know that David Quinn doesn't find this funny, but I think it is. It would be interesting to get a sample of opinions.

MKFaizi

Post by MKFaizi » Sun Nov 13, 2005 2:26 pm

I don't get it. For one thing, why would God divide by zero? Why would God divide at all?

I am female. I despise jokes.

I can only appreciate humor if it is on an intellectual or subliminally intellecutal level.

I thought "Natural Born Killers" and "Scarface" were pretty funny movies. When I was younger, I rated "A Clockwork Orange" as a hoot.

Faizi

MKFaizi

Post by MKFaizi » Sun Nov 13, 2005 2:29 pm

I do laugh at world events and politics. I forgot to mention those things.

Faizi

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David Quinn
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Post by David Quinn » Sun Nov 13, 2005 4:25 pm

Matt wrote:
Edit: I guess that's anxiety-driven, but the anxiety could come from the concern of "am I supposed to think this is funny?", "will people think I'm dumb if I don't get it?", etc.
Good point. It would be yet another expression of her underlying anxiety to be part of the "in-crowd" - in this case, the group of researchers conducting the test.

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Post by Kevin Solway » Sun Nov 13, 2005 5:18 pm

DavidQuinn000 wrote:
Kevin wrote:Quote:
Then, when they [women] saw the punch line, the reward center lit up, indicating something pleasant and unexpected.

Kevin: The humour was unexpected to women, because they had no idea what they were doing, or that the material was supposed to be funny. For women, there is no point to what they do or experience, so they are pretty much amused by whatever happens.
This doesn't explain the greater sense of pleasure and relief that women experience when hearing the punchline. This has to be anxiety-driven.

I think you sometimes paint women to absurd levels, Kevin. As we all know, they are not 100% feminine.
I agree its absurd, but I believe it is perfectly true. Essentially what I'm saying is that women live in the moment much more fully than men, so they are able to enjoy the pleasure of the moment fully, where men cannot, because men have other concerns. Men are always weighing things up, assessing value, considering consequences, etc, which prevents them from fully entering the enjoyment of the moment.

The research says that women don't have expectations, which fits perfectly with this "living in the moment".

But when you live perfectly in the moment, then, of course, you have no idea what you are doing, and each and every moment is new and unexpected, like it is the very first moment ever.

Kierkegaard's says:

"A woman's reflection usually goes like this: if she has won on one point or another, she is so overcome herself that she cannot avoid gazing at her victory - and then she stumbles. The man is more essentially character; and character consists not so much in winning as in continuing after having won, keeping in character. The woman endures something and counts on the approaching moment when she can take a deep breath. This moment is precisely the danger. Character is essentially continuity."

So we see that women's superior pleasure in the moment, such as in enjoying the punchline of a joke, comes at a very severe cost.
It is because they do have this sense of purpose, combined with very little consciousness and limited coping skills, that they permanently live in a state of anxiety.
Yes, the anxiety is certainly there, but I don't believe women are conscious enough to be much aware of it.
As the research suggests, when a woman hears the punchline to a joke she first has to assess whether or not the joke is laughing at her and thus posing a threat. If it isn't, she can then laugh with gusto knowing that she is still nestled safely within the "in-crowd". The "unexpecteness of the punchline" is more a reflection of her insecurity, of the fact that she tends to regard everything as a potential threat, than her supposed purposelessness.
I think all this happens pretty much subconsciously, and simultaneously, using women's multi-branched brain pathways.

I umpired a game of squash the other day, and I found it virtually impossible:

Take a simple thing like a service. Firstly, I'm trying to remember the score after the previous point - and taking mental notes for when I have to play these guys - and I'm trying to remember who is serving, and what side they are serving from. At the same time I am trying to watch the foot of the server to see that it falls within the right lines at the moment he hits the ball, then, a hundredth of a second later, I have to see whether a squashed squash ball hits above the line on the front wall, and within a split second there can be a call for a "let" by one of the players who claims that the other player has gotten in the way, and I immediately have to weigh up a whole lot of factors to determine whether the claim will be upheld.

My brain simply doesn't function like that.

Some of the time I have no idea what is going on, but I'm good at making decisive calls. (Unfortunately, as an umpire, that's your job).

I am sure a woman would be better able to keep up with the fast pace of everything happening at once. But they might have other disadvantages.

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Post by David Quinn » Sun Nov 13, 2005 6:17 pm

Kevin wrote:
DQ: I think you sometimes paint women to absurd levels, Kevin. As we all know, they are not 100% feminine.

KS: I agree its absurd, but I believe it is perfectly true.
It's not true, though, otherwise we would have to say that women are 100% feminine.

Essentially what I'm saying is that women live in the moment much more fully than men, so they are able to enjoy the pleasure of the moment fully, where men cannot, because men have other concerns. Men are always weighing things up, assessing value, considering consequences, etc, which prevents them from fully entering the enjoyment of the moment.

I think the opposite is true. Because men's minds are more single-minded and focused, they are able to consciously enter the moment, and experience its joys, whenever it suits them - or at least, gifted men can do this. Women's minds, on the other hand, are so dominated by insecurities and anxious concerns that they very rarely experience the moment at all. This is why it often said that women are the "practical sex", while men are the dreamers.

But when you live perfectly in the moment, then, of course, you have no idea what you are doing, and each and every moment is new and unexpected, like it is the very first moment ever.
No adult lives like this, of course - whether it be man or woman. Women are too narcissistic and anxious to live perfectly in the moment, while men are too conscious of their responsibilities.

DQ: It is because they do have this sense of purpose, combined with very little consciousness and limited coping skills, that they permanently live in a state of anxiety.

KS: Yes, the anxiety is certainly there, but I don't believe women are conscious enough to be much aware of it.
Agreed, they're not conscious of it for the most part. It only begins to enter their consciousness when they feel they have done something wrong and suddenly fear being expelled by the "in-crowd". It's always amusing to watch women in this situation - the way they panic and quickly try to push the anxiety out of their consciousness by loudly owning up to their misdemeanor ("It's all my fault"), or else dissolving into tears.

Margaret Thatcher used to deal with her feminine anxieties by talking over the top of everyone.

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Post by David Quinn » Sun Nov 13, 2005 6:29 pm

Kevin wrote:
I umpired a game of squash the other day, and I found it virtually impossible:

Take a simple thing like a service. Firstly, I'm trying to remember the score after the previous point - and taking mental notes for when I have to play these guys - and I'm trying to remember who is serving, and what side they are serving from. At the same time I am trying to watch the foot of the server to see that it falls within the right lines at the moment he hits the ball, then, a hundredth of a second later, I have to see whether a squashed squash ball hits above the line on the front wall, and within a split second there can be a call for a "let" by one of the players who claims that the other player has gotten in the way, and I immediately have to weigh up a whole lot of factors to determine whether the claim will be upheld.

My brain simply doesn't function like that.

Some of the time I have no idea what is going on, but I'm good at making decisive calls. (Unfortunately, as an umpire, that's your job).

I am sure a woman would be better able to keep up with the fast pace of everything happening at once. But they might have other disadvantages.
There are many male umpires who are able to multi-task without any problem. Recent research suggests that the sex of our brain is somewhat fluid and can change in accordance with our lifestyles and habits of behaviour. The male brain can develop skills in multi-tasking; the female brain can become more single-minded and focused. Estrogen levels can rise in men who lead passive lives and engage in drudgery work; testosterone levels can rise in females who find themselves having to be more competitive and assertive.

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Post by Matt Gregory » Sun Nov 13, 2005 9:04 pm

avidaloca wrote:Let me try this Steven Wright joke on you:

"Black holes are where God divided by zero".

I know that David Quinn doesn't find this funny, but I think it is. It would be interesting to get a sample of opinions.
I can see the humor in it, but I didn't laugh when I read it. I find it hard to laugh at Steven Wright. He's too harmless, I guess.

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Post by Matt Gregory » Sun Nov 13, 2005 9:46 pm

Q wrote:
Matt wrote:
Edit: I guess that's anxiety-driven, but the anxiety could come from the concern of "am I supposed to think this is funny?", "will people think I'm dumb if I don't get it?", etc.
Good point. It would be yet another expression of her underlying anxiety to be part of the "in-crowd" - in this case, the group of researchers conducting the test.

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Actually, I think it's all of the above. They are multi-taskers, so they probably experience a multitude of anxieties by the time they get to the punchline. "are they making fun of me", "am I supposed to laugh at this", "this joke reminds me of such-and-such", "I don't like that cartoon character's hair", etc.

But is it even really accurate to express it this way? If she's unconscious, it would have to be a fully integrated part of her experience, so none of this would come into her consciousness as sharply as I am depicting it. It would be more like a miasma underlying her behavior, so if you were to ask her, "did you feel threatened before you got to the punchline and realized that it wasn't about you?", she could answer "no" and she wouldn't be lying.

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