Freud, Jokes and Disorders

Sigmund Freud was a smart man. As I read through 'Jokes and the Unconscious', it becomes blindingly obvious that he was a pioneer beyond all measure, even when tackling seemingly superficial topics. To say that he was smart is such a non-contentious thing to write that it may as well be ignored completely! Of course Freud was a smart man, and some of his ideas linger on still, while others have been superceded entirely. Ultimately, should I ever read and understand enough, there will be talk of Freud and Jung, and perhaps some others too. Psychology can be very interesting... Even when it's not focussed on the ideas behind jokes!

Ah, jokes, those ephemeral and unclassifiable remarks and verbal constructions that can make our lives so much more enjoyable. If only I could remember a good one... No, I can't think of any! To be fair, jokes have always been less amusing to me than the humorous situations you find in dramatised entertainments, except for in the book form. Jokes work astonishingly well on the printed page. It may be that, having discovered the existence of a condition called hyperlexia, it now becomes natural to automatically try it on for size and see if it fits, even if it's just because jokes seem better written down. It's funnier to either read a joke in a Terry Pratchett novel or see a funny situation in a comedy. Of course, there are always 'Airplane' and 'Police Squad' to cite as counter-examples, both of which take the concept of a joke, and overload the shows so much that some of them have to work statistically, and the whole makes up a critical mass.

Hyperlexia is something I had never heard of before, but apparently it is the inverse of dyslexia, a clear challenge in interpreting verbal communication and ensuing preference for the written word. Logically, it had to exist, but I never considered that it might for an instant. Yes, hyperlexia could fit many people who have no idea that it exists. I'll add it to my own list of possible disorders, along with geranium fixations, mild Asperger-iness, office chair spinning, and an utter inability to look into clear blue skies without keeling over in horror. That last one is definitely real, but is it possible to have agoraphobia in only one respect? This too requires some research.

Returning to the beginning, Freud was a smart man. It's all in the unconscious, if we only know where.

O.