Download or read book Ha written by Scott Weems and published by Basic Books. This book was released on 2014-03-04 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An entertaining tour of the science of humor and laughter Humor, like pornography, is famously difficult to define. We know it when we see it, but is there a way to figure out what we really find funny -- and why? In this fascinating investigation into the science of humor and laughter, cognitive neuroscientist Scott Weems uncovers what's happening in our heads when we giggle, guffaw, or double over with laughter. While we typically think of humor in terms of jokes or comic timing, in Ha! Weems proposes a provocative new model. Humor arises from inner conflict in the brain, he argues, and is part of a larger desire to comprehend a complex world. Showing that the delight that comes with "getting" a punchline is closely related to the joy that accompanies the insight to solve a difficult problem, Weems explores why surprise is such an important element in humor, why computers are terrible at recognizing what's funny, and why it takes so long for a tragedy to become acceptable comedic fodder. From the role of insult jokes to the benefit of laughing for our immune system, Ha! reveals why humor is so idiosyncratic, and why how-to books alone will never help us become funnier people. Packed with the latest research, illuminating anecdotes, and even a few jokes, Ha! lifts the curtain on this most human of qualities. From the origins of humor in our brains to its life on the standup comedy circuit, this book offers a delightful tour of why humor is so important to our daily lives.

Download or read book Laugh More Yell Less written by Robert Zeitlin and published by . This book was released on 2015-04-14 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: I was in your shoes. I was a parent looking for answers. These are the steps I took to find my superpowers. Now I want to make it easy, fun, and inviting for you to take steps toward becoming the parent that your kids need. I want to inspire you.You have amazing kids. I know. I've seen them in action. They have creative, inspiring ideas. Your kids? imaginations are the adult think-tanks of the future.Your kids are going to change the world. I want to help you peek your head above the drudgery and emotional exhaustion of day-to-day parenting. This is a call for parents to put on their capes and learn to fly.

Download or read book Laugh Out Loud Jokes for Kids Laugh Out Loud Jokes for Kids written by Rob Elliott and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2010-08-01 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over 2 million sold! USA TODAY bestseller! Wall Street Journal bestseller! What happens to race car drivers when they eat too much? They get indy-gestion. Laugh-Out-Loud Jokes for Kids provides children ages 7-10 many hours of fun and laughter. Young readers will have a blast sharing this collection of hundreds of one-liners, knock knock jokes, tongue twisters, and more with their friends and family! This mega-bestselling book will have children rolling on the floor with laughter and is sure to be a great gift idea for any child.

Download or read book Crying Laughing written by Lance Rubin and published by Ember. This book was released on 2021-08-03 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A tragicomic story of bad dates, bad news, bad performances, and one girl's determination to find the funny in high school from the author of Denton Little's Deathdate. Winnie Friedman has been waiting for the world to catch on to what she already knows: she's hilarious. It might be a long wait, though. After bombing a stand-up set at her own bat mitzvah, Winnie has kept her jokes to herself. Well, to herself and her dad, a former comedian and her inspiration. Then, on the second day of tenth grade, the funniest guy in school actually laughs at a comment she makes in the lunch line and asks her to join the improv troupe. Maybe he's even . . . flirting? Just when Winnie's ready to say yes to comedy again, her father reveals that he's been diagnosed with ALS. That is . . . not funny. Her dad's still making jokes, though, which feels like a good thing. And Winnie's prepared to be his straight man if that's what he wants. But is it what he needs? Caught up in a spiral of epically bad dates, bad news, and bad performances, Winnie's struggling to see the humor in it all. But finding a way to laugh is exactly what will see her through. **A Junior Library Guild Selection**

Download or read book Humor Seriously written by Jennifer Aaker and published by Crown Currency. This book was released on 2021-02-02 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: WALL STREET JOURNAL, LOS ANGELES TIMES, AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER • Anyone—even you!—can learn how to harness the power of humor in business (and life), based on the popular class at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. Don’t miss the authors’ TED Talk, “Why great leaders take humor seriously,” online now. “The ultimate guide to using the magical power of funny as a tool for leadership and a force for good.”—Daniel H. Pink, #1 New York Times bestselling author of When and Drive We are living through a period of unprecedented uncertainty and upheaval in both our personal and professional lives. So it should come as a surprise to exactly no one that trust, human connection, and mental well-being are all on the decline. This may seem like no laughing matter. Yet, the research shows that humor and laughter are among the most valuable tools we have at our disposal for strengthening bonds and relationships, diffusing stress and tension, boosting resilience, and performing when the stakes are high. That’s why Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas teach the popular course Humor: Serious Business at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where they help some of the world’s most hard-driving, blazer-wearing business minds infuse more humor and levity into their work and lives. In Humor, Seriously, they draw on findings by behavioral scientists, world-class comedians, and inspiring business leaders to reveal how humor works and—more important—how you can use more of it, better. Aaker and Bagdonas unpack the theory and application of humor: what makes something funny, how to mine your life for material, and simple ways to identify and leverage your unique humor style. They show how to use humor to rebuild vital connections; appear more confident, competent, and authentic at work; and foster cultures where levity and creativity can thrive. President Dwight David Eisenhower once said, “A sense of humor is part of the art of leadership, of getting along with people, of getting things done.” If Dwight David Eisenhower, the second least naturally funny president (after Franklin Pierce), thought humor was necessary to win wars, build highways, and warn against the military-industrial complex, then you might consider learning it too.

Download or read book How to Make People Laugh written by James W. Williams and published by . This book was released on 2021-04-30 with total page 170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: If you are an extrovert, you have the set of skills to be the life of the party. What you need to do is to learn how to listen. Good improv requires excellent listening skills.

Download or read book Anatomy of an Illness As Perceived By the Patient written by Norman Cousins and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2005-07-12 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The story of a recovery from a crippling disease and the physician patient partnership that beat the odds by using the patient's own capabilities.

Download or read book The Self Care Solution written by Jennifer Ashton and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2019-12-30 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ABC’s chief medical correspondent helps you ring in the New Year right with a resolution that’s actually doable: a year-long plan to improve your emotional and physical health—from giving up alcohol to doing a digital detox, but each for only one month. Dr. Jennifer Ashton is at the top of her field as an ob-gyn and news correspondent. But even at the top there’s still room to improve, and with The Self-Care Solution, she upends her life one month at a time, using her own experiences to help you improve your health and enhance your life. Dr. Ashton becomes both researcher and subject as she focuses on twelve separate challenges. Beginning with a new area of focus each month, she guides you through the struggles she faces, the benefits she experiences, and the science behind why each month’s challenge—giving up alcohol, doing more push-ups, adopting an earlier bedtime, limiting technology—can lead to better health. Month by month, Dr. Ashton tackles a different area of wellness with the hope that the lessons she learns and the improved health she experiences will motivate her (and you) to make each change permanent. Throughout, she offers easy-to-comprehend health information about the particular challenge to help you understand its benefits and to stick with it. Whether it’s adding cardio or learning how to meditate, Dr. Ashton makes these daily lifestyle choices and changes feel possible—and shows how beneficial a mindful lifestyle can be. Inspiring, practical, and informative, illustrated with helpful photos and charts, The Self-Care Solution teaches you how to recalibrate your life to enjoy a better, healthier year, one month at a time. Featuring guidance from top experts, entertaining case studies, easy-to-follow advice and tips, and Dr. Ashton’s observations and insights, this book can help you achieve a better life balance and a more active and healthy lifestyle.

Download or read book The Humor Revolution written by Alice and published by iUniverse. This book was released on 2008-03 with total page 146 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Do you want to laugh more and stress less? You can when you join The Humor Revolution led by Dr. Alice Glasser, a public health physician. She unveils startling findings on how humor can benefit your mind and body, and relieve stress making you a healthier and happier person. You don't have to live your life as if you're in need of a teddy bear to hug! Armed with her Weapons of Laugh Instruction and a cache of hilarious tales from her book Where Can I Be Decaffeinated? Dr. Alice uses Laughs on Learning to show you how to seek out and develop more humor in your life. Discover your Laughter IQ as you create your own Humor Self-Portrait. Learn how humor can relieve stress from everyday life to emotionally complex issues. Find out why humor is the ultimate Feel Good LIfestyle Choice. Fast-paced, funny and fact-filled this is a revolution not to be missed!

Download or read book Positive Discipline written by Jane Nelsen and published by . This book was released on 1996 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: THE KEY TO DISCIPLINE IS NOT PUNISHMENT, BUT MUTUAL RESPECT All parents try to do their best--but the best of intentions don't always produce the best results. Dr. Jane Nelsen, an experienced psychologist, educator, and mother, believes that children misbehave when they feel thwarted in their need to belong and in their need for love and attention. An authoritative approach, using phrases like " Because I said so!" , will only lead to rebellious behavior. Instead, parents need basic principles that bring them and their children closer. They need Positive Discipline. Dr. Nelsen explains that parents who use kindness and firmness to teach life skills will encourage self-respect, self-discipline, cooperation, good behavior, and problem-solving skills in their children. In Positive Discipline, revised and updated for the '90s, she shows all of us, parents and teachers alike, exactly how her practical program works--answering, step-by-step, such important questions as: *What works better than punishment to teach children positive, good behavior? *What mistakes do most parents make " in the name of love" ? *How can parents turn their mistakes into assets? *How can praise be dangerous? *What are the dangers of trying to be " Super Mom" ? *How can teachers avoid discipline problems in the classroom? " It is positive! It works! It saves your sanity! And it is easy to share with others." --Julie Pope, Parent Sacramento, CA " As a parent and psychotherapist, I have found enormous value and practical wisdom in Positive Discipline. It conveys a win/win atmosphere for parents and children. The techniques are so easy tolearn and fun to use...Anyone following these concepts will see almost instant results and big smiles on the faces of their children." --Katherine Dusay, Psychotherapist San Francisco, CA

Download or read book Laugh Attack written by Highlights and published by Highlights Press. This book was released on 2016-03-01 with total page 350 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the joke experts at Highlights, here is the biggest and best joke book for kids ever—jam-packed with more than 1,000 jokes! This 352-page super-sized collection is filled with family-friendly, wholesome, and fun jokes for kids to share with friends, grandparents, and anyone who needs a laugh. With riddles, knock-knocks, tongue twisters, and cartoons, this book will keep kids giggling and grinning, as well as laughing and learning, for hours. This is the perfect gift or stocking stuffer for any kid!

Download or read book Inside Jokes written by Matthew M. Hurley and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2011 with total page 374 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Some things are funny -- jokes, puns, sitcoms, Charlie Chaplin, The Far Side, Malvolio with his yellow garters crossed -- but why? Why does humor exist in the first place? Why do we spend so much of our time passing on amusing anecdotes, making wisecracks, watching The Simpsons? In Inside Jokes, Matthew Hurley, Daniel Dennett, and Reginald Adams offer an evolutionary and cognitive perspective. Humor, they propose, evolved out of a computational problem that arose when our long-ago ancestors were furnished with open-ended thinking. Mother Nature -- aka natural selection -- cannot just order the brain to find and fix all our time-pressured misleaps and near-misses. She has to bribe the brain with pleasure. So we find them funny. This wired-in source of pleasure has been tickled relentlessly by humorists over the centuries, and we have become addicted to the endogenous mind candy that is humor.

Download or read book Laughter written by Robert R. Provine and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2001-12-01 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Download or read book Humor is when you laugh even more written by Luise Hakasi and published by BookRix. This book was released on 2017-01-12 with total page 112 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Foreword: No joke: Laughter is the best medicine! Laughing has been shown to be a great benefit for health: Hearty laughter enhances well-being, reduces the risk of heart attack and is now regarded by researchers and physicians even as a little miracle weapon that can easily compete with medicine. So use this advantage for your health: giggling, cackling and laughing until you stomach hurts you or tears are running. Best begin right now with a few jokes and funny glosses. Humor is when you laugh even more For a good mood and laughing without end - humorous and witty, colorfully mixed

Download or read book Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage written by Mark Gungor and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2009-03-03 with total page 307 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: By using his unique blend of humor and tell-it-like-it-is honesty, he helps couples get along and have fun doing it.

Download or read book The Book of Laughter and Forgetting written by Milan Kundera and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2023-03-28 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "An absolutely dazzling entertainment. . . . Arousing on every level—political, erotic, intellectual, and above all, humorous." —Newsweek "The Book of Laughter and Forgetting calls itself a novel, although it is part fairy tale, part literary criticism, part political tract, part musicology, and part autobiography. It can call itself whatever it wants to, because the whole is genius." —New York Times Rich in its stories, characters, and imaginative range, The Book of Laughter and Forgetting is the novel that brought Milan Kundera his first big international success in the late 1970s. Like all his work, it is valuable for far more than its historical implications. In seven wonderfully integrated parts, different aspects of human existence are magnified and reduced, reordered and emphasized, newly examined, analyzed, and experienced.

Download or read book Humor as Survival Training for a Stressed Out World written by Paul McGhee and published by Author House. This book was released on 2010-07-14 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The evidence is now in! Humor and laughter are good medicine. The companion to this book, Humor: The Lighter Path to Resilience and Health (2010, also published by AuthorHouse) discusses the exciting new research supporting the long-held claim that laughter is the best medicine. Humor as Survival Training for a Stressed-Out Worldshows how to get these benefits of humor into your own life. It contains the first-ever humor skills training program that has evidence from multiple countries documenting its effectiveness in boosting your sense of humor and learning to use humor to cope with the stress in your life. No other program for improving your sense of humor can make this claim. The basic idea is to build key foundation humor skills on your good dayswhen youre in a good mood. While strengthening one habit/skill at a time, you dont extend these skills to daily stressors until the habits are well developed (otherwise, your sense of humor abandons you when youre under stress). The 7 Humor Habit Program first builds the habit of becoming a more playful person in general (humor is a form of mental play), and then focuses onverbal humor skills, finding humor in everyday life, laughing at yourself and other key humor skills. Studies in the USA, Switzerland, Australia and Germany have confirmed the effectiveness of this program in boosting your sense of humor. Evidence also shows that it improves your daily mood, boosts optimism and improves your ability to cope with stress. There is even evidence that the 7 Humor Habits Program is an effective tool in reducing clinical depression and anxiety. It has been shown to be effective for all ages, from college students to seniors in their eighties. So its never too late to improve your own sense of humor.