DOES THE BIG BRAIN NEED A HUMOR CHIP?
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| Discovery design showing a Humor Chip |
How does the Big Brain Humor Chip work?
Currently under development, the Humor Chip is a processor, either hardware or software based, that regulates and initiates humor. It has sensor input and humor output. The premise of operation is to detect ongoing stressful situations and inject a Humor Stream. This is easier said than done. Does it require a verbal interface? Perhaps not, or a verbal interface could be supplemented. First, an exampling system is required, as proof of concept. One Propeller chip is dedicated to humor subroutines and sets up cogs to handle software based I/O. It has a stress level detector that detects the level of stress within the Big Brain. Stress level is based one or several factors - a conversation with a human, the level of thinking, intensity of thought or problem solving, the type of thinking and the duration and number of occurrences. Stress is generally measured by the complexity, duration, type, etc. of activity.
What is humor?
What
is the purpose of humor? why do we laugh? Humor is a complex phenomenon. There is no general theory of humor or even an agreed definition.
When we try to define exactly what counts as humor and what does not,
or how humor operates, we find it quite difficult.
Humor is comprised of three components: wit, mirth, and laughter. Wit is
the cognitive experience, Mirth the emotional experience, Laughter the
physiological experience. We often equate laughter with humor, but there are many instances of
laughter (tickling, nervousness, etc.) that clearly have little to do
with humor.
Similarly, there are many instances of humor that do not result in
laughter (due to the mood of the appreciator, the social context, etc.).
Humor is a quality of perception that enables us to experience joy even
when faced with adversity. Stress is an adverse condition during which we may experience tension or
fatigue, feel unpleasant emotions and sometimes develop a sense of
hopelessness or futility.
You cannot feel stress, angry, depressed, anxious, guilty, or resentful
and experience humor at the same time.
Like beauty being in the eyes of the beholder, humor is in the funny
bone of the receiver of the experience.
