Learning

You know how we say some people never learn? Usually when they do something so stupid we want to smack them on the head and go 'duh'!

But then, don't we all, at some stage or another, do just that? Something that you wonder to yourself, what was I thinking?

And, of course, in these days of video cameras and access to YouTube, Flickr etc. you no longer have to wait for America's funniest videos to show people in pain, in agony and horribly embarrassed. 

Watching some of these made me once again think of an argument I had, quite a while back, with one of my co-workers. I made the assertion that all comedy is, inherently, cruel. We laugh at the discomfort of others. He scoured jokes and websites to convince me otherwise, but I kept proving my thesis with each example he brought.

Now, the thought strikes me, maybe laughter is a way for us to learn from the experiences of others? Apparently we remember funny things a lot longer and a lot better than others. So, to benefit from watching our neighbour saw the branch he is sitting on out from under himself, so that we don't do it, we laugh?