In response to a listener's question, the guys attempt to answer the questions: “What does it mean to be funny?” and “What does it mean to be healthy?”. After a brief digression about humour in rats, Ali discusses how ‘funny’ laughter and active listening are intricately linked (2:21). He outlines the 4 major concepts that people find amusement in: 1) the misfortunes of others; 2) expressions of otherwise forbidden emotions; 3) juxtaposition of incompatible concepts; 4) realizing that certain expectations have been violated. He discusses how something is more funny if geographical or emotional remoteness lends a bit of distance. He also discusses the old adage of ‘humour is tragedy plus time’, as well as the concept of timing, ‘too soon’ and how comedy is tension and release. Then, Asif discusses how “healthiness” to him means optimizing your health and reducing your risk of disease (30:13). He then describes the two easiest ways to stay healthy: eat in moderation and exercise regularly. Asif then discusses the importance of mental and emotional health and learning to ‘live’ with stress. He also discusses not ignoring signals with regards to your emotional and mental well being. 

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Music courtesy of Wataboi and 8er41 from Pixabay

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Show Notes:

• What’s So Funny? The Science of Why We Laugh: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/whats-so-funny-the-science-of-why-we-laugh/
• Science deconstructs humor: What makes some things funny?: https://theconversation.com/science-deconstructs-humor-what-makes-some-things-funny-64414
• Colin and Brad -  Mousetrap Game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAZcJ2gCpEo

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