What makes something funny?

At first glance, comedy may seem like a sort of impulsive component of interaction that we process subconsciously. However, when the concept of comedy is thoroughly observed, many underlying factors come into play. Regardless of these components, most can agree that comedy, in general, evokes laughter. One interpretation that I made concerning humor is that we find situations or events funny when we are made to seem intellectual. If an individual gets hit in the face with a cream pie or falls down a flight of stairs, they seem sort of, well, stupid. Perhaps we find enjoyment in the fact that we are smarter than these seemingly unintelligible individuals, and this satisfaction translates to what we call comedy.

Yet, there certainly are some pieces of so-called “intellectual humor” that certain people find hilarious, regardless of whether or not a person is made to seem senseless. So, maybe my single definition of comedy needs a bit of revising. It is important to note that though intellectual humor does not label a person as dumb, it may cause viewers to seem more intelligent than the rest (in a sense, being less stupid than a person is the same as being more intelligent than that same person).

As I write this, I’m noticing that comedy encourages a sort of cutthroat atmosphere. It is evident that comedy can be very subjective (what some people find funny, others may find repulsive), but I’ve never really considered how egotistical it can be as well. Though my definitions seem to define a mere fraction of what makes something funny, there is clearly much more to be discovered in the world of humor.