Let me set the record straight, once and for all. Humour is not the equivalent of surprise as proposed by some theorists. Neither is humour a perception of incongruence. These are mechanisms of humour much like the barking of a dog. Now, if I bark, does that make me canine then? Think of a wedding proposal. Is it funny in general? No. Yet surprise is fundamental to many instances of this particular dating ritual. And Alastair Clarke, a British science writer, postulated that humour is an evolutionary tool that helps us recognise patterns. Not if you ask me. Try pointing out the irony of a fit, healthy marathon regular dying out of a sudden to his/her closest kin. See if you can manage to provoke a chuckle in them. Humour, imho, is simply a deviation from emotive condition. I hypothesize that humour played a part in our evolutionary history by helping us manage our expectations, hopes and dreams, just so that we can live on even if they are shattered. To not be so serious in other words.
