Solitary Laughter in A Public Setting: It’s Not So Crazy After All...

            A few weeks ago, I had an eventful wait at the intersection by Commons dining hall. The road space was quite narrow due to the presence of large mounds of snow on either side of the road, and an impatient truck-driver decided to drive on the left in order to beat the buildup of traffic. However, he was met by a tiny vehicle, which, by law, had the right of way. As the small car inched forward, from the truck flowed a great number of expletives; for some reason I found this instance quite funny, and erupted in laughter. At the time, I thought that my laughter was somewhat irrational, as did many persons around who had just shifted their focus from the happenings on the road to me. However, after discussing the topic with my good friend Plato, I realized that this instance of solitary laughter in a public setting is rational and can easily be explained using the Superiority theory.

            While discussing with an old family friend, Plato, over a cup of tea and biscuits, he told me about an interesting explanation of the cause of laughter in a situation such as the one I experienced. His Superiority theory states that laughter occurs at the expense of others who are experiencing misfortune, and that the laugher perceives that the subject of laughter is inferior, and thus asserts the superiority of the laugher in the situation. In short, we laugh at the joy of feeling superior to a fellow human.

            However selfish this explanation may sound, it definitely makes a valid reason for the cause of my laughter. In the aforementioned situation, the inferior parties are both the aggressive truck driver and the timid tiny vehicle owner. I myself am a driver, and I perceived the truck driver as inferior to myself because he was breaking the law, while his slew of expletives showed that he didn’t seem to realize that. If I were breaking the law, I would not have gone further to intimidate the driver who had the right-of-way, and thus I saw myself as superior to the truck driver and may laughter expressed the joy that came with the superior feeling.

            This theory furthermore explains my laughter in the sense that I felt superior to the driver of the tiny vehicle as well. It was clear that she had the right of way, but her actions did not express that. In her situation, I would not have inched, I would have demanded the road that was legally mine, or at least I thought so at the time. In retrospect, I might have acted similarly, faced with the sheer size of the truck approaching me. Anyway, what counts are my thoughts at the point of laughter, and these indicated that I felt superior to the woman being cursed at in her tiny car, and the joy that came from this feeling of superiority caused my laughter.

            This public, solitary laughter could easily be explained by the theory proposed by my good friend.  Although I seemed like a lunatic laughing in a group of people, yet still all by myself, my laughter was actually not irrational, since there was a valid reason for the laughter that occurred. Therefore, we see that solitary laughter in public is not always irrational; so fret not, not every person who laughs alone in public has just escaped from the psych ward.

Alliances in Laughter: What Causes Laughter in Embarassing Situations?

            Imagine sitting in a dentist’s office with a friend, waiting for what seems like hours on end for your name to be called. In the silence, you hear a familiar series of popping sounds coming from the opposite side of the room, which you immediately link to the occurrence of someone passing wind. You may quickly glance around the room in an attempt to locate the culprit, but eventually, you look at your friend, who you find looking right back at you, bursting with readiness to laugh. Though you both laugh in embarrassing public situations such as this, your laughter is caused not by the immediate situation, but by the added situation of an alliance.

            Embarrassing situations occurring in public do not directly cause laughter. This can easily be proven by substituting your friend in the above situation for just another patient waiting to be called. We would all agree that, given the same embarrassing sound and smell emitted from across the room, your reaction would have been different. Being unaccompanied, you may glance up, but even as the unpleasant smell engulfed the air around your nose, you would not laugh. Not only is it impolite to laugh, but presented with just the situation, we can see that it just isn’t funny. Since laughter does not ensue on a normal occurrence of the action, it indicates that the embarrassing situation is not the direct cause of laughter.

            In analyzing the two similar situations in which laughter occurs, and does not occur, it is apparent that the cause of laughter is due to that which differs in the situations. In the situation during which laughter occurs, we see two persons who share a background; in the second case, this is not present. The presence of this group or alliance is therefore the cause of laughter. We can furthermore explain the reason why the alliance causes laughter as due to a sense of comfort and community that arises. In essence, you laugh because you feel at ease in the situation with your friend, as well as because you know that there is someone else who will laugh with you.

            Looking more deeply into this situation sheds light on the reason why embarrassing situations that occur often in public are not always associated with laughter. The answer lies in the true reason for laughter; if a group of persons, who share an intimate background, experience the embarrassing situation of a person outside their group, the comfort they feel surpasses the social protocol to withhold laughter, thus causing laughter, even if the situation is not funny. It is therefore beneficial to keep away from alliances, in war, and more importantly, in embarrassing public situations.