--- title: What Makes Something Funny? Can Humor Improve Our Lives? description: Ever notice that we take our comedians seriously and we think our politicians are liars? Is something wrong there? Chris Rock, Louis C.K., and Patton... canonical: https://time.com/3528767/humor-improve-life/ author: Eric Barker article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-10-23T04:01:08.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T07:58:38.742Z article:section: Ideas og:title: What Makes Something Funny? Can Humor Improve Our Lives? og:description: Ever notice that we take our comedians seriously and we think our politicians are liars? Is something wrong there? Chris Rock, Louis C.K., and Patton... og:url: https://time.com/3528767/humor-improve-life/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt96c5cef4c3f2fd58/6987620c2dce0142a89db125/funny-cat.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2457 og:image:height: 1382 og:image:alt: Funny cat og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: What Makes Something Funny? Can Humor Improve Our Lives? twitter:description: Ever notice that we take our comedians seriously and we think our politicians are liars? Is something wrong there? Chris Rock, Louis C.K., and Patton... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt96c5cef4c3f2fd58/6987620c2dce0142a89db125/funny-cat.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # What Makes Something Funny? Can Humor Improve Our Lives? > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Oct 23, 2014 4:01 AM UTC  Orange Cat face Orange Cat face Getty Images by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Oct 23, 2014 4:01 AM UTC Ever notice that we take our comedians seriously and we think our politicians are liars? Is something wrong there? Chris Rock, Louis C.K., and Patton Oswalt not only make you laugh but they usually have you nodding your head thinking, “Yeah, life is like that.” Meanwhile, you take everything an elected official says with a grain of salt. Research is finally starting to catch up to what you’ve known for a long time. Why do you find things funny? **_Humor is the brain rewarding us for finding errors and inconsistencies in our thinking._** Via [The Boston Globe](http://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2011/11/20/why-our-brains-make-laugh/l0OWxVcnRpzfyIheFgab5N/story.html)‘s review of [Inside Jokes: Using Humor to Reverse-Engineer the Mind](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/026201582X/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=spacforrent-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=026201582X): --- > “” --- This is why you think good comedians are also telling the truth about life. They’re pointing out the inconsistencies and craziness, the errors we take for granted until they’re pointed out. You know the old saying “it’s funny because it’s true”? It’s correct. [We laugh more when we feel the jokes are true.](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2010/03/is-it-really-funny-because-its-true/) The more error correction, the bigger the reward. Chris Rock’s humor about how men and women relate is so accurate [it’s been written up in scientific papers](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/06/does-chris-rock-understand-men-and-women-bett/). Tina Fey’s Palin imitation [changed how people voted](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/03/can-saturday-night-live-affect-how-you-vote/). All forms of play are about learning. Via [Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1583333789/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1583333789&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- Most animals stop playing and learning once they reach adulthood. Humans are unique in that they have the capacity to play all their lives. Why? Nature designed us to be lifelong learners: --- > “” --- So making laughs and guffaws sounds a lot more impressive now, huh? It probably doesn’t surprise you too much to hear that [funny people are smarter than average](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2010/07/are-funny-people-smarter-than-average/). Students who are playful [do better in school](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/do-playful-people-get-better-grades-in-school): --- > “” --- Why do women always cite “sense of humor” as something they find attractive in a man? Because [humor is a hard-to-fake sign of intelligence](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2011/03/why-do-women-find-funny-men-attractive/). (In fact, you can [predict how many women a man has slept with by how funny he is](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2011/05/can-you-predict-how-many-women-a-man-has-slep/).) **Humor can improve your life** Humor isn’t just an entertaining distraction. It improves many facets of life and we’d be better off with more of it. Couples who reminisce about shared laughter [are happier](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2011/03/another-quick-and-easy-way-to-increase-relati/). In his book [Just Kidding: Using Humor Effectively](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1442213361/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1442213361&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20) Louis Franzini presents research that salespeople who use humor close more deals. A fun workplace was more attractive to prospective employees [than compensation or opportunities for promotion](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/02/how-important-is-it-to-employees-that-their-w/). Researchers believe that humor can help teams bond, as well as increase the quantity and quality of communication while building trust. Via [Little Bets: How Breakthrough Ideas Emerge from Small Discoveries](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1439170428/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1439170428&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- Humor improves our mood because [it makes us think, which interrupts negative emotions](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2010/11/why-does-humor-improve-our-mood/). (Jokes can actually [mentally disarm us](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2011/03/does-humor-mentally-disarm-us/) because the brainpower required to process the laughs can take away from critical thinking during an argument.) People who use humor to cope with stress are healthier. Via Richard Wiseman’s excellent book [59 Seconds: Change Your Life in Under a Minute](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307474860/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=spacforrent-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217153&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0307474860): --- > “” --- What’s interesting — and something we often forget as adults – is it seems we all may _need_ fun in our lives: Via [Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1583333789/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1583333789&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- **_This piece originally appeared on_** [**_Barking Up the Wrong Tree_**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/10/whydowelaugh/)**_._** **Join 25K+ readers.** Get a free weekly update via email [here](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD). You want to laugh? Here are a few of my favorite bits of “error correction” (all NSFW): \-Louis C.K. on [turning 40](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzEhoyXpqzQ) and [children](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4u2ZsoYWwJA&feature=related). \-Patton Oswalt on [why AA meetings are better than Weight Watchers meetings](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmcx7G4KsJg). \-Eddie Izzard on [World War 2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6omQ5JjjLsE). \-Lewis Black on [America and milk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mCDZMWVWuc). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3528767/humor-improve-life/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3528767/humor-improve-life/"},"headline":"What Makes Something Funny? Can Humor Improve Our Lives?","datePublished":"2014-10-23T04:01:08.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T07:58:38.742Z","description":"Ever notice that we take our comedians seriously and we think our politicians are liars? 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