Product Description

Robert Provine argues in this book that laughter is mostly about relationships, not jokes; that women laugh more at men than vice versa; that speakers laugh more than their audiences; that tickling is a form of tactile communication, not a reflex; and that laughter explains why chimpanzees cannot talk. Among other topics are a history of canned laughter and a description of the laughing epidemic that brought a district of Tanganyika to a standstill in 1962.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #309590 in Books
• Published on: 2000-11-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 268 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Is it really the best medicine? Neurobiologist Robert R. Provine discovered that no scientist had ever looked into the weird, uncontrollable, and very human phenomenon of laughter, so he started off on his own. Laughter: A Scientific Investigation is his warm and--of course--funny report on how and why we giggle and snort with such regularity. Basing his views on field research conducted in a broad array of social situations (laughter being notoriously difficult to evoke in the laboratory), he posits that we use it as a universal, preverbal means of communication. Though animal research is controversial, it suggests that apes establish and maintain relationships using laugh-like behaviour, so it could be the missing link between animal communication and true language. He also explores instances in which we seem to laugh our way into and out of social situations, and includes a list of tips for keeping the laughs flowing. The irony of the scientific community not taking laughter seriously isn't lost on Provine, and he takes every opportunity to remind his fellows that even the seemingly most trivial matters can hide the most profound truths. If that isn't funny, what is? --Rob Lightner

From the Publisher
Press Reviews for Laughter
The Scotsman - "Laughter is no mere laughing matter, as Provine proves in a pioneering investigation into the hows and whys of what it means to chuckle. Prodding our funnybones through an enthusiastic dissection of experiments with apes, analyses of canned laughter on television comedy, potted histories of holy laughter, laughing gas and bizarre laughter epidemics, the American psychology professor offers not only an innovative understanding of how our fancies are tickled but why giving in to the giggles is good for our health."

Scientific American - "...Laughter: A Scientific Investigation builds on this work in that it assumes animal origins of laughter and follows van Hooff's distinction between the laugh and the smile...The fact that we can lose control over this expression, that it may become mirthless, tragic, eerie, sly or sardonic, shows how close comedy can get to tragedy. We like to see ourselves as fully rational beings, but much of this dissolves when someone yanks our laughing muscle. FRANS B. M. DE WAAL, author of Chimpanzee Politics and Good Natured.

Newsweek - "Scanning brains and eavesdropping on chimps, researchers are figuring out why we chuckle, guffaw and crack up."

Elle, USA - "Provine's appealingly unembarassed goofy curiosity...allows him to stage his own geekiness with gusto..."

Boston Herald - "Laughter isn't about jokes, it's about relationships. That's why it's no fun to laugh alone."

Evening Standard, London - "This crisply written, often hilarious book....might make you giggly for days."

The Arizona Republic - "It's fascinating-enjoy."

Dallas Morning News - "Some seriously funny research."