At 03:40 AM 18/10/99 -0400, Bob Owen wrote:
[standard cognitive glitch analysis nicely summarised - then: ]
>Occidentals rest their sense of ego-integrity on the belief that the
Oh. So it's only staid two-valued whitebread westerners who laugh at jokes
and pratfalls? Not!
>World is, beneath all appearances to the contrary, really logical --
>things DO make sense after all.
Granted, there are giggling oriental gurus whose stream of mirth seems to be an expression of good feelings, unrelated to the gasping, thigh-smacking outburst of laughter at a great joke. I once had a girl friend who was usually smiling and laughing, full of fun, but almost - I slowly realised, to my horror and amazement - without any sense of humour. (But then my jokes are often so sardonic and cerebral and linguistic that *nobody* except me finds them funny. Awwwww..)
Damien Broderick