The gaps between our assumptions and reality

The Science of Expectation: Using Humor To Understand Creativity by Sam McNerney.

There is a trade-off between heuristic knowledge that is readily available and can be deployed at the drop of a hat and analytical knowledge that requires time and diligence and that is more likely to be useful. Heuristic assumptions yield answers that are usefully right but not reliably right, the answer is good enough most of the time. For many less consequential issues, that is sufficient. Still it would be nice if our heuristic assumptions had a means of becoming more accurate over time so that we had both speedy decision-making as well as better decision-making.

In this article, it is posited that humor is the means by which the brain refines and improves heuristic assumptions.

In the book Inside Jokes cognitive scientists Matthew Hurley, Dan Dennett and Reginald Adams explore humor, jokes, and mirth with an evolutionary lens. They begin with the premise that the brain simplifies the world by creating and relying on a never-ending series of assumptions. This cognitive shortcut allows us to comfortably exist in the day-to-day without having to worry about trivial matters, but mistakes are inevitable and the brain sometimes guesses incorrectly. Mirth, according to the scientists, is an evolutionary adaptation that evolved to reward the brain when it corrects a mistaken assumption about the world; it helps our neurons stay on the lookout for the gaps between our assumptions and reality.

Humor takes advantage of this cognitive system by delivering super normal stimuli in the same way Big Macs and pornography deliver super normal stimuli for our appetite and libido. Like a good chef or porn star, a good comedian reverse engineers the mind to create jokes that generate the most mirth.