Inside Jokes by Matthew M. Hurley
Using Humor to Reverse-Engineer the Mind
Using humor as a lens to reverse-engineer human cognition, the book argues that jokes reveal mental processes involved in generating and testing alternative interpretations, resolving incongruity, and reading others’ minds; laughter and successful punchlines function as social signals that demonstrate shared understanding, cooperative intent, and cognitive flexibility. Drawing on cognitive science, evolution, and many joke examples, it explains why timing, delivery, and context determine whether a joke lands and shows how different kinds of humor test norms, negotiate relationships, and bond groups. Overall, it reframes humor as an adaptive tool for social navigation and a window into the mind’s predictive and inferential machinery.
- Published
- 2011
- Nationality
- American
- Length
- Medium
- Pages
- 320 pages
- Original Language
- English
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- Alternate Titles
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