Mental models to describe comedy (add your models too)
1- Comedy is about misdirection
2- Laughing is an adaptive behavior to stay calm under stress & deal w/ pain
3- The logic of comedy can make you a better investor
4- Comedy is a way to introduce new ideas into society
1- Comedy is about misdirection
2- Laughing is an adaptive behavior to stay calm under stress & deal w/ pain
3- The logic of comedy can make you a better investor
4- Comedy is a way to introduce new ideas into society
MISDIRECTION:
What a comedian does is give you 10% of the information and your brain fills in the rest.
A punch line is a single piece of information that shows that your assumptions about the facts and the logical structure of all the information that you heard was wrong.
What a comedian does is give you 10% of the information and your brain fills in the rest.
A punch line is a single piece of information that shows that your assumptions about the facts and the logical structure of all the information that you heard was wrong.
EVOLUTIONARY ADAPTIVE:
The neurobiology behind comedy is basically from sparring; a stress release mechanism
When animals are wrestling they laugh to indicate to the other partners that everything's okay.
"We're all good, even though we're fighting. "
The neurobiology behind comedy is basically from sparring; a stress release mechanism
When animals are wrestling they laugh to indicate to the other partners that everything's okay.
"We're all good, even though we're fighting. "
Imagine a Neanderthal walking up a mountain expecting food he hasn't eaten in 5 days and finds no food. The brain could have two responses. One would be Oh, holy shit, and it freaks out and makes a bad decision leading to its death.
The other is to laugh it off & keep searching
The other is to laugh it off & keep searching
AS AN INVESTOR:
When you start losing, & you get stressed, you make worse decisions.
If you can remain calm and upbeat, & at peak performance, even when you're getting punched in the jaw, it's an unbelievable competitive advantage.
Laughing losses off helps redirect focus
When you start losing, & you get stressed, you make worse decisions.
If you can remain calm and upbeat, & at peak performance, even when you're getting punched in the jaw, it's an unbelievable competitive advantage.
Laughing losses off helps redirect focus
AS AN INVESTOR:
Studying comedy means learning how to consider orthogonal perspectives that would surprise others.
You can use that to ask Q's like "What would happen if a new regulation or technology came out tomorrow? How would that change the structure of this market?"
Studying comedy means learning how to consider orthogonal perspectives that would surprise others.
You can use that to ask Q's like "What would happen if a new regulation or technology came out tomorrow? How would that change the structure of this market?"
INTRODUCING IDEAS:
if you actually want to know what's kind of on the edge of popular society, hang out at a comedy club.
Humor is the mechanism where we sort out the grey area of what can&can’t be said
if you actually want to know what's kind of on the edge of popular society, hang out at a comedy club.
Humor is the mechanism where we sort out the grey area of what can&can’t be said
...When a comic finds a funny joke, they're unearthing a truth that ppl are barely aware of, but then grasp that everybody else is aware of it, & laughter ensues
hypothesis: laughter is the sound of comprehension.
hypothesis: laughter is the sound of comprehension.
We don't even have a good evolutionary explanation of what humor is
And so we're trying to navigate what the rules of it should be without even talking about what its function is.
And so we're trying to navigate what the rules of it should be without even talking about what its function is.
Humor is the mechanism by which we sort out the gray area
If you cut that off and say, 'you can't say that', well, then, how exactly do we figure out where the line is?
One has to step beyond the line to figure out where the line is,& if the room laughs, now you know something
If you cut that off and say, 'you can't say that', well, then, how exactly do we figure out where the line is?
One has to step beyond the line to figure out where the line is,& if the room laughs, now you know something
That is to say:
Humor treads at the edge, the fringe of consciousness, and that what happens when a comic finds a truly funny joke, is that they're unearthing a truth that people are only kind of aware of but it's so universal that the whole room suddenly grasps it.
Humor treads at the edge, the fringe of consciousness, and that what happens when a comic finds a truly funny joke, is that they're unearthing a truth that people are only kind of aware of but it's so universal that the whole room suddenly grasps it.
Comedy is an art form that includes, among other things, offending surgically exactly who needs to be offended & with minimal collateral damage.
A great comedian is like a sniper: They take out the hostage taker and they leave the hostage intact.
A great comedian is like a sniper: They take out the hostage taker and they leave the hostage intact.
