The psychopath detector
Oct. 4th, 2016 06:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dennisgorelik---
https://content.psychopathcode.com/chapter1.html
What we have evolved with humor is an empathy detector. A joke is a card with two sides. We show one side, and keep the other hidden. If the listener has empathy for the character in the story, they get to see the hidden side. This triggers the laugh response. If the listener has no empathy, they are baffled.
A psychopath cannot laugh "right." He does not laugh, or he laughs too much, or too long. We are more wary of people who laugh too much, than of those who don't laugh at all. What is he hiding, we wonder?
---
Author: Pieter Hintjens (I'm choosing euthanasia).
https://content.psychopathcode.com/chapter1.html
What we have evolved with humor is an empathy detector. A joke is a card with two sides. We show one side, and keep the other hidden. If the listener has empathy for the character in the story, they get to see the hidden side. This triggers the laugh response. If the listener has no empathy, they are baffled.
A psychopath cannot laugh "right." He does not laugh, or he laughs too much, or too long. We are more wary of people who laugh too much, than of those who don't laugh at all. What is he hiding, we wonder?
---
Author: Pieter Hintjens (I'm choosing euthanasia).
