A young man is passing by a bar when he sees an old woman fishing with a stick and a string in a puddle by the sidewalk. “She must be a poor old fool,” he thinks to himself, and out of the kindness of his heart, he invites the woman in for a drink.
After he’s paid for their round and the two are sitting quietly, he asks her, “So how many have you caught today?”
The old woman grins, takes a big sip of her drink, and replies, “You’re the eighth.”
I’m not big on “walks into a bar” jokes, but there is one thing about this particular joke that makes it more fun. The twist in it isn’t mean or silly, it is instructive.
In other words, there is an Aha! in the Ha Ha. I like that in a joke.
Learning and laughing
For decades now, I’ve discussed the idea with friends and colleagues that people would rather be entertained than educated.
At least the free market tells us that, because entertainers are paid more than educators. Actors make more than teachers, professional athletes make more than college professors, and comedians make more than philosophers.
Now some have argued that only the best of the best in the world of entertainment are highly paid, and they have a point. So, if that person is not a full time student, I turn it the other way around. I ask, “How much do you spend on entertainment and how much do you spend on education?”
I’m not saying it is wrong to laugh. Most of us need a lot more laughter in our lives. “Laughter is the best medicine” is just the modern iteration of an ancient idea that is actually found in the Bible!
Proverbs 17:22 says A joyful heart is good medicine.
The Mayo Clinic agrees. Here is an article on the health benefits of laughter, penned by that highly trusted organization.
They like it so much that they recommend laughing any time you feel stressed. The linked article ends:
Go ahead and give it a try. Turn the corners of your mouth up into a smile and then give a laugh, even if it feels a little forced. Once you’ve had your chuckle, take stock of how you’re feeling. Are your muscles a little less tense? Do you feel more relaxed or buoyant? That’s the natural wonder of laughing at work.
Don’t laugh this off…
OK, so laughing is good for you physically and even mentally. How about socially?
You guessed it! The answer is yes.
Here’s a great quote from one of the world’s greatest writers that says so:
If you wish to glimpse inside a human soul and get to know the man, don’t bother analyzing his ways of being silent, of talking, of weeping, or seeing how much he is moved by noble ideas; you’ll get better results if you just watch him laugh. If he laughs well, he’s a good man.… All I claim to know is that laughter is the most reliable gauge of human nature. — Fyodor Dostoevsky
I don’t know how much you remember about Dostoevsky, so I’ll remind you (or tell you for the first time) that he was a Russian novelist who died about 144 years ago and is still being studied.
Did he write about people laughing? I cannot say, because there is much of his work I have not read. But here are some of his titles:
- Crime and Punishment
- The Idiot
- Demons
- The Brothers Karamazov
Those don’t sound much like books that would make you laugh, or even be about laughter, and they are not. They are books that make the reader think deeply. The Brothers Karamazov was Einstein’s favorite book, and has been called by some the greatest novel of all time.
Still, I love Dostoevsky’s quote saying that laughter is the most reliable gauge of human nature.
I was tested with Wodehouse
We lived in the Chicago suburbs when I accepted a position in San Jose, California. Needing a place to live for a few weeks, I was blessed to be invited to stay with my wife’s uncle and his family in San Francisco. The two cities are about an hour apart, but it was a beautiful drive, and I worked a ton of hours.
My room in their house was a fun place built into the garage, and it was even more fun because on the first night I discovered a book had been placed on the bedside table.
It was written by P. G. Wodehouse, which I mistakenly pronounced wode – house. Later I learned it is wood – house. But that didn’t matter, because I opened the book and began reading.
Before I finished the first page, which, I recall, was not even a full page, I was laughing out loud. Literally.
When I finally moved out of the house into a hotel apartment in San Jose, I stole that book. Uncle Ken not only knew I had taken it, he had hoped I would.
I learned several months later — when I fessed up to the crime — that it was a bit of a test. He didn’t know me all that well, and it was his way of finding out about me. If I laughed when reading Wodehouse and loved the book, I was OK.
Doesn’t that sound a lot like Dostoevsky’s “most reliable gauge of human nature” test? It was, and it worked.
By the way, my wife and I now own more than 60 Wodehouse books, most of which we paid for.
It’s not a competition
All of us need to keep learning. We can do that through books, movies, conversations, and even YouTube videos.
Likewise, we all need to keep laughing, and those same sources can help us do that.
It really isn’t a competition between entertainment and education. Both are indispensable if we intend to keep growing and be better people.
Just remember: learning is essential, and laughing matters — a lot.
Do good. It’s in you!
Laughing Matters
A young man is passing by a bar when he sees an old woman fishing with a stick and a string in a puddle by the sidewalk. “She must be a poor old fool,” he thinks to himself, and out of the kindness of his heart, he invites the woman in for a drink.
After he’s paid for their round and the two are sitting quietly, he asks her, “So how many have you caught today?”
The old woman grins, takes a big sip of her drink, and replies, “You’re the eighth.”
I’m not big on “walks into a bar” jokes, but there is one thing about this particular joke that makes it more fun. The twist in it isn’t mean or silly, it is instructive.
In other words, there is an Aha! in the Ha Ha. I like that in a joke.
Learning and laughing
For decades now, I’ve discussed the idea with friends and colleagues that people would rather be entertained than educated.
At least the free market tells us that, because entertainers are paid more than educators. Actors make more than teachers, professional athletes make more than college professors, and comedians make more than philosophers.
Now some have argued that only the best of the best in the world of entertainment are highly paid, and they have a point. So, if that person is not a full time student, I turn it the other way around. I ask, “How much do you spend on entertainment and how much do you spend on education?”
I’m not saying it is wrong to laugh. Most of us need a lot more laughter in our lives. “Laughter is the best medicine” is just the modern iteration of an ancient idea that is actually found in the Bible!
Proverbs 17:22 says A joyful heart is good medicine.
The Mayo Clinic agrees. Here is an article on the health benefits of laughter, penned by that highly trusted organization.
They like it so much that they recommend laughing any time you feel stressed. The linked article ends:
Don’t laugh this off…
OK, so laughing is good for you physically and even mentally. How about socially?
You guessed it! The answer is yes.
Here’s a great quote from one of the world’s greatest writers that says so:
I don’t know how much you remember about Dostoevsky, so I’ll remind you (or tell you for the first time) that he was a Russian novelist who died about 144 years ago and is still being studied.
Did he write about people laughing? I cannot say, because there is much of his work I have not read. But here are some of his titles:
Those don’t sound much like books that would make you laugh, or even be about laughter, and they are not. They are books that make the reader think deeply. The Brothers Karamazov was Einstein’s favorite book, and has been called by some the greatest novel of all time.
Still, I love Dostoevsky’s quote saying that laughter is the most reliable gauge of human nature.
I was tested with Wodehouse
We lived in the Chicago suburbs when I accepted a position in San Jose, California. Needing a place to live for a few weeks, I was blessed to be invited to stay with my wife’s uncle and his family in San Francisco. The two cities are about an hour apart, but it was a beautiful drive, and I worked a ton of hours.
My room in their house was a fun place built into the garage, and it was even more fun because on the first night I discovered a book had been placed on the bedside table.
It was written by P. G. Wodehouse, which I mistakenly pronounced wode – house. Later I learned it is wood – house. But that didn’t matter, because I opened the book and began reading.
Before I finished the first page, which, I recall, was not even a full page, I was laughing out loud. Literally.
When I finally moved out of the house into a hotel apartment in San Jose, I stole that book. Uncle Ken not only knew I had taken it, he had hoped I would.
I learned several months later — when I fessed up to the crime — that it was a bit of a test. He didn’t know me all that well, and it was his way of finding out about me. If I laughed when reading Wodehouse and loved the book, I was OK.
Doesn’t that sound a lot like Dostoevsky’s “most reliable gauge of human nature” test? It was, and it worked.
By the way, my wife and I now own more than 60 Wodehouse books, most of which we paid for.
It’s not a competition
All of us need to keep learning. We can do that through books, movies, conversations, and even YouTube videos.
Likewise, we all need to keep laughing, and those same sources can help us do that.
It really isn’t a competition between entertainment and education. Both are indispensable if we intend to keep growing and be better people.
Just remember: learning is essential, and laughing matters — a lot.
Do good. It’s in you!
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