Re: Why Women STILL Aren't Funny

[vetteluvnh]

Very insightful. Perhaps we're funnier for whatever reason, but we certainly are not the more intelligent sex!

[SwordySarah]

I don't see how making sweeping generalisations about gender and humour is helpful here. The bottom line is- some PEOPLE are funny, and some are not. I know some incredibly witty males and some incredibly witty females. To differentiate along gender lines is, as entropyofmind says, a product purely of gender conditioning and nothing else. If people started to question binary concepts of gender more, the world would be a VERY different place. My '2 cents'.

[SwordySarah]

Absolutely spot on.

[LouisPlume]

It is absolutely firstly biological. A very attractive man can kill attraction in a women at the speed of thought if he is boring and has no sense of humour. The shallow man has no such prejudice, as I have discovered with my own choice, let alone what Ive observed.

Social conditioning has developed to support this if it is the way boys and girls are brought up.

Took me decades to learn to make a women laugh. Though I dont think Im gonna be doing that here, now, today.

[LouisPlume]

It is absolutely firstly biological. A very attractive man can kill attraction in a women at the speed of thought if he is boring and has no sense of humour. The shallow man has no such prejudice, as I have discovered with my own choice, let alone what Ive observed.

Social conditioning has developed to support this if it is the way boys and girls are brought up.

Took me decades to learn to make a women laugh. Though I dont think Im gonna be doing that here, now, today.

[Superman54]

oh snap you actually made a pretty darn good point. i have to agree with you simply because there really isnt any physical evidence to work with when it comes to psychological evolution. whata re we gunna do? read primary documents and interpret their writers' psyches through em? now THATS 'science'..anyway your idea that its social conditioning pwns face cause we can go out and look and see the differences first hand, we could develop studies for this with proper variable isolation.

[MercuryRis]

i dont know, ive met some very funny and witty women. My sister is one of the funniest people I know. True i know more male funny people but that doesnt mean women arent funny at all. However they do find a lot things man find offensive. Thanks.

[needparalegal]

She is proving her point that girls are boring. She is also incoherent and rambles on with disjointed and/or irrelevant opinions/facts. But hey, I would still do her so her evolutionary advantage is still intact.

[Str8eningTheCurves]

Girls are typically raised inside?

That's a narrow view of the world's population if you ask me.

[SeanNaNaNa]

not only are they not funny, they're also not very interesting.

[HGeneAnthony]

kierand6533, I can tell you from my own family that girls are more protected than boys, and I would feel more comfortable leaving a younger boy go to the park unsupervised than I would a little girl and I doubt I'm the only one.  I do agree with Hitchens and before I read his article I always wondered why I never met any funny women. Women can make each other laugh but outside of tv I never see any that have made me laugh.

[zootella]

the biggest part of being funny is not taking/talking too long to get to the punch

[NeoTRP]

face it: women just aren't funny. the only reason men 'laugh' at their turgid jokes is because they are pretty. That's it.

Tina Fey isn't funny either.

[TomPoop]

That's not tru NeoTRP. Lots of women are funny, lots of women are not funny. Same goes for men. Just because you don't find any women funny doesn't mean they are not funny full stop. I find lots of women funny. Some of my wittiest, sharpest, funniest close friends happen to be women. Some are pretty, some are not. Their prettiness is irrelevant.

[sameer137]

Why are there so many more male stand up comedians as compared to their female counterparts?

[kierand6533]

im sorry.....but your reasoning for this is a bit rediculous.i have never met any parents that let there little boy go out to play anymore than they let there little girls.strange analogy....

[skelt94]

this video is pointless, girls just arent funny

[shadyreefer69]

hah good point

[hewtwo]

In my opinion, its clear that the argument that natural selection has influenced the male and female psyches is quite evident. Within the traditional family structure, men have been the head of family and so benefit socially from being more intellectually engaging or controversial. Men have been for the most part, more outspoken due to dominance of the social order. Men take more risks (humour is a sort of social gambling) women more so concerned with self attractiveness.

[SirianKings]

I just love docile bitches.

[gsus7125]

Women can entertain just fine. That's what breasts are for.

Just kidding, lol...

Complicated subject, I can't pretend to know the answer either way right now.

[skelt94]

true though

[thegreatpadaxes]

Rationalism is anti-thetical, to control. The people in power never want rational people poking holes in their particular fabric of bullshit, and they only really killed the rational people that didn't have the guile to either keep thier mouth shut or oppose the power structure in subversive ways. so they really did us a favor. most likely if you meet a rational person, they are also intelligent. emotional are easy to manipulate and are bred like cattle in the working class.

[madichelp0]

i think you have a good point there :)

[rayspacevideo]

The thought that girls stay inside while boys go outside more often is because of social motivation?

The female is usually smaller in frame and more docile therefore probably needing protection inside a social network and designed to raise and protect the young.

The male may need the skill of being funny to gain trust and enter other tribes protective boundaries and lure a female out to join the males tribe to prevent unwanted evolutionary gene pool inbreeding.

[jea740]

How does that makes sense he doesnt want gene pool inbreeding?

Our body and or mind/spirt arent that closly related in that it even gives prefrence

[rayspacevideo]

What do you think of this as being a possible evolutionary theory of why males are more funny.

This video you bring up a topic about how boys are more rambunctious and the parents want them out of their hair.

Perhaps that is evolution, the male is to leave the nest.

Why males may have needed to be funny may be inherent in their nature out of necessity as a social tool to lure a female out of another alpha males pack or tribe.

Women being smaller frame were not made to venture out and be social.

[entropyofmind]

Also, Im not on Hitchens' dick, ffs. I like the guy and what he writes. This is all just banter--meaningless-- welcome to the internet.

[themightymouth]

enrtopyofmind

You seem to be "bursting" with ideas and opinions regarding the subject of humour, even though you lack even a grain of humour yourself!

Dull, Boring, Bland!

[themightymouth]

Dull, Boring, Docile, Bland!

[entropyofmind]

Keep in mind, I am speaking generally. I can list several girls on the soccer teams who were more competitive and fought harder than anyone else on the team, and I can name boys that were the exact opposite. Despite that, the general picture never changed. Male and female physiology are different from the get go.

[ahuj89]

Male and female biology ARE obviously different but that never necessarily accounts for certain behaviors. If females were taught to be more competitive and males were taught to have less of a sense of self would that still be the same?

Humans are incredibly weak except for their ability to form strong adaptive societies, the human brain is engineered to take cultural cues, why is it impossible to say that girls aren't funny because they aren't socialized to be funny?

[entropyofmind]

I have been observing kids all my life. My mother's main source of income while I was growing up was child daycare, and you are mistaken when you say there isn't a difference when they are little. There is a HUGE one. I used to like to play with the boys a lot more because they were way more rambunctious (I was about 12 years old and they were around 5 and 6).

I also am a soccer coach for 3rd graders every year, and there too, HUGE difference, even in a competitive sport.

[zombieseezombiedo]

it's not like many men are funny. so many men are boring, they go out with boring women. I think he know what to write to cause an argument so that he can get interviews and make more money.

stop texbooking, and go observe kids on the playground; as a woman it's less creepy for you to do so. there's slight to no difference the ways kids play. and testosterone levels between kids are the same until puberty.

get off Hitchens dick. ffs.

in your video, after 3 min in, strongly agree.

[poprockssuck87]

"Men are that artists, and women are the critics."

On a biological level, the life of a man is a constant performance of how much (accurate) information the their DNA has acquired through personal and inherited experience of reality. So I find that the development of humor would be a way of further differentiating males from one another in this mating ritual called life.

[poprockssuck87]

If humor were the case of social conditioning and not another means for life to attempt to perpetuate itself, then it would seem oddly coincidental that most women find a man with a good sense of humor more attractive than a man without one.

Not only does a sense of humor bring intellectual stimulation and thus pleasure to the female counterpart, but it reflects on a person's (in this case a male) awareness of his surroundings and mental capacity to a certain extent.

[sobman]

I came here looking to say some mean shit.

I can no longer do that after watching this video. Well played.

[OphidianOracle]

Im not sure what exactly Hitchens mean when he said "evolution", but I would argue that its a develompment of Social Evolution. (shrugs)

[dh234]

Women should be able to write funny dialogue more than just Tina Fey, so what's up with that? If they are socially superior somehow, why do men write better comedy? That's what I wonder.

[megamanium]

Sarah Silverman tells very crude guy jokes and she's hot so that helps. Tina Fey isn't all that funny.

I think that certain genes carry on exclusively to guys or girls, and maybe an integral part of this sense of humor is carried on by men.

[SUPAHOSS]

Personally, I don't think Silverman is funny at all. I really don't get the attraction. But she'd always touted as an example of a funny female stand-up any time the subject is raised, in my experience.

Wanda Sykes is a whole lot funnier, she's one of the few female stand-ups that's got a proper laugh out of me. She's a far better ambassador for female comedy if you ask me.

[rgzdev]

Actually one can even wonder if humor has been relevant at all before the 20th century in getting laid. I think the prehistoric era when females could choose their mates freely ended before witticisms were possible, I mean there weren't any roads for the chickens to cross. Then followed an era of male dominance that's still lingering today. If any, wit had more to do with impressing other males and escalating the patriarchal ladder rather than impressing the ladies.

[VarialProductions]

In a pre-family guy world I think something like wit still existed. And men had to nonetheless 'charm' women. Charm is the richer and better dressed cousin of comedy.

[gottspieler]

The problem is that most women don't know how to be funny. Since guys will laugh at anything girls say in order to get laid and the fact that girls are (for the most part) more emotional and giddier than men...their idea of funny often consists of silliness...they don't need to work hard to get laughs from anyone, even girlfriends b/c the girlfriends also have less social pressure to be funny and they will influence each other accordingly...

[BloakinCloak]

You're right. My sense of humor is solar powered.

[roballen1216]

I don't think men evolved to be funnier. But one reason that we are funnier or at least try is to get girls and get respect from other guys. As far as getting girls we can look at animals. Animals have to get themselves noticed somehow, it could be colorful plumage, a special dance, etc. Being funny is a way to get noticed. A lot of girls dont have to be funny to get noticed and funny girls are usually less attractive because its what they need to do to get noticed.

[entropyofmind]

Lol. I didn't bring religion in. The context of that example was not religious at ALL. You are missing the point big time. I am not liking the church to humorous women.

I stated in the beginning of the video that I agreed with Hitchens, and yes, it is absolutely a biological/social condition. We just differ in the DRIVE of that difference. And yes, some cultures have allowed women to be humorous. Hitchens cites the Jewish community, which happens to be true.

[tgy156]

Thank you. In point of fact, out-of-context remarks were the reason I posted. Your post was, ostensibly, in response to women and humor. You deviated by bringing religion in, with remarks of the church persecuting folks for 'heresy.' My challenge is this: Please elaborate on the theory that "the church" affected this condition at all. Do you believe, as Hitchens, that this is a biological/evolutionary condition? If not, have some cultures allowed for women to flourish with respect to humor?

[entropyofmind]

When I am presented with a challenge, then I will respond. You have simply misinterpreted my words to justify the little crusade you're attempting to start. I have no intent what-so-ever in bringing religion into this debate. I cited the medieval times to make a point that evolution doesn't "act" how we think it should when applied to psychology, period. If you would like to debate religion with me, I am more than happy to, just do it on a relevant topic and learn how to grasp context first.

[tgy156]

"Whiney bitches?" Perhaps a logic course is in order. Ad hominem is no response at all. If you're not going to engage, I'll drop out. I challenged you on the theory of the church, humor, and women. You have made as assertion, then backed off of it when challenged. Do try and engage "rationally" as you claim to prefer, rather than call names. You only come off as a childish pseudo-intellectual. If you'd like to try this again, please re-read my challenge and respond like a grown-up.

[entropyofmind]

I don't know how you think that I meant evolution was purposely selected a group of people. I was simply making the ironic observation that in one time in our history, "logic" was not a valuable trait, as was selected against.

You are too eager to enter conversations with your guns blazing... but you are shooting blanks.

[garyonthenetube]

I think, on the average, rationality/logic has always been a survivability trait.

Not shouting it out loud when you know you will be killed for doing so is another survivability trait that logical people would have.

[tgy156]

How does an impersonal force (evolution) "select" against "rational-minded" people? This is a fundamental fallacy which must either be abandoned, or modified in some way, so as to correct this obviously flawed, elementary error. Evolution "knows" nothing. By the way, persecution by the church only applies to Christian societies. It does not account for the other cultures globally, with no Christian influence. Is it your assertion that humorless women is a western/Christian situation only?

[cheeseonfire]

Psychology is just applied biology.

[entropyofmind]

So you are saying men like women to be more docile and less funny? I have found that to be true in my own experience too... which is an interesting concept I guess. Many men have left comments complaining that women lack creative humor, yet I wonder what they would even do with a woman who possessed it.

[chawk111]

A lot of good comedy has to do with being unlikable in some way - political incorrectness, ugly truths, etc. When a man is unlikable, its not that big of a deal to other men. He can just dismiss him as an asshole or if

[chawk111]

he is being funny/ insightful/ satirical, he can laugh and appreciate that. Conversely, a woman's unlikability is more of a problem - it is not free of certain emotional/psychological entanglements. Men have a pseudo-sexual covetance for women (particularly attractive ones) and seeing them be unlikable knocks them off that pedestal. It taints what are in fact good,

[chawk111]

benevolent feelings. As for women's preference for male comedians, again there are pseudo-sexual reasons. Woman like a man who, for one thing, is up on the stage, exalted, with everyone knowing his name (case in point: groupies), and who also is a bit of a cad who may be unlikable in some ways. Above applies mainly to heterosexuals I suppose.

[DrBurdock]

WTF? Sense of humor is just another way of creative thinking. Women are less apt to thinking out of the box (because they are dumb). And that answers the question.

[entropyofmind]

The "humor is a sense of creativity" theory was already voiced, by me. The rest of your comment is useless to this debate... if you are disappointed at the caliber of women you meet, then don't pick them up at bars or clubs.

[DrBurdock]

LOL WUT? That's not a theory that's what it really is. Talking about "social conditions" as a major factor of everything is as old as the hills and as far as I know there is still no reliable reasearch which shows the direct connection. There are lot of girls who spend very little time at home, but they don't become mega comedians after all anyways.

[chawk111]

I'm not sure you have a point of disagreement with Hitchens. By "evolutionary contest" he just means the contemporary contest for sex (i.e. flirting and dating). He not talking about genetics. A clever turn of phrase by a hyperarticulate individual. Later when he says that it would be a waste of the male effort to be funny if

[chawk111]

[cont'd form prior] women didn't have a sense of humor, well that is a sub-point in support of his contention that the accusation of not being funny is not an implication that one isn't intelligent (and that women shouldn't feel condescended to by his thesis). I agree with you that the humor differential is indisputable and that it arises almost entirely form socialization, with maby a small physiological catalyst, and I think Hitchens would too.

[entropyofmind]

The difference I see between Hitchens' opinion and mine is that he claims a creative sense of humor is the result of that "contemporary contest for sex," as you say. I know he isn't talking about genetics here. However, I do not agree that THIS is what drove men and women to be so different in their capacities for humor. I think it is a tool that men can use, but only because the difference was already there. I think those differences are purely due to the way people tend to treat...

[entropyofmind]

...different genders.

[chawk111]

O.K. I understand but you DO falsely represent CH's argument in your video. Any argument that Evolution leads to the difference requires the writer to believe that selection --> GENETIC differences --> GENETIC predispositions towards comedy for males. And since you say he isn't talking about genetics, it doesn't follow. I guess you could mean "evolution" is a colloquial sense (history, 'progress'), but since you mention "selection", I'm assuming you don't.

[entropyofmind]

I am talking about the historical/psychological sense, and I do believe I mentioned that in the video (saying something along the lines of..."the concept of evolution gets harder when we talk about psychologies of people.") I think both Hitchens and I are talking about the same thing, but he talks as if he believes it DROVE the difference, which I don't agree with. Just arguing semantics.

But you might be right, and maybe I should take a look at my video again.

[entropyofmind]

Plus, men don't inherently have a higher form of humor. They are raised by society in a way that nurtures a sense of humor, and it might be due to sexual prowess now-a-days, but I don't believe that is how "humor" originated.

[MysteryManoLove]

Humor can trigger dopamines but thats a result of evolutionary hard wiring. It's just like breast feeding does the same thing, it's a physical reward system to keep the species alive, just like humor can trigger physical rewards for the possibility of reproduction. I think you are really confusing yourself darling between what you feel is right and evolutionary science. I'm just letting you know what the scientific basis that Hitchens makes his claims, he is correct.

[MisterAtoms]

you're wasting your time...this chick can't, or won't grasp broader concepts..another evolutionary hang-up - psychological defense mechanisms.

[MysteryManoLove]

Point taken LOL!

[entropyofmind]

If you cant win with rationality, join the irrational ranks and just call the other person incompetent. How many whiny bitches of men is this video going to conjure up? Only time will tell...

[MysteryManoLove]

When someone uses rational arguements, scientific evidence, and just gets told again and again that they are just wrong with no backup of a rational argument, it doesn't mean the last one who speaks is correct. I never said you were incompetent, I don't believe you are but I think you are wrong about the things you present in the video. I already presented my positions on why I am right from, a scientific standing on why Hitchens is right, I don't care if I get anyone elses approval or not.

[entropyofmind]

How exactly do I not have supporting scientific evidence for my argument? The ONLY thing Hitchens and I differ on is the fact that he thinks humor is the result of men competing for women. I think its more simple than that, and I have stated my reasoning several times.

And by the way, Hitchens is not an evolutionary biologist. His schooling has not had anything to do with that front, so taking his word for it (like most people on here seem to do) is silly.

[entropyofmind]

Hitchens is and isn't right. Yes, it is used as a tool for men to attract more women. No, it isnt the direct result of evolution, because humor is not a hereditary trait.

[entropyofmind]

Shit... I deleted you comment by accident. The "remove" button is right next to "Reply" for me. Fortunately it was emailed to me as well...

[entropyofmind]

MysteryManoLove said: I agree with Hitchens on that point because humor is a result of competeing for women, especially wit. Evolutionary psychology has consistantly pointed to it, we as humans didn't just start laughing after farting at a camp fire thousands of years ago. It was a delicate and time consuming process of nature. Humor was a result of other factors as well of course, there had to be mechanics in place for humor to become something in humans.

[entropyofmind]

My response: Now look who is making scientific claims without any evidence to support it. Evolutionary psychology has not consistently supported it... I don't know how you make that assumption. You are also assuming cavemen didn't just start laughing around the fire one day. Is that documented somewhere?

The truth is we know little about laughing or crying, but they do seem to serve as a type of emotional release. Babies do both. Did crying come about as a result from the competition...

[entropyofmind]

... for more women? Maybe, but probably not.

[MysteryManoLove]

If thats true then why are people made to laugh? Our brains have to be predisposed to something to make us want to laugh, what is it?

[entropyofmind]

It is a quick way to release dopamine, which our brain needs in order to properly function.

[MysteryManoLove]

Why does it do that?

[entropyofmind]

Didnt I just answer that? To release dopamine, which our brain needs to function.

[MysteryManoLove]

Why does the brain need dopamine to function?

[entropyofmind]

I don't know. Seems to be an evolutionary glitch to me. If we could operate without it, wouldn't our species get along much better? Seems to me like you think you have an answer. Lets have it.

[MysteryManoLove]

What triggers dopamine to get released?

[entropyofmind]

The act of merely smiling does. Evolutionary biologists don't know my dear. I don't pretend to either.

[entropyofmind]

This wont let me post links, but google the question "Why did humor evlove?" and read the first article you come to from machineslikeus.

[MysteryManoLove]

Ok what I'm getting at is this, there is plenty of scientific evidence on why we do certain things or why they happen. On my video "what is it about women that seduces you" I describe what happens when I know I can get with a young lady. These things are triggerd by specific conscious and unconscious things happening in the body. Smiling can trigger endorphins, dopamine, ect. but the there are well developed mechinisms in our wonderful brains that keep us alive and replicating...

[entropyofmind]

Do you believe that sexual competition between males is the only function of humor? Keep in mind, humor existed long before women were ever given the CHOICE of sexual partners. So how could humor have been required for that process, and if it was not required, how could it have evolved solely due to that process?

[MysteryManoLove]

Oxytocin, dopamine, and other pleasurable drugs in the brain are triggered in people to feel pleasurable and rewarded for their "good behavior". Humor is one such thing that has been developed over long periods of time, why do we gravitate towards someone who is really funny like Dane Cook, men and women alike? We recognize humor as something that is valueble in us innately, most people say "well he's just funny" and it's true but it's still just a non explanation, what makes things funny?

[entropyofmind]

One theory is pattern recognition. Humor is a universal language--like crying--that everyone understands. It is one of the only ways an infant can communicate how it's feeling with its mother. It is a way for people of different languages to communicate THEIR feelings toward each other. To have evolved purely to give a man a sexual advantage is, well, ludicrous and too far focussed in one direction to be true.

[MysteryManoLove]

Humors only function is not exclusively for sexual advantage, it's the ultimate advantage however, sorry if I didn't make that clear. It does make people feel good, gravitates people towards others and what not. If you tell a joke, it doesn't automatically make women jump in bed, if you make a joke about someone who just died, it usually repels people away. Being socially savvy is very important part of humor as well and how it works as well.

[entropyofmind]

You didn't comment on the fact that in most of history, men didn't even acknowledge a woman's feelings on the matter of sex before he had sex with her. Arranged marriages didnt even end in America until around the 1950's. Because of that, sex couldn't have driven humor, nor could it have produced it.

[MysteryManoLove]

Sex did drive humor, your looking at things only from a recent historical stand point. But survival of the fittest had an important role before humor in humans was adopted as well. I highly recommend, as I did before, reading "The Mating Mind" by Geoffrey Miller, if you don't, you probably have no clue what I'm talking about, as before.

[entropyofmind]

Sex didn't drive humor. You are speaking like its a hereditary trait again. Have you studied evolution formally? It doesn't really seem like you have.

[MysteryManoLove]

Hitchens probably didn't either, but he knows what he's talking about. The mechanics are hereditary, it would be useless for us to have humor if we were trying to make a zebra laugh to death by telling it a joke for example, humor only is good for other humans. Without our ancestors we wouldn't be equip with the things that make humor work. Of course humor does take practice to make it happen, people are not born to do things that are funny, just like anything it take practice.

[entropyofmind]

Lol, no, he doesn't really know what he is talking about in regards to this, which is why I say that he is wrong to assume something such as this.

My educational background is heavily ingrained in the understanding of evolution as a biochemical process, which is why I am not recommending books to you and regurgitating what I have heard elsewhere. Hitchens' is speaking out of turn, and I highly doubt that Dawkins would agree with his rationale on the matter, as he IS an evolutionary biologist

[entropyofmind]

My disagreement with Hitchens is a minor one, but I only caught his error because I actually understand what evolution is and the difference between psychological and physiological evolution. You can't easily predict or determine the cause and drive for the latter.

[MysteryManoLove]

Right, but you can see the result of both pointed out in the case of Geoffrey Miller's book.

[entropyofmind]

Geoffrey Miller's book would purely be his own opinion. If you took a few classes in the subject, you could form your own.

[MysteryManoLove]

Sure, thats because psychology is not an exact science though. No one acts or behaves the exact same way, the "laws" in phychology can only go as far as a theory because everyone is different. It can only account for the behavior of the majority of the people. It's not like Physics and Chemistry which are exact sciences. I have used the things he talks about in his book on a cognitive level, because the studies and research come from cognative studies.

[MysteryManoLove]

I tend to trust his opinion, his credentials, his scientific opinions, his education and other things and your right, when it comes to psychology, there is no 100% percise method, or one explantion for every thing. Hitchens said "MOST men will never get laid if they don't have a sense of humor", he didn't say they can't get lucky if they don't. I make the same distinction.

[entropyofmind]

Humor is a nonviolent way of competition, sure... it is also a means to diffuse otherwise violent situations. Humor can be used for a lot of things that don't directly correspond with mating. I think the KISS rule definitely applies here: Keep It Simple, Stupid.

Side note: researchers have found that other animals may have the ability to laugh upon being "tickled." A trait that seems a little unnecessary, yet still exists. Maybe humans have just developed one more way to achieve laughter.

[entropyofmind]

The result of humor is laughter. Laughter triggers the release of dopamine in the brain, hence that instant "feel good" feeling. If somehow, humans lost their drive for sexuality, humor would most likely still exist simply because of the instant gratification it offers.

It is true that humor is a good tool to implore on the quest of entering a girl's pants... but, BECAUSE it has another more simple benefit--dopamine release--you can't assume a role for it that is so specific.

[MysteryManoLove]

Have you ever read anything by Geoffrey Miller? If you have read his works you would agree with Hitchens. By his own admission, he talked about evolution and how humor has a unique role with mating. Humor has no role in for example "making a zebra laugh to death by telling it a joke", it doesn't serve any purpose in hunting food for instance. If your interested, you should check out Geoffrey Miller's book "Mating Intelligence". Humors only role is ultimately for mating, strait talk.

[entropyofmind]

Mystery, that isnt true. Humor may also exist simply because it gives us instant gratification/pleasure. If humor's single purpose was for mating, then why do guys use their humor on each other often? Or girls with other girls? Being humorous has other advantages in today's society as well, as Im sure it did when it first became prevalent... for example, humorous people are usually witty, and witty people have a certain amount of charm that carries them far in the business world.

[MysteryManoLove]

Creativity, wit, and humor are all inter connected in the unique role of sexual selection. Humor has to do with status, the funny guy is more likely to be higher on the ladder of social standing, sexual selection is molded by how well a man can tell a joke. Women have a need to communicate, it is no secret that most women have better speech and language centers of the brain. Men see humor as a dominating characteristic, if they can emulate their friend, they have a hope of becoming funny.

[MysteryManoLove]

This whole idea is better explained in the chapter "The Wit to Woo" in his other book "The Mating Mind". He suggests through humor, people found a peaceful means through competative status rather than violent ones. This suggests that old quote "intelligence is sexy", which is very true. Intelligece gave humans means to gain material wealth without resorting to violent conquests of territory. You know how people who are book smart that can't tell jokes are social outcasts we tend to call "nerds"?

[MysteryManoLove]

You are right if you are suggesting that making a girl laugh doesn't mean she is automatically wooed. But humor is different between the sexes and men have a higher developed form of it, from an evolutionary stand point.

[dionusos2]

I don't know what kind of America you were brought up in, but where I was brought up, girls were as free to explore the outside, social world as males.

[yoshscout]

Lulz, Hitchens is so awesome. He has all these hot gurls trying to be funny for him now.  Genious! I think you missed that point.

I am so using this at bars!

[jimmymack12312]

I have a few things to add. I like your rambunctious angle...but I have some thoughts.

I think a good summation can be that when boys are young, we are taught not to cry......so we laugh. I think that leads to an ability to poke fun at our own problems, whereas women take their problems much more seriously. That's why men are better sports when it comes to practical jokes.

Also. Women fear social isolation more. That's another important point.

[morwyn42]

I also think there's a big socialization aspect to humor in terms of peer groups. Groups of guys tend to mock-insult and rag on each other in a way that groups of girls don't. Jokes have to be timed and balanced for the audience, and the way guys interact provides better practice for being funny. I think girls can totally be just as funny as guys, but in our culture they don't get a lot of opportunities to learn and practice.

[joskirin85]

"Women arent suppose to be funny"

[MoreDeadandDeader]

I have met few women in my life that could make anyone laugh. It is not an insult, just that women think of different things than women.

[rcarass1]

cool theory, i think its probably a bit of both, nature and nurture

on the natural selection side i think ugly guys have to rapidly evolve the comic so there able to get laid through humor attraction, thats why you never see handsome comedians, apart from jim carrey rawr! xD

[entropyofmind]

You are pointing at hormones acting as the cause of humor... and that is what I am saying, except in a slightly different way. I think it is the RESPONSE to these hormones in raising children that either act to create an environment which promotes humor (the ability to entertain) or suppresses it.

[entropyofmind]

In reference to testosterone, women have similar responses to negativity. The cynical sense of humor you speak of is exactly what many of the exceptions to Hitchens' "non-humorous" women employ. I also fall into a very dark, cynical form of humor when I feel stressed and know fully what you are referring to.

Testosterone probably adds to a man's "aggressive" sense of humor, but it is not exceedingly necessary in order to possess it.

[entropyofmind]

I can't agree with your statement because you haven't offered an explanation as to why the "tomboy" wouldn't be as funny as the man.

I agree with your statement that a person's capabilities are the result of individual potentials and an environment which allows for that potential to be reached. I also agree that humor works in a man's favor as far as reproduction goes, however, I think this is a byproduct of evolution rather than the direct result.

[greycloud24]

i believe testosterone plays a large part in the sense of humor. when i was deployed and on the front lines all of my platoon developed very negative senses of humor to cope with living near death. it became a defense mechanism of sorts. i believe (but have no evidence to support) that this is due to adreneline and testosterone as the female drivers we had did not develope this defense mechanism but tended to stay overly frightened.

[greycloud24]

although i agree with what you are saying i think you should look into a little deeper. much of what we are capable is a combination of potential and environment driving this potential. i agree with hitchens that men have more of a natural (inherent) ability to accept humor and develop humor as this plays a role in reproduction. a woman raised in the exact same way that a man might be raised may turn out to be a tomboy but she is unlikely to be as funny as the man.