The book I’m currently writing sneaks closer to comedy than most of my work. It’s a light-hearted space opera. Not quite a spoof of the genre, but not taking itself seriously. I want you, as readers, to smile while you read it. So, I’m thinking about comedy, how to write it, why it works.

One of the greatest compliments we believe we can give another person is to say, “we laugh at the same things”.

But why do we value a shared sense of humour? Is laughing together so important?

Actually, the psychological evidence is that laughter is that important. It cements social bonds. (https://www.psychalive.org/laugh-it-up-why-laughing-brings-us-closer-together/)

And yet, is that the complete answer? That we’d laugh at anything just to belong to a group?

I think that what we laugh at, what tickles our funny bones, is decided by our values. That’s why a shared sense of humour is so prized, because it signals that we share the same values. And having the same values as another person is a strong basis for a long-term relationship. Hence people who laugh together, can live together (not literally, metaphorically).

We laugh at comedy that captures our view of the world: what is right and wrong; what expectations can be confounded; and, what must hold true.

As a kid, the old Looney Tunes cartoons were among my favourites. Bugs Bunny is awesome. A big part of their appeal was that they flipped expectations so that the underdog won: Tweetie Bird triumphs over Sylvester; The Road Runner meep-meeps away from poor Wile E. Coyote; and Elmer Fudd never defeats Bugs. I liked the message underlying the underdogs’ success: life isn’t fair, but sometimes the bully can be defeated (tricked).

I suspect this is why discussions about what is funny and what is offensive in comedy become so heated. We’re not just asking people to laugh or condemning them for laughing, we’re arguing about the values expressed in the comedy.

Not to get too political, but this is why satire can be so effective. It cuts to the debate of which values shape our society, and should shape our society. Political debate tends to shy away from clear enunciation of values in favour of personal attacks and public relations spin – or am I being too cynical? Satirists’ humour expresses and reflects their core audiences’ values.

So, there ya go. Contemplation of comedy over, with the conclusion that laughter is serious stuff.

Her Robot Wolf, a science fiction novel