# Having a Laugh? Comedy and Comedians

- Institution: Gresham College
- Speaker: Dr Glenn D Wilson
- Year: 2013
- Level: For everyone
- Language: English
- Subjects: Medicine and health, Psychology and the brain
- Source: [Gresham College](https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/having-laugh-comedy-and-comedians)
- Licence: [Educational use (Gresham College's terms)](https://www.gresham.ac.uk/terms-and-conditions)
- Who can watch: Teens profiles and older (sources give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the source's own words)

Humour depends upon a delicate balance of emotional arousal (a threat, hostility, taboo, sexual arousal) and technique (mechanisms rendering a joke safe and socially acceptable – “just in fun”). The origins of humour in non-humans and children will be considered, and the purposes it serves for the individual and for society. Effects of mirth in the brain, therapeutic applications of laughter and the role of comedians in society will also be examined.

## Lectures

1. [Having a Laugh? Comedy and Comedians](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/gresham/having-laugh-comedy-and-comedians/b6ba1da7ce33) (YouTube)