Philosophical questions of the day:

[cimorene]

1. How much of worldwide belief in the supernatural is actually caused by a fundamental lack of understanding of the concept of probability?



2. How is it that a small child can still be amused by a comic movie when they don't understand any of the jokes?



3. Account for forty-year (thirty?) popularity of Garfield in spite of the fact that it has never been funny.



4. Salty or sweet? Prove your answer.

Pursuant to 3, Lasagna Cat, a series of live reenactments of Garfield strips plus remix music videos. Surreal and hilarious while highlighting exactly how stupid and un-funny Garfield really is. Funnier than Garfield-minus-Garfield, yo. Everyone should see at least a few. Pursuant to 2, I got Robin Hood: Men in Tights on DVD a few days ago.

Comments

[hollsh.livejournal.com]

1. Probably quite a bit.

2. I just remember laughing at the swearing.

3. TOTALLY FUCKING BAFFLED.

4. I'm all about the sugar.

[cimness.livejournal.com]

The Garfield question is a true Zen master-caliber meditation topic.

[jain]

How is it that a small child can still be amused by a comic movie when they don't understand any of the jokes?

Because other people are laughing--either onscreen or in the audience--and hearing other people laugh amuses people.

[anglepoiselamp.livejournal.com]

1. More like the fundamental human gullibility and the even more human need to believe in stuff like the afterlife. (I'm a gullible skeptic, yay. My viewpoint consists of many completely incongruous opinions.)

2. They find different things to laugh at than adults do. I remember that I couldn't grasp plots at all, but I liked absurd jokes and characters that yelled and fell over a lot.

3. Stupid people like stupid things. I know this because of my learningks.

4. Salty. Sugars provide energy but salts are vitally important to the human body. And also salty foods are tastier, yo. :P

[cimness.livejournal.com]

#2 - actually the correct answer! You get a golden star cookie.

[vass]

1. A lot.
2. The amusement version of a contact high. And the laugh track. And the fact that sometimes you can just tell when something's meant to be funny, even if you don't understand why.
3. I can remember liking Garfield. I was I think seven. Maybe other people have a seven-year-old's sense of humour. I mean, I can remember when later on (age nine) my sense of humour matured from there to the point where anything that could conceivably refer to sex, up to and including the word 'it' (used in any sense at all) was hilarious. Bear in mind, Garfield was two years earlier than *that* benchmark of maturity.
4. Both. Proof: chocolate. The two tastes intensify each other.