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Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Humor Chip

DOES THE BIG BRAIN NEED A HUMOR CHIP?
Discovery design showing a Humor Chip
The Big Brain has lots of Propeller chips. Should one become a Humor Chip?

Even in the technical world where humanoid robots and thinking machine brains are emerging, their association and relationships with humans will necessitate humor. Humor is known to release stress and create psychological balance and positive chi energy which extends the known benefits of laughter. Can you name a friend who you think should lighten up? Though there are no "humor chips" yet available off the shelf, its up to the techies to program their contents. Humanoids are currently made from processor chips - some include the Propeller chip. There are people working on projects leading to the use and implementation of the Humor Chip, and it's likely the Propeller chip will be a candidate for said subroutines.

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.

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