Laughter: A Scientific Investigation - Softcover

Provine, Robert R

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0141002255 ISBN 13: 9780141002255

Publisher: Penguin, 2001

Synopsis

Do men and women laugh at the same things?
Is laughter contagious?
Has anyone ever really died laughing?
Is laughing good for your health?

Drawing upon ten years of research into this most common-yet complex and often puzzling-human phenomenon, Dr. Robert Provine, the world's leading scientific expert on laughter, investigates such aspects of his subject as its evolution, its role in social relationships, its contagiousness, its neural mechanisms, and its health benefits. This is an erudite, wide-ranging, witty, and long-overdue exploration of a frequently surprising subject.

About this title

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

Review:

"[A] well-written, often amusing and always fascinating exposé." --Scientific American

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0141002255
• ISBN 13: 9780141002255
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256