[lbo-talk] Wash U.: As folks grow older, they have a harder time "getting it"

Charles Brown cbrown at michiganlegal.org
Wed Jul 11 11:11:24 PDT 2007


B. docile_body:

Joke comprehension may decrease with age

Participants had to respond to jokes like this one:

A businessman is riding the subway after a hard day at the office. A young man sits down next to him and says, "Call me a doctor ... call me a doctor."

The businessman asks, "What's the matter, are you sick?"

Participants then had to choose the right ending. For this one, the correct answer was "I just graduated from medical school."

Wrong choices were straightforward answers or conclusions that did not follow from the premise. Among the wrong answers: "Yes, I feel a little weak. Please help me."

^^^^^^^

CB: Ahhh, but is he a doctor before he goes through a residency ?

And that's a pun. Some people snort at puns.

Hey, maybe the older you get the more jokes you have heard, so the ones you have heard before aren't funny anymore.

Anyway:

From: Valeria

A stranger was seated next to a little girl on the airplane when the stranger turned to her and said, "Let's talk". I've heard that flights go quicker if you strike up a conversation with your fellow passenger. The little girl, who had just opened her book, closed it slowly and said to the stranger, "What would you like to talk about?" "Oh, I don't know", said the stranger. "How about nuclear power?" "OK", she said. "That could be an interesting topic. But let me ask you a question first. A horse, a cow, and a deer all eat grass, the same stuff. Yet a deer excretes little pellets, while a cow turns out a flat patty, and a horse produces clumps of dried grass. Why do you suppose that is? The stranger thinks about it and says, "Hymmm, I have no idea." Ahhh! to which the little girl replies, "Do you really feel qualified to discuss nuclear power when you don't know shit?



More information about the lbo-talk mailing list