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Robert R. Provine

Robert Provine

Laughter Paperback – 25 Oct. 2001

by Robert R Provine (Author)

20 ratings

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Do men and women laugh at the same things?
Is laughter contagious?
Has anyone ever really died laughing?
Is laughing good for your health?

Drawing upon ten years of research into this most common-yet complex and often puzzling-human phenomenon, Dr. Robert Provine, the world's leading scientific expert on laughter, investigates such aspects of his subject as its evolution, its role in social relationships, its contagiousness, its neural mechanisms, and its health benefits. This is an erudite, wide-ranging, witty, and long-overdue exploration of a frequently surprising subject.

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Product details

Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: Penguin; Reprint edition (25 Oct. 2001)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0141002255
ISBN-13: 978-0141002255
Product Dimensions: 20.2 x 13.8 x 1.5 cm
Customer reviews: 20 customer ratings
Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 994,559 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #567 in Scientific Equipment & Techniques
- #56 in Theories of Humour
- #2692 in Psychology & Emotions

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Product description

Review

"[A] well-written, often amusing and always fascinating exposé." --Scientific American

About the Author

Robert R. Provine has authored more than fifty research articles concerning developmental neuroscience and animal and human behavior. He has appeared on Good Morning America, ABC World News Tonight, 20/20, and Scientific American Frontiers.

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Customer reviews

5 star		60%
4 star		16%
3 star		5%
2 star		11%
1 star		8%

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Scorchio

A good introduction to scientific findings on laughter

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 September 2019

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I have a lot of books about comedy and humour. Most of these books are written by people who know how to be funny themselves, but they tend to be full of anecdotes and examples, rather than hard data. This book provides an introduction into the science of what makes people laugh. It's an interesting book, and anyone who is serious and methodical about making people laugh should read it.

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Rhoda Baxter

laughter is muscle activity.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 June 2016

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There are some very interesting insights. It's mainly looking at it from the perspective that laughter is muscle activity. A little about laughter in social situations. I was hoping for something about the neurological effects of laughter, but there wasn't anything. Still, an interesting overview. A little dated now.

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Joe Oak

very unfunny indeed.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 1 April 2018

I gave up on this book very quickly. Firstly, the introduction is a list of different people who said he shouldn't do the study or that there was no point, or whom he just disagreed with. It was like reading Ted's Priest Of The Year speech. Secondly, I don't like it when big huge claims are made without any explanation. For example, in the first paragraph of the first chapter he states that laughter has a genetic rather than a social basis, which I thought sounded counter-intuitive, but that was it. Does he come back to this subject later or is it thrown out as a statement of fact that no sensible person could disagree with. Then there is a claim that laughter is uniquely human. Again, this might well be the case, but I want to know how we know that and why it appears that some apes laugh to. Will I ever find out? Who knows. Finally, at the beginning of chapter two, he broadly dismisses the entire history of philosophy with a bad joke. At this point I rolled my eyes and put the book down. I'm not saying that he's wrong about stuff, or not an expert, but the delivery is boorish and bombastic, like listening to a bigoted pub bore droning on and on about their favourite subject, digressing only to take a potshot at all the things he hates (you know, those feminists at the university, political correctness, the man next door whose dog sometimes barks after dark, that sort of thing). It's the opposite of good science writing, and as I have more books in my To Read pile than a human being could physically read in a year I decided to give up on it and read something else instead.

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T. E. Roberts

just because Penguin make a book doesn't mean it's perfect

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 February 2010

I didn't think much of this. It is hardly a thrill a minute for starters! The theories are pretty dry and not something the average lay person could get their head around in a hurry!!

Although it talks of the root of laughter as being aggressive near the beginning it doesn't really elaborate and even the link between laughter in people and Apes seems lost in a sea of unnecessary filler.

I had to fight my way through page upon page of tedium and even then i barely made the end

Far too long!

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Sean

Good service

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 1 February 2019

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Nice product and arrived within the delivery date.

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Boiteltoifel

Woher kommt das Lachen?

Reviewed in Germany on 20 May 2016

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Die wohl erste ernsthaft wissenschaftliche Erklärung über die Entstehung des Lachens. Sehr unterhaltsam und gar nicht trocken geschrieben. Bitte nicht vom Umschlagfoto abschrecken lassen!

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debadyuti

Five Stars

Reviewed in India on 19 September 2017

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The unique attempt of its kind on such a taken for granted aspect of laughter

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gonzalo

Top!

Reviewed in Spain on 23 April 2019

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Great and funny!

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J. C.

Amazing

Reviewed in the United States on 17 November 2018

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This book has a lot of new ideas and some very interesting facts. Did you know babies start to laugh around 3 1/2 to 4 months old? This is also when they’re able to be tickled or shortly after that. Different kinds of laughter are discussed. It’s interesting that a deadly plant in Sardinia gave us the word sardonic as in sardonic laughter. Plus I always enjoy reading about lobotomy. That was such a horrible time in medical history. Learn what it teaches us about laughter. Also interesting that quadriplegics cannot cough or laugh. A very interesting book. I highly recommend it

4 people found this helpful

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Adam Rosenberg

A must read for every tickle-headed, knismolagniac-fetishist

Reviewed in the United States on 26 November 2011

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This is the best book I've read providing scientific perspectives on laughter and tickling. An empirical eye, a scientists facility with observation and experimentation, and a broad understanding of social sciences, neuroscience, and evolution make this the most comprehensive and best substantiated book on laughter and tickling available. If these are topics near and dear and fascinating, you won't be disappointed with insights, discoveries, inspired, titillated and intrigued by new paths to consider and for researchers to further explore.

6 people found this helpful

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