On Humorology

Humorology is the belief that taking oneself too seriously is the root of all evil and that laughter is the presence of God* among us. A humorologist is a member of the secret society, Lumidae, a secret society so super-secret that, unless you live close enough to other members to participate in the monthly braai (that's a barbecue, to those of you who don't speak Southern African), you don't know who the other members are.

Thus, the only method by which you can recognise other members of the sect by their general refusal to take themselves too seriously. This is most tellingly demonstrated by the secret handshake – the time-honoured tradition of asking someone else to pull their finger and then farting in response. Incidentally, the “pull my finger” gag is how we know that Michaelangelo was a humorologist, although the true title of his most telling work – “At Last, Someone to Pull My Finger” – has been obscured by the mists of time.

Clowns and their professional ancestors, court jesters, are the original members of this sect. It is important to note that Ronald McDonald is not a member. He has been excommunicated for using his trusted status as a clown to deceive children into consuming unhealthy food†. Most humorologists are less easy to recognise. This is because they have not yet reached the higher levels of the HiQ scale. It is possible, however, to conclusively exclude people from potential membership by their excessive seriousness.

People who use violence rather than humour (or even rational discussion) to solve problems are clearly low on the HiQ scale. Those who commit or enjoy genocide are an extreme example of this. Accepting that we are all different allows the formation of stereotypes as each community enjoys the freedom of its own identity. According to the Third Strong Recommendation‡, stereotypes are a good thing. Thus, the key to world peace could very well be the ability to laugh it off. Therefore, for world peace, go forth and laugh!

* I capitalised the word “God” because of personal grammatical beliefs (that one should capitalise proper nouns); this does not represent the views of Humorology. Humorologists believe that God has enough of a sense of humour to not mind that his name is not capitalised.

† Unhealthy food has been shown to have a detrimental effect on mood. Thus, one can't truly appreciate a joke if one's body is filled with nutrient-free drek.

‡ As quoted in the Sacred Texts of Humorology – also known as the Laugh It Off Annual – Volume 3: Stereotypes are a goldmine. Mine away.