Humor
An emergent property of
motion is information. Likewise, so does
humor inescapably emerge from the information that motion yields. This makes humor simply an unavoidable
inevitability of nature. It can’t be
helped. Nature likes a good joke, and
motion’s capacity for innovation can’t help but come up with new ones, though
always in finite supply. So, to nature’s
inevitable emergent sense of humor, there is Love and Hate at Sea, A Book About
Wall Partners, which is really a book about big wall climbing and
the human relationships involved with accomplishing it, or simply a book about
humor; it all depends upon just why you climb in the first place, how you look
at human relationships, and what you consider to be funny and the circumstances
under which humor’s capacity is best tested.
As with all good humor, at the heart of mirth there is always the
element of truth.
So, looking deeply into the essence of humor, one cannot help but
notice about it a subtle yet universal feature: humor very frequently involves
anxiety, anxiety arising from the genuine and real insecurity that being alive
and competing in order to remain so can be.
This makes humor very similar to something else – something by the name
of adventure. Adventure, just like humor, also involves the
genuine and real insecurity that being alive and competing in order to remain
so is – except that for adventure, the risks are much more real than are those
for humor (though exceptions clearly exist).
As is often clear to those who have survived nature’s rigors
often come to recognize that it appears as though all the best humor nearly
always seems to involve the riskiest adventure (again, up to a point, and
provided no loss is irrecoverable).
Indeed, the best humor we seem to enjoy frequently involves the
recollection of our fiercest adventures, in the relaxed comfort of the most
secure settings we can find. This is an
intrinsic property of humor, the more real the risk, the better the quality of
the humor – provided one is comfortably removed from it – meaning that the
humor of some adventures (like that described in books at chongonation.com) can
be gruesome, savage and cruel, to the tastes of some; in particular to those
with tender sensibilities, a simplistic idealism, or an unyielding faith in
dogma. But to those whose sensibilities
and desires are realistic and pragmatic, such humor can be refreshing, insightful,
and enlightening.
So, for now, to see books on “adventurous” humor, go
to the web page for adventure
or just click here. There’s much to be learned from adventure’s humor,
though whether one sees this adventure as such varies, from one individual
perspective to another. What some call
humor, others may regard by a completely different name, altogether. The measure of humor’s quality is ultimately
a consequence of just how truthfully it represents reality. The measure of humor’s success, however, is
always a matter of just how much truth the audience is willing to
appreciate. At chongonation.com, all
levels are covered starting with Love and Hate at Sea, A Book About
Wall Partners, and in its extreme with adventure stories like Monkey in the Mirror: A Story about
Life.
© 2008 Chongo
All rights reserved.