Submission + - "Talking Muffin" May Yield Secret to Laugh
sg3000 writes: "The NYT reports that scientists are close to cracking the science of laughter. According to one hypothesis, laughter is a natural response from people low on the social hierarchy:
So maybe Dwight Shrute was right — smiling is a sign of submission."Occasionally we're surprised into laughing at something funny, but most laughter has little to do with humor. It's an instinctual survival tool for social animals, not an intellectual response to wit. It's not about getting the joke. It's about getting along....When you're low in the status hierarchy, you need all the allies you can find, so apparently you're primed to chuckle at anything even if it doesn't do you any immediate good.