Sense of humor

[Voodoo Child]

This topic could possibly go under the sarcasm thread (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.), but I have sort of a two-fold question for you all.
That is, what do you laugh at, and how do you make other people laugh? (Edit: I mean, what kind of humor you lean towards when you're being funny, either intentional or otherwise).

Personally, and this is the main reason for my question, it takes a lot to make me laugh. I love irony, sarcasm, satire and parody, especially if it's used in a topical context like South Park or The Daily Show. But I rarely laugh at shows like Simpsons or Family Guy. The same goes for the countless sitcoms that are broadcasted, where I think I average at about a chuckle every 5 episode.

As for myself, I can't tell a joke (CLICHE ALERT!) to save my life. I tend to lean towards sarcastic remarks, often laced with a good amount of cynicism. I also have a habit for pointing out irony in a situation or behavior. Thankfully my friends are used to this by now, but it's not always popular around people I don't know well, so I've learned to tone it down.

I think I'm like this because I like to analyze situations, and I think the forms of humor I mentioned above allows for a bit more complexity rather than just a straightforward joke. That's not to say I can't laugh at a joke unless it's a complex web, like Aristotle said (and I'm not one to quote dead people all the time); "The secret to humor is surprise".
In that regard I absolutely love "Whose Line Is It Anyway?", where I think the improvisation makes for more ironic situations and gives the humor an element of surprise.

How about the rest of you?

[INTJohn]

This topic could possibly go under the sarcasm thread (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.), but I have sort of a two-fold question for you all.
That is, what do you laugh at, and how do you make other people laugh?


First - I don't make other people do anything.............

........and INTJ's generally have a unique & morbid sense of humor which means many people will be horrified at what an INTJ laughs at and finds humourous........ I find it quite Liberating!!!!!!!!! one of my true sensory pleasures in Life that is naturally & totally in tune with my mind & emotion.

INTJohn

[Voodoo Child]

This topic could possibly go under the sarcasm thread (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.), but I have sort of a two-fold question for you all.
That is, what do you laugh at, and how do you make other people laugh?


First - I don't make other people do anything.............

........and INTJ's generally have a unique & morbid sense of humor which means many people will be horrified at what an INTJ laughs at and finds humourous........ I find it quite Liberating!!!!!!!!! one of my true sensory pleasures in Life that is naturally & totally in tune with my mind & emotion.

INTJohn

By all means I didn't mean "make" as in force them to laugh, but rather what kind of humor you lean towards when you're being funny, either intentional or otherwise. I agree with the rest of your post though, it is very liberating.

[Max T]

what do you laugh at:
As INTJohn says re. unique stuff:
I sometimes break into fits of convulsing giggles over what others consider trivial stuff.
E.g. the vision of a competitive cyclist about to win a race, handed their national flag just before the finish line to celebrate, flag gets caught in bike gears, cyclist crashes and injures their body and fail to cross the line. 2nd place wins.

And morbid stuff that is paradoxical:
UK farmers shedding a tear because their cows had to be slaughtered due to contracting foot and mouth disease... when farmers would have been happy to send their cows to the slaughter houses if they were healthy!!

... and when making other people laugh:
Get a nice buzz from this. * I can't tell story jokes so resort to snappy observations during conversation or simple visual jokes- seeing a fallen tree in a forest and saying "squirrels grow big here". *

[INTJohn]

........here's an example:

This happened to me years ago when I was overseas, working as usual inna a combat zone.

This plane had been blown out of the sky and we were dispatched to perform any kind of rescue we could . Well there were no survivors and there was alot of burning - both plane parts & bodies.

Well this one guys body is burnin' and all of a sudden without warning his frikkin arm falls off. One of my compadres in arms loox at me and says "Well I think that ones done - nice & tender ain't he?"

I totally fukkin' lost it - I was laughin' so hard I had tears runnin' down my face for minutes while I was tryin' to stay focused on my job.

some of the other guys were pukin' their guts out.

INTJ Humor........

INTJohn

[shadowlock]

I laugh at shows like the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Boston Legal, South Park, etc.
If I want to make other people laugh, I generally use sarcasm, and pretend what I said was not funny, and continue as normal.

[v1cious]

i think

To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
and
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

are fucking HILARIOUS

[biased]

I don't find Bill Hicks that funny. That's for sure.

I generally find over-the-top situations humorous and sarcasm if used properly and not overused. I'm not even sure how I make people laugh but when I'm comfortable with the person I have no problems.

[qwerty]

It's weird but I prefer childish jokes. I guess it's a social commentary and funny to me to see people around me laugh at kids jokes.

Apparently I'm an extremely funny guy but I find it difficult to laugh at other people jokes when they through the same jokes back at me.

[hopscotch]

I'm a verbal sniper, known for my incisive one-liners. I make frequent and successful use of sarcasm, irony and hyperbole. My jokes sometimes fall flat around sensors because they tend to take what I say too literally.

I love dry humour and find satire, particularly political satire, most amusing. Sight gags don't even register a twitch of the lips.

[bikerscars]

If I want to make other people laugh, I generally use sarcasm, and pretend what I said was not funny, and continue as normal.

that's my sense of humor to a tee

[shadowlock]

So we have further proof we both are INTJs...

[bikerscars]

So we have further proof we both are INTJs...


i've taken the test several times in various moods and once intoxicated and every time came up as intj

the personality traits are dead on with me

my ex girlfriend (mother of my three children) is an esfj

my 8 year old daughter is an entp

my youngest brother is also an intj

just saying

[Firelie]

To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. <-- My favorite comic strip

[Firebert]

Man...if I had a nickel for every time I've been called an asshole after making a joke...

Everyone laughs, but they feel horrible for laughing at my morbid sense of humor. I have a kid in a wheelchair who lives on my floor...it's comedic gold. They actually threw him in "Standing room only" for the last football game. He was going on and on about he has "cripple powers" to a bunch of people one day, to which I replied, "I have legs that work." It was a good time.

Pretty much anyone who takes me seriously hates me.

[Ian]

I have been accused of having a dry sense of humour, slightly warped, somewhat Pyhton-esque, Spike Milligan-itic.

There used to be a series on UK tv called The Fast Show, just one quick-fire sketch after another really - but the one that alway made me laugh (and I mean until I cried!) was a 10 second feature called Jesse's Diets.

A scruffy tramp-like guy would emerge from a broken down shack, walk up to the camera, look into the lens and say somethiing like: "This week, I are bin mostly eatin' thistles" - stand there for a second or two, then walk back to the shed and close the door.

That was it start to end of sketch - but it creased me up every week - even the repeats got me! The diet changed every week, custard creams, Bourbon biscuits (cookies to the colonials), whatever. I don't know what it is, but it just makes me laugh.

Try this To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

[balpha]

YES! INTJs can't tell any jokes - that's true.. me neither..
BUT - I don't have any problems laughing at other people's jokes even if they're boring :P I just laugh anyway.. Try it! People feel much more comfortable when you're around if you flatter..
My humor is depending on who I am together with.. if someone likes anectdotes I just tell him funny things that happened to my friends. On the dance floor I imitate funny dancers :) and in school I imitate teachers (well, I'm in a drama club, I just have to imitate people). Of course sarcasm is a great thing for intj's nobody's that good in it as we are ;) except entj's maybe.. but nothing goes over an introvert shooting out with something unexpected;)

[TeleportThis]

I'm a verbal sniper, known for my incisive one-liners. I make frequent and successful use of sarcasm, irony and hyperbole. My jokes sometimes fall flat around sensors because they tend to take what I say too literally.

^That's pretty much me.

I also exaggerate a lot when telling stories, but because they start out and are, for the most part true, most people aren't really sure where the lines between fact and fiction are.

I can't stand people that just tell you exactly what happened verbatim, unless it was actually interesting. You gotta spice it up.

[OneBadMother]

Hmm, the INTJ I know is excellent at joke-telling. He also uses many puns and the aforementioned sarcasm, irony, and hyperbole. His one-liners are good enough that our other friends repeat them a lot, but with dampened effect.

My humor is often taking things out of context, making fun of things, flippant remarks, situational humor, and sarcasm. Two of my friends are hit or miss because my humor's not too referential, but I manage to make my INTJ friend laugh a lot. My INFP friend and I have a sort of speculatory humor, where we describe a situation and take it as far as we can go in a humorous fashion, and once I was able to do that with my INTJ friend as well.

[Jennywocky]

My humor is often taking things out of context, making fun of things, flippant remarks, situational humor, and sarcasm. ...My INFP friend and I have a sort of speculatory humor, where we describe a situation and take it as far as we can go in a humorous fashion, and once I was able to do that with my INTJ friend as well.

This sounds like my style as well (surprise, surprise).

Sometimes I have to be careful because people read me too seriously, when I'm just poking fun at something. I enjoy saying/doing the opposite of what was expected, as a joke... or at least hinting at it. (Often I will bemuse over the most socially inappropriate response to something, but have to take care that people do not think my comment is serious.)

I have also noticed an increasing shift in my humor where I will simply spin someone's words around in a different direction -- basically, whimsy. Sort of a mix of humor and creativity at once.

[thegnat]

My sense of humor varies....(except for the fact that I can't tell a joke. I'll laugh at them though)

If you can handle sarcasm, I'll be sarcastic. I'll be dry from time to time. Dry wit usually makes me laugh. Even groaners can make me laugh. I'll self-deprecate for humor.

And *a lot* of my sarcastic humor I'll say matter of factly like it wasn't even funny to me. Some people wonder how I can be so serious when I say some of the things I do....

[More Tea]

Personally, and this is the main reason for my question, it takes a lot to make me laugh. I love irony, sarcasm, satire and parody, especially if it's used in a topical context like South Park or The Daily Show. But I rarely laugh at shows like Simpsons or Family Guy. The same goes for the countless sitcoms that are broadcasted, where I think I average at about a chuckle every 5 episode.


Totally agree. I get bored with straight situational or physical "humor" but love well-written, topical shows like The Daily Show, South Park, or Royal Canadian Air Farce.

To analyze this a bit more, part of what makes something "funny" to me is that it is intellectual or assumes a certain level of intelligence on the audience's part. Another key element is good writing: I've laughed the loudest at some shows like Babylon 5 or Buffy the Vampire Slayer because they put in a sudden joke in the midst of well-written back-story and characterization.

I also like dry jokes and the ironic use of understatement. Hyperbole is usually only funny to me if it involves a clever use of metaphor.

[rwyatt365]

Is anyone into Brit-com's?

I'm a huge Monty Python fan. Also Fawlty Towers.

[Doppelbock]

To me, satire/parody is the absolute highest form of humor. Weird Al Yankovik is a freakin' genius. Also love Monty Python and South Park.

DB

[Ijz]

I'm a huge comedy fan. Love Monty Python (doh!!), Southpark, Stand-up shows and several sitcoms. I also love watching shows like "America's Funniest Home Videos", at which I usually laugh so loud that my neighbors can hear it. :-X

[thegnat]

Is anyone into Brit-com's?

I'm a huge Monty Python fan. Also Fawlty Towers.

I am! I have two Monty Python DVDs sitting near me waiting to be watched if I ever have the time....and energy.....

I love to watch The Daily Show and the Colbert Report.

Sadly enough I rarely have time and I end up watching The Daily Show and The Colbert Report on my computer at comedycentral.com sometimes.

[FatalException]

I also enjoy movies like Monty python, preferably the holy grail. it cracks me up every time, my sense of humor is very perverted and morbid. i also enjoy watching people get injured. i just find it funny, like car accidents, and things... lol

[Chainsaw Dundee]

what do you laugh at:
As INTJohn says re. unique stuff:
I sometimes break into fits of convulsing giggles over what others consider trivial stuff.
E.g. the vision of a competitive cyclist about to win a race, handed their national flag just before the finish line to celebrate, flag gets caught in bike gears, cyclist crashes and injures their body and fail to cross the line. 2nd place wins.

And morbid stuff that is paradoxical:
UK farmers shedding a tear because their cows had to be slaughtered due to contracting foot and mouth disease... when farmers would have been happy to send their cows to the slaughter houses if they were healthy!!

... and when making other people laugh:
Get a nice buzz from this. I can't tell story jokes so resort to snappy observations during conversation or simple visual jokes- seeing a fallen tree in a forest and saying "squirrels grow big here".

This post pretty much sums it up.

Irony, quick-witted observations, abstract and deep philosophical insight on nonsensical themes. In hindsight, it seems heartless, tasteless, and maybe some other empty word used by overly-serious humorless people.

I've seriously considered what dating a Mermaid would be like, that is, if the top half was fish and the bottom half were human.

I like shows like Aquateen Hunger Force and South Park, and reading Uncyclopedia.

[Doppelbock]

what do you laugh at:
As INTJohn says re. unique stuff:
I sometimes break into fits of convulsing giggles over what others consider trivial stuff.
E.g. the vision of a competitive cyclist about to win a race, handed their national flag just before the finish line to celebrate, flag gets caught in bike gears, cyclist crashes and injures their body and fail to cross the line. 2nd place wins.

And morbid stuff that is paradoxical:
UK farmers shedding a tear because their cows had to be slaughtered due to contracting foot and mouth disease... when farmers would have been happy to send their cows to the slaughter houses if they were healthy!!

... and when making other people laugh:
Get a nice buzz from this. I can't tell story jokes so resort to snappy observations during conversation or simple visual jokes- seeing a fallen tree in a forest and saying "squirrels grow big here".

This post pretty much sums it up.

Irony, quick-witted observations, abstract and deep philosophical insight on nonsensical themes. In hindsight, it seems heartless, tasteless, and maybe some other empty word used by overly-serious humorless people.

I've seriously considered what dating a Mermaid would be like, that is, if the top half was fish and the bottom half were human.

I like shows like Aquateen Hunger Force and South Park, and reading Uncyclopedia.

Uncyclopedia is teh funny.

[HarleyQuinn]

I was reading this thread during work study and had to leave the room twice to avoid disrupting the fellow students by laughing out loud (in particular the guy crashing his bike thanks to the flag) :laugh:

I tend to play off what people say, coming back with a sarcastic, (dry sardonic) one liner. Usually I get a laugh or a chuckle but occasionally it flies over their head and than ask me why that's funny... which I can't explain because that ruins the whole spontaneity of the joke. My sense of humor can also be morbid and I find trivial things/moments hilarious. One time working in a group my friend repeated a question to my co-group mate (that my teacher had just said to the group) and my group mate goes, "Huh?" turning to him in the best blank expression ever. I was laughing so hard I had tears while they both looked at me like I was nuts.

[mind_wander]

Oh yeah, I get these too. INTJ's get more blank face stares, then ever. Trust me, I get them all the time, but once you mastered a really hard presentation; now people respect you without too much blank staring. **That take skills

[cielo market]

I noticed that when I watch Frasier with other people I tend to laugh more often than them, probably because I understand the many intellectual references the characters use :P

Most of what I find funny is like everybody else here (dry, sarcastic, cynical, word play, parody), although a bit of silliness is ok too.

My silly tastes:
C:\DOS
C:\DOS\RUN
RUN\DOS\RUN

-The Simpsons

Somebody told me this conversation was the best example of my humor:
Me: "My brother's going through the whole voice-change deal. Y'know, poo-berty."
Friend: "Oh yeah?"
Me: "Yeah but I've started calling him an Elephant-Turtle-Moose"
Friend: "Why?"
Me: "Do you know how elephants communicate? They speak on a frequency so low, humans can't hear it. His voice is so deep I can't understand his mumble-jumbo"
Friend: "And the turtle part?"
Me: "The kid's growin' so freakin' fast, he's not used to being so tall, he hunches over with his neck coming out of his chest, like a turtle trying to look foward while sitting up"
Friend: "So why the moose?"
Me: "Because he's gotten huge he's bumpin' into everything. It's like watching a freakin' moose walking through the livingroom."

Okay, so maybe that example was a bit mean >:D

[mind_wander]

I don't find that its not mean at all, plus your being honest through being sarcasitic; oh yah big LOL.

[cielo market]

Okay, so maybe that example was a bit mean >:D

Darn emoticons! I meant for that to be a mean face ---> >: D
More mean for him than me lol

[BloozeGit]

Having spent time in America and UK, I find myself gravitating to 2 extremes of humour.

Low brow stuff like Blue Collar TV, South Park get me with their vivid imagery, overt innuendo, toilet gags etc while The Daily Show with Jon Stewart appeals to the parody/dry-wit/sarcasm-loving side of me.

For British humour there's nothing like Rowan Atkinson's live show or Stephen Fry with Hugh Laurie. All of them star in Blackadder, of which I've seen all four seasons. Highly recommended. :thumbsup:

[TruorTupnm]

Stuff I like: Dry humor, sarcasm, some parodies, dark humor, satire.

Stuff I do: Mostly the same stuff. Humans get the most kicks when I employ insightful observations about people we know (and don't always necessarily hate) to imitate them, and oftimes my perfectly placed and deadpan deliveries of one-liners. The odd adoption of some dramatically different personality.

[Bossy Mom]

I don't like a dry sense of humor - I like the gut-busting kind. Give me the Marx Brothers, Laurel and Hardy, W.C. Fields, Red Skelton, Lucille Ball, etc.

If you are going to laugh - make the most of it!