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Humor Code A Global Search for What Makes Things Funny

The Humor Code: A Global Search for What Makes Things Funny

By Peter McGraw and Joel Warner

Part road-trip comedy and part social science experiment, a scientist and a journalist travel the globe to discover the secret behind what makes things funny, questioning countless experts, including Louis C.K., along the way.

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Book Information

Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publish Date: 04/28/2015
Pages: 256
ISBN-13: 9781451665420
ISBN-10: 1451665423
Language: Eng

What We're Saying

December 09, 2014

The 800-CEO-READ Business Book Awards category winners (and shortlist for the best book of the year) 2014. READ FULL DESCRIPTION

November 13, 2014

The culling process we undertake during the awards process is always rigorous, but we've narrowed it down to 40 books—5 each in 8 categories. READ FULL DESCRIPTION

Full Description

Part road-trip comedy and part social science experiment, a scientist and a journalist "shed fascinating light on what makes us laugh and why" (New York Post).Two guys. Nineteen experiments. Five continents. 91,000 miles. The Humor Code follows the madcap adventures and oddball experiments of Professor Peter McGraw and writer Joel Warner as they discover the secret behind what makes things funny. In their search, they interview countless comics, from Doug Stanhope to Louis CK and travel across the globe from Norway to New York, from Palestine to the Amazon. It's an epic quest, both brainy and harebrained, that culminates at the world's largest comedy festival where the pair put their hard-earned knowledge to the test. For the first time, they have established a comprehensive theory that answers the question "what makes things funny?" Based on original research from the Humor Research Lab (HuRL) at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and the pair's experiences across the globe, The Humor Code explains the secret behind winning the New Yorker cartoon caption contest, why some dead baby jokes are funnier than others, and whether laughter really is the best medicine. Hilarious, surprising, and sometimes even touching, The Humor Code "lays out a convincing theory about how humor works, and why it's an essential survival mechanism" (Mother Jones).

About the Authors

Tracy Taylor is a Professor of Sport Management and Business School Deputy Dean at the University of Technology, Sydney, Australia. Tracy's research focus is human resource management, cultural diversity management in sport, and sport and security. Tracy leads the HR module of the Executive Masters in Sport Organisations Management which is supported by the International Olympic Committee, Olympic Solidarity and the European Olympic Committees.

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Peter McGraw, a professor at the University of Colorado Boulder where he directs HuRL (the Humor Research Lab), is a leading expert in the interdisciplinary fields of emotion and behavioral economics. His work has been covered by NPR, Nightline, The Wall Street Journal, Scientific American, The New York Times and the BBC.

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