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Show uu Why Do Men Laugh; Scientists Explain Why do we laugh9 Why do thoso who are grave, dignified, dig-nified, respectable, religious, laugh at tho clever portrayal of characters quite tho opposite? Is It because a part of our personality person-ality is in sympathy with the Indecorum, Inde-corum, triviality, vulgarity of what we see? Are we not as honest at tho vaudeville as at church if we attend both? Even more honest? Sylvia H. Bliss differs from others who have theorized as to the cause of the laugh. And her views have set a lot of scientists to thinking, says tho Chicago Tribune. 1 The reason for the merry chuckle has always been shrouded in mystery. Says the psychologist: "Science has demolished the idea of a 'funny bone,' finds in the brain no special center for an appreciation of tho humorous, and In the world of thought and action nothing inherently, inherent-ly, intrinsically comic. "The first laugh, whose strange sound broke the long silent gravity of the prehuman ages what emotion gave rise to it? Was that primeval man in any modern sense amused? He laughed at no sally of wit: his brain was tickled by no subtle and devious perception of the comic. Of this we may be certain. "Laughter is the result of suddenly released repression, the physical sign of subconscious satisfaction. Our primitive man saw, it may be, another do the thing reprobated by tho tribe and his own nascent conscience. The sight relieved the tension occasioned by his own repressed wish t6 do the self-same thing and he laughed. "It is possible that the track for that particular discharge of nervous energy was laid down long before actual laughter took place. Darwin noted that the lower jaws of some species of baboons quivered up and down when they were much pleased. Expectancy, anticipation, satisfaction, with their accompanying bodily reaction., reac-tion., paved tho way for laughter. "We may bow our heads during public prayer because it is the custom; cus-tom; wo laugh at a joke because we must. This view finds confirmation when we consider what occurs during ' a struggle to suppress laughter. Our ( surface sense of propriety strives to f suppress the evidence of subconsciouj I approval, 1 ''The secret of laughter is In tis 1 return to nature. Civilization ad I culture are late additions, and we in J living to a great extent in artiftc!if conditions. Psychology makes pia-IJ tho fact that our present mental If equipment has been slowly and pal:- r fully acquired and a certain strain In maintaining that high altitude ii inevitable. This tension is relieved by nonsense and by the portrayal Is ' humorous anecdotes and on the stags of evasions of conviction and infractions infrac-tions of the prevailing code of morali and manners "Laughter is honest and respondt to the primitive honesty of othera. "Some scientists tell us that the expression of laughter Is not alffajs . Indicative .of a physical appreciation r of enjoyment, for it is well known that idiots are prone to laughter which is often without any such alg-nificance. alg-nificance. It Is probable that in such cases laughter purely expresses physical phy-sical contentment, rarely associated with higher or more complex Ideas. "In all races of men," says Darwin. "the expression of good spirits seems . to be the same, and it is easily re- 1 cognized." And ho adds that "from s the natives of New Zealand to thfl l highly civilized Caucasian much the F same forms of emotional expression I are to bo observed." |