RobinHanson comments on False Laughter - Less Wrong

25 Post author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 22 December 2007 06:03AM

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Comment author: RobinHanson 22 December 2007 01:40:20PM 14 points [-]

Would jokes where Dilbert's pointy-headed boss says idiotic things be less funny if the boss were replaced by a co-worker? If so, does that suggest bosses are Hated Enemies, and Dilbert jokes bring false laughter?

Comment author: CG_Morton 15 August 2011 11:32:13AM 0 points [-]

I'd call that character humor, where the character of the boss is funny because of his exaggerated stupidity. It wouldn't be funny if the punchline was just the boss getting hit in the face by a pie (well, beyond the inherent humor of pie-to-face situations). Besides, most of the co-workers say idiotic things too!

Comment author: rkyeun 21 August 2012 08:05:06AM 2 points [-]

Dilbert is less a satire and more a documentary. The amusement comes from us realizing how screwed up it is that large corporations work this way. We laugh like a man who just realized he was mortally wounded and none of his savings accounts he sacrificed earlier opportunities at hedonism for matter anymore.

Comment author: AspiringRationalist 07 April 2013 01:42:33AM 2 points [-]

The pointy-haired boss is presented as a Hated Enemy, but not just because he's a boss; it's because he's a boss and an idiot.