Why We Laugh
Mirth is like a flash of lightning, that breaks through a gloom of clouds, and glitters for a moment; cheerfulness keeps up a kind of daylight in the mind, and fills it with a steady and perpetual serenity. — Joseph Addison
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Fact of the Day:
Laughter, a topic that has baffled philosophers for 2,000 years, is finally yielding to science. Researchers have now traced the evolution of laughter back to an unexpected discovery: laughter has little to do with humor. It’s an instinctual survival tool for social animals, not an intellectual response to wit. In other words, it’s not about getting the joke; it’s about getting along. Researcher Robert Provine maintains that it’s a largely involuntary process, and though people can consciously suppress laughs, few can make themselves laugh convincingly. In his words, “Laughter is an honest social signal because it’s hard to fake […] It’s a kind of behavioral fossil showing the roots that all human beings, maybe all mammals, have in common.”
http://www.dailygood.org/more.php?n=2897
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Be The Change:
Observe where your laughter arises from today and what effect it has, both inside and out.
**Share A Reflection**
http://www.dailygood.org/view.php?qid=2897