Learning What is Funny and What Isn't

I was reading a book about neurological topics and in one section was a discussion of how the brain responds to comedy. I think it would be beneficial for comedians to have a deep understanding of psychology and the mind's workings to get an edge in the comedic world. Basically what it said was that things are often funny when an absurd event causes an even more absurd response. For example, John Lovitz was on Conan O'Brien talking about how he can read into people freckles (absurd). He then had a reading done of Conan's freckles and the outcome was "1,000% gay" (more absurd).

Some other things to consider when doing comedy is factoring complete honesty into the routine. Comics are granted the benefit of telling the truth about society as long as they can do it while gaining laughs. For instance the late Bill Hicks joked about Christian fundamentalists who thought the earth was only a few thousand years old. Bill talked about the fact that some religious fundamentalists were irrational and did so in a humorous way. Other comedic talents that incorporate honesty into their acts are Dave Chappelle, the late Richard Pryor, and Bill Maher.

One last point is that comics should be their complete unadulterated selves. People feel comfortable around people who feel comfortable in their own skin. Believe in yourself, accept yourself, and tell the people how you really feel about the world.

Learning from Conan:

In my humble opinion the best talk show host is Conan O'Brien. he appears to have the natural talent to maker others laugh. He has a very quick wit which is important in comedy. He is also self deprecating which is a common thread among many of the top comedians. His goal is to make the audience feel good about themselves and have a good time.

Conan attended Harvard where he wrote for the Harvard Lampoon. Thus he is not only funny but he is highly intelligent. It is said that ones sense of humor is correlated with ones level of intelligence. This is not always the case but a common thread.

The only bad part about Conan's show is that his show is on so late. Fortunately, this will change when he takes Jay Leno's slot at an earlier hour. He will be welcomed here in Los Angeles. It may not be as nice as New York but he will have plenty of material to make fun of.