Why Dont I Find Things Funny Like Other People
03 Jan 2013, 5:23 pm 
If there's one thing I don't understand about people is how they seem to collectively find things funny that I find not funny. It's not that the humor is lost on me, or that the joke doesn't make sense. It just registers in my brain as unamusing, then I look around and see a whole room of people laughing themselves silly and I'm left feeling confused as to why. Then there are situations where the opposite happens, where an anecdote will strike me as humorous completely out of the blue and no one else will get it and I find myself gifted with bizarre looks from all sides.
One big example of this would be Seinfeld. It isn't funny to me, it's never funny to me. Nothing that they do on the show strikes me as humorous. Yet everyone thinks the show is a laugh riot. Then they can't understand why I'm not laughing and I'm left feeling awkward and weird...
Then again, this is pretty much formulae for every instance of my life, but for now we'll just concentrate on humor.
kotshka
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03 Jan 2013, 5:28 pm
Humor is a very individual thing and science has yet to determine what "funny" actually means in a concrete way. The one thing I know for sure is that bandwagon mentality is very real. If a few people in a group find something funny, most of the other people will pretend to find it funny as well so as to fit in, even if they don't get the joke or think it's not funny at all.
In fact, I have a theory that there is a sort of "placebo" humor effect. I've noticed that certain things are funny to me only when other people are present and laughing with me. Perhaps the expectation of humor is enough to make me laugh even if, when I watch something alone, I don't even crack a smile.
One other thing I know with absolute certainty after writing my university honors program thesis on satire years ago: the most surefire way to make something unfunny is to try to analyze why it is funny.
redrobin62
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03 Jan 2013, 5:32 pm
<--- Doesn't get Seinfeld, either.
kotshka
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03 Jan 2013, 5:34 pm
Yeah, I also never liked Seinfeld. Or Friends. Or... most popular shows. And I remember people telling me I was only saying that because I was trying to be "indie." And then I had to look up what "indie" meant and by default I was not indie.
03 Jan 2013, 5:39 pm
It's not you. Seinfeld was just a crap show.
03 Jan 2013, 6:45 pm
If it was just Seinfeld, I suppose I could write it off. It's just like nothing is funny to me that people seem to think is. Well, maybe not nothing but I sure feel like there's something wrong with me if I don't laugh. And people are certainly quick to confirm that, some people say I have no sense of humor. That's not true, I find things funny.
I just don't find them funny if it doesn't seem...funny.
I could list more stuff, but it's just more overtly popular things that people curse me for not enjoying.
Lockheart
Deinonychus
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03 Jan 2013, 7:26 pm
I did some drama when I was in high school. Some of the things people laughed at surprised me, as did some of the things they didn't laugh at, and every show was different. Everyone's sense of humour is different, whether on the spectrum or not. If you don't find a popular comedy show funny, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. Besides, watching less TV gives you more time to do other things.
CockneyRebel
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03 Jan 2013, 8:07 pm
I also don't get Sienfield.
thewhitrbbit
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03 Jan 2013, 10:42 pm
I struggle to find slapstick humor and pranks funny.
rapidroy
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03 Jan 2013, 11:03 pm
I like political humor best, good dry comedy that took lots of thought, I like good redneck comedy too. never really got jerry either or any other sitcom other then M*A*S*H* thats a good one. am I the only one who hates sex/relationship/male female steriotype jokes stupid? I think it has much to do why we find mindless banter dumb in real life.
rapidroy
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03 Jan 2013, 11:30 pm
Here is a real life funny story I can't stop finding amusing 10 years later...
The Progressive Conservitives and the reform/alliance partys were mergeing and needed a name to please all, the proposed name (and it got very far down the line) was the Canadian Reform Alliance Party til someone high up in the party finally publicly realised that the acronum for the new the new party would be CRAP!! ! imagine the histaria.
as a member of a opposing Party and someone who counts politics as my obsessive intrest this joke is relivent in my life and a total riot, its real! I think this story may tell me why sitcoms and other social banter based comedy don't make me chuckle.
03 Jan 2013, 11:34 pm
I don't find Seinfeld nor nearly any other sitcom funny. I mean I actually find them completely, 100% devoid of humour. The one that puzzles me the most is Friends. How on earth is that one of the most successful sitcoms of all time? How on earth did the stars of that show manage to launch successful acting careers as a result of being in it. It is NOT FUNNY. Like NOTHING funny actually happens. I really don't understand and I totally share the OP's sense of puzzlement.
icyfire4w5
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03 Jan 2013, 11:56 pm
I don't know about fellow Aspies, but I'm an Aspie who lacks some sort of "autopilot mode" (also known as common sense or intuition) to guide me through life. I end up relying very heavily on my conscious mind. Unfortunately, most jokes are funny because they tickle one's "autopilot mode", not one's conscious mind.
Yuzu
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04 Jan 2013, 1:15 am
It's just an individual thing. Like one's taste in music.
While I find Seinfeld hilarious, I don't get Curb Your Enthusiasm nor other popular sitcoms such as Arrested Development, Sunny in Philadelphia, 30 Rock and Modern Family.
I don't understand what's so funny about Southpark either.
TheTrade
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04 Jan 2013, 3:45 am
While I personally don't find many things funny, I can understand shows like Seinfeld and South Park: I see the joke, I see the punchline, I can see why people would laugh, but I personally don't laugh. In fact, I don't actually remember the last time I laughed. I'm not depressed or anything at all, though. However, I seem to be able to make other people laugh in social settings which means I understand the mechanics of humor but...I just don't laugh. Kind of weird. I think it has something to do with the fact that I don't feel much emotion (I don't).
LordExiron
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04 Jan 2013, 12:18 pm
Before somebody turns this into an "aspies all dislike Seinfeld" generalization, I will chime in and say that Seinfeld is one of my favorite shows. However, there is plenty of popular humor I dislike, like Southpark, Cheers, and Scrubs.
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