Can You Tell When a Person is Truly Laughing?

By WayoGuy

It was Adaku, a nine-year-old, who told me the story of a man who was inside a commercial bus in Lagos when he discovered that his wallet was missing. Apparently one of the passengers, inside the bus, had stolen his wallet. The man demanded that the bus driver stop the vehicle immediately.

Then he announced, angrily, that "If the person who took my wallet does not produce it right now, what happened in 1971 will happen today". Again, he warned, in a menacing manner, "I am warning all of you for the last time. Bring out my wallet now, otherwise what happened in 1971 will happen right here and now." People were gripped by fear. From the back of the bus, someone handed someone the wallet and they passed it along quickly to the man.

When he got to his stop, and as he stepped down from the bus, the driver, dying from curiosity, asked the man what happened in 1971. "Oh," answered the man "In 1971, someone stole my wallet and I had to walk home!"

I was laughing at this joke when little Adaku asked me what I was doing. I was of course laughing but it did not occur to me then what she was actually asking me. Later, and ever since, I have wondered what exactly is this thing called laughter. What is it? Can you define laughter without using the words ‘laughter’, ‘laugh’, or ‘laughing’?

If Adaku had asked you what you were doing while you were laughing at her story, would you just say "I am laughing?" Of course she knew you were laughing. She wanted something else, a definition. Would it be a proper adult response to a curious nine-year-old to just say ‘I am laughing’? Well, I looked in the almighty Wikipedia.

Wikipedia defines Laughter as "an audible expression or appearance of merriment or amusement or an inward feeling of joy and pleasure (laughing on the inside)".

Forgive me, but this Wikipedia’s definition is stupid. It doesn’t tell me what laughter is; "audible expression" also applies to crying, shouting, arguing, singing; "appearance of merriment" applies also to singing, humming, smiling; in fact the face does not always register an appearance of merriment when people are ‘laughing’ as every adult who has ever looked at the face of his/her bedroom partner in the heat of passion knows; additionally, "appearance of merriment" is wrong because people often laugh at their opponent as a weapon of derision and scorn, not as a sign of merriment; and the so-called "inward feeling of joy and pleasure" which Wikipedia calls "laughing on the inside" misses the mark completely as far as I am concerned.

I searched for the benefits of laughter, hoping that someone, while listing such benefits, would provide a definition of laughter. Instead, I read studies published by doctors which show that the benefits of laughing include the lowering of blood pressure, relaxation of muscles, and activation of the immune system. I read articles stating that laughter has been found to trigger the body to release endorphins which helps the body deal with pain (just like aspirin) and numerous other benefits.

But what is laughter? You think it is easy?

In a study titled The Experience of Laughter: A Phenomenological Study, one Dr. Rosemarie Rizzo, of City University of New York, defines laughing as a "buoyant immersion in the presence of unanticipated glimpsings prompting harmonious integrity which surfaces anew through contemplative visioning". Chei, Chineke God!

I am certain that, until now, you who is reading this, never knew that when you laugh, you are engaged in a buoyant immersion in the presence of unanticipated glimpsings prompting harmonious integrity which surfaces anew through contemplative visioning."

Well, not that fast. I did my investigative work into the anatomy of laughter by taking the definition of Dr. Rizzo word by word, through a magnifying glass, to see if I can find something to tell Adaku.

I know that anything buoyant is upwardly bound, such as a buoyant political campaign, a buoyant website, a buoyant love life. I know that if you place a ball or plastic at the bottom of a bucket of water and it pops up and floats, physics professors call the force that pushed the ball upwards a buoyancy.

I understand now that whenever I laugh, I am upwardly mobile. And all your adult life you thought laughter was just a pedestrian event.

Immersion:

I think to immerse is to cover completely, to absorb into, in short to be taken over by something whether physical or spiritual. Again, water comes to mind, as in being immersed in water for purposes of baptism or being immersed in thought or in a book.

So now I understand that when I laugh I am not only moving upward (buoyant) but in fact absorbed or completely covered (immersed) in buoyancy.

Unanticipated Glimpsings:

I know what ‘unanticipated’ means and what a ‘glimpse’ means. But this one is too much for me. Glimpsings of what? I hope Dr. Rizzo means jokes or funny physical comedy. I would hate to laugh at some glimpses (glimpsings?) that are only inside my head. People who laugh at things that are only inside their heads are often mental hospital residents. So I will pass on this so-called "unanticipated glimpsings" part of Dr. Rizzo’s definition. I am not too proud to admit that I don’t know what she means.

Prompting:

Prompting, to cause or to produce as in one thing prompted another; to give a cue for something to occur. I can understand how the buoyant immersion can prompt something else; but I still don’t understand why such prompting is done in the presence of unanticipated glimpsings simply because I am still searching for the meaning of ‘unanticipated glimpsings’. But let’s see what is prompted.

Harmonious integrity

Harmonious integrity is what is prompted. Yes, yes, this one is easy: harmony and integrity. That laughing produces harmony is not just poetic but also a truly verifiable empirical experience. The harmony within oneself, with others too if laughing in a group, is of unquestionable integrity. So, I agree that the prompting of ‘harmonious integrity’ is an acceptable part of the definition of laughter or laughing.

Surfaces anew:

I assume by defining laughing as including a harmonious integrity that ‘surfaces anew’ Dr. Rizzo means that the harmony is already inside us but each time we laugh, the harmony is prompted to surface anew to nourish our senses.

Contemplative visioning:

So the laughter helps us prompt the harmony to resurface but we also engage in contemplation or thinking or reflection (is this consciously?) as a means of ‘resurfacing’ that harmonious integrity.

I have gone through this definition of Dr. Rizzo’s and I am tired. I have come out with one, and only one, conclusion: laughing is good for me and you. But I don’t know how to define it and neither does Dr. Rizzo.

So now I turn to physiology because until now I have been dealing with laughter as a psychological phenomenon. But it is also a physiological process. Perhaps that is where I really should look. The physiologist tells us that laughter is "produced by a deep inspiration, followed by short, interrupted, spasmodic contraptions of the chest, and especially of the diaphragm" just like orgasm. (Darwin).

Even that would be too complicated for a nine-year-old. I need a better and simpler definition of laughter. In short, how can you tell the difference between a person truly laughing (joy) and one who shows all the physiological signs of a laughing man but is truly not happy (laughter of scorn, derision, sarcasm, comic acting, etc)? How?

If you think that you can tell the difference from the faces of those laughing, consider this:

A man went to a doctor to seek help on a chronic sickness which has kept him unhappy and sad all his life. The doctor said

"The sickness won't kill you. You only need a change of pace. You need to laugh, and get some pleasure."
"What shall I do?" said the man.
"Go to the circus tonight to see Grimaldi, the clown. Grimaldi is the funniest man alive. I saw him a couple of nights ago, and I'm still laughing. Go and see Grimaldi the clown. He will cure you."
A flash of pain crossed the man's face, and he said,

"Doctor, don't joke with me. I am Grimaldi the clown!" (Paul Lee Tan, Th.D., Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations, Rockville, Maryland: Assurance Publishers, 1979, pp. 754-755).

Help me out with a definition, if you can.

Robot  Villager

# 1 I am looking for help. How can I tell if a person is truly laughing? In short, how do you know th...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 27.01.2008 12:03

Shoko Loko Bangoshe  Villager

# 2 Damn you, Wayo Guy! I had been planning to write a Pangolo Junction episode on laughter next week. Now I'll have to put it off for at least a couple of months lest people start saying I've stolen your idea (when in reality, you've used psychic wayo to steal mine!). Anyway, I find laughter a very strange phenomenon. Usually, it signifies happiness - but you can be happy without laughing, and you can laugh without being happy (if someone tickles you and you're ticklish, or if someone pumps the room full of nitrous oxide). So if we can be happy without laughing, why do we do it? Is it like a kind of 'happiness orgasm'? Posted by Shoko Loko Bangoshe| 27.01.2008 13:52

chaos.com  Villager

# 3 how do you mean? Posted by chaos.com| 27.01.2008 14:09

Mikky jaga  Villager

# 4 Wayo, The difficulty in defining laughter is hinged on the fact that it is not everything that is real that can be defined. Some must be experienced to tell. Jesus was asked to tell a professor what it meant to be born again. The summary of his answer was - you've got to experience it to know it. My take on laughter is the same. It is an experience that you've got to have to appreciate. Try and liven up your life with good doses of laughter rather than bother your head defining it. Posted by Mikky jaga| 27.01.2008 14:42

Enforcer  Villager

# 5 You cannot tell if a person is truly laughing because of the nature of human beings. People often say that if you don't laugh you cry. But many people wouldn't want to cry even when the occasion calls for it, rather they laugh (a distress laughter). I went to a comedy show at Windsor Theatre over the Christmas period. The comedian said few things I didn't find funny but I laughed because everyone else did. I am sure I wasn’t the only one! Posted by Enforcer| 27.01.2008 15:10

mulan  Villager

# 6 "buoyant immersion in the presence of unanticipated glimpsings prompting harmonious integrity which surfaces anew through contemplative visioning". Chei, Chineke God! This got me laughing. What does that mean you ask? "buoyant immersion in the presence of unanticipated glimpsings prompting harmonious integrity which surfaces anew through contemplative visioning". Posted by mulan| 27.01.2008 15:11

emj  Villager

# 7 Laughing....Am engaged in a buoyant immersion in the presence of unanticipated glimpsings prompting harmonious integrity which surfaces anew through contemplative visioning and feeling......da best definition :eek::p As per looking for help with the definition.........hmmm, u've got to feel or experience it. And of course we also have mischievious laughter...wich is wat i engage in often:eek::p Posted by emj| 27.01.2008 15:12

WayoGuy  Villager

# 8 Sista Emj and bros Mikky, So if Neil Armstrong, the first man to go to the moon, was asked by a nine-year-old (or even by my old grandmother who never went to school) to tell her what it means to “go to the moon” it would be fine for him to answer with “little girl, old lady, it is something you have to experience”? Would it not be nice for Armstrong to say something like “going to the moon is when you get into a spacecraft, like an airplane, and lift up in the air and travel through the spacecraft for a long time, (which we call 384 thousand kilometers) straight to that moon that you see at night and land there”? I think that would be nice. So bros Mikky and Sista Emj, don’t give up on laughter. I dey wait for your definition. "You know it when you see it" is not good enough definition for Wayo. We might forward your definition to Wikipedia and Webster's Dictionary. Posted by WayoGuy| 27.01.2008 15:21

Jucihart  Villager

# 9 I remember a song we use to sing when we were kids in which we tried to define laughing in Igbo. This is translated literally in English as "the drawing back of the cheeks and exposing the teeth, so that the teeth could have fresh air". That is the physical definition of laughing. But is that a good enough definition? Well, I think it means more than that. No definition will be good enough to define it. It is just like asking, "Between the chicken and the egg, which came first". So Wayo be ready to have various answers to your question. Posted by Jucihart| 28.01.2008 00:59

Mikky jaga  Villager

# 10 Well, Wayo, since you need a definition, I will try and give you one. Laughter can be defined as a facial expression that is accompanied by some sound from the mouth, which can either be a sign of happiness or mischief (as emj puts it). Laughter, when it is heartfelt, can be a sure relief from tension or when it is superficial can be a mask for some deep seated grief or acrimony. My God, Laughter no go kill me oo. I don try my brother. Posted by Mikky jaga| 28.01.2008 04:26

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