為什麼我們怕癢？為什麼我們會笑？：英語精讀講義

Hey, Vsauce.

嘿，Vsauce。

Michael here

我是 Michael，

and today we are going to talk about humor, 表達脈絡

今天我們要來聊聊幽默，

comedy.

也就是喜劇。

What makes something funny? 文法

是什麼讓一件事變得好笑？

And when something's funny,

當一件事很好笑時，

why do we laugh?

我們為什麼會笑？

What's the purpose of laughing

笑究竟有什麼作用，

and why do we laugh when we're tickled?

我們被搔癢時又為什麼會笑？

Well, people study this.

真的有人專門研究這件事。

They're called gelotologists

他們被稱為笑學家。

and we don't have all the answers yet,

我們雖然還沒有找出所有答案，

but what we do know is that you are 30 times more likely to laugh if there are other people around. 文法

但確實知道，如果身邊有其他人，你笑出來的機率會高出 30 倍。

Hey guys.

嘿，大家好。

We also know that babies laugh before they learn a language

我們也知道，嬰兒在學會語言之前就會笑，

and that babies born blind and deaf will laugh. 文法

而且天生失明、失聰的嬰兒也會笑。

There are thousands of languages,

世界上有數千種語言，

hundreds of thousands of dialects, 片語搭配

數十萬種方言，

but yet we all laugh in much the same way. 片語搭配

但我們笑起來的方式卻都大同小異。

Our brains are constantly looking for patterns,

我們的大腦不斷尋找規律，

ways of understanding the world and predicting what's next. 文法

藉此理解世界，並預測接下來會發生什麼。

It's to our evolutionary advantage. 片語搭配

這對我們的演化有利。

And so when something begins in a way that we expect and then all of a sudden changes and surprises or delights us, 慣用語

因此，當一件事起初照著我們預期的方式發展，卻突然改變，讓我們驚訝或欣喜時，

we often react with laughter

我們往往會用笑聲回應，

because we have just learned something.

因為我們剛剛學到了新東西。

We've learned a new logical order.

我們發現了一套新的邏輯。

This theory posits that things are funny because there's an incongruity between what we expected and what happened, 用詞

這套理論認為，事情之所以好笑，是因為實際發生的事與我們預期的不一致，

whether it's a dog dressed like a human or a clever use of wordplay.

無論是狗打扮得像人，還是巧妙的文字遊戲，都是如此。

In other words, 表達脈絡

換句話說，

comedy is about learning.

喜劇與學習有關。

But once you've learned the new logical order of the joke,

但一旦你弄懂笑話裡的新邏輯，

well, it ceases to be funny. 用詞

它就不再好笑了。

Which is why jokes are funny the first time, 表達脈絡

所以笑話第一次聽時很好笑，

but not every other time after that.

但之後再聽，就不一定每次都那麼好笑了。

Take a look at this percentage sign. 片語搭配

看看這個百分比符號。

All right,

好，

so you know what a percent sign is.

你知道百分號是什麼。

But besides the percent,

但除了百分號，

there's also a per mil and per myriad symbol. 文化背景

還有千分號和萬分號。

But that's not funny,

不過這並不好笑，

because even though it might be new information to you, 文法

因為即使這對你來說可能是新知識，

it still falls right in line with the logic of the percent symbol. 慣用語

它仍然完全符合百分號的邏輯。

But when Demetri Martin shows us with just one more line,

但 Demetri Martin 告訴我們，只要再添一條線，

you can make it look like a man cheering after taking a dump, 講解

就能讓它看起來像一個上完大號後歡呼的男人，

well, that surprises us.

這就讓我們感到意外了。

But we don't only laugh when something's funny.

但我們並不只在碰到好笑的事時才笑。

What about tickling?

那搔癢呢？

How does that make any sense? 語氣意圖

這又該怎麼解釋？

Most of us don't like being tickled,

我們大多數人都不喜歡被搔癢，

but when tickled,

但一被搔癢，

we can't help but smile and laugh. 文法

就會忍不住微笑、大笑。

Well,

那麼，

a possible explanation is that tickling helps teach children at a young age proper defensive behaviors. 表達脈絡

一種可能的解釋是，搔癢能幫助孩子從小學會正確的防禦行為。

Is it a coincidence that the most ticklish areas are also the most vulnerable and the ones that we instinctively cover when startled? 表達脈絡

最怕癢的部位剛好也是最脆弱，而且受驚時我們會本能護住的部位，這難道只是巧合嗎？

Also,

此外，

because being tickled makes the person laugh,

因為被搔癢的人會笑，

it may encourage others to tickle them,

這可能會鼓勵其他人繼續搔他們的癢，

teaching them these defensive skills. 文法

進而讓他們學會這些防禦技巧。

Tickling may even play a role before you are born. 片語搭配

搔癢甚至可能在你出生前就發揮作用。

In order to avoid being tickled, 文法

為了避開這種癢感，

a baby gets into a better position to be delivered.

寶寶會移到更適合出生的位置。

Now,

接下來，

physically,

從生理上來說，

laughing involves the epiglottis,

笑會用到會厭，

a little flap thing that protects the trachea whenever we swallow so that food and water doesn't go down into our lungs. 文法

它是個小小的瓣狀構造；我們吞嚥時，它會保護氣管，避免食物和水進入肺部。

I know it doesn't look very funny, 語氣意圖

我知道它看起來一點也不好笑，

but this is where the laugh happens.

但笑聲就是在這裡產生的。

The epiglottis constricts the larynx and we get the LOL. 文化背景

會厭會讓喉部收縮，於是就有了 LOL。

Interestingly,

有趣的是，

the epiglottis actually has taste buds on it,

會厭上其實有味蕾，

which means that anatomically speaking, 片語搭配

這表示，從解剖學來說，

comedy truly is a matter of taste. 慣用語

喜劇還真是個「口味」問題。

Get out of my house! 語氣意圖

滾出我家！

And as always, thanks for watching.

一如往常，感謝收看。