Why we laugh | Sophie Scott

Did you know that you're 30 times more likely to laugh if you're with somebody else than if you're alone? Cognitive neuroscientist Sophie Scott shares this and other surprising facts about laughter in this fast-paced, action-packed and, yes, hilarious dash through the science of the topic.
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[@C4pitalise]

Why so many awful comments about her weight? I thought she was really interesting and a good speaker, since when do people on TED talks comment like this?

[@TheEpitome44]

I know, it's depressing. I'm genuinely surprised too. Anyone insulting her is unlikely to measure up to anything like what she has accomplished in life though, so there is that.

[@eatcarpet]

C4pitalise People on KZbin*.

[@Nvrloptimism]

C4pitalise they came from jimmy kimmel videos

[@cactusman07pim]

I tought the chanel was about the talking bear movie but no we get a fat woman talking about laughing. She can better do reasearch on the link between foot and toilet paper consumption.

[@MuseCatherine]

True!

[@firstnamelastname4752]

Her intellectual confidence is really attractive. What a brilliant human.

[@Yayaueyebigi]

Firstname Lastname nice user

[@Charlie-Em]

simp

[@Charlie-Em]

@@Yayaueyebigi Simp

[@cchiri]

She's hilarious! An intelligent and very funny woman. I would love to hear more of her and her investigation in the future.

[@waspbloke]

Oh? Do you have time machine?

[@Xoid97]

Ocio2 too bad she's fat :/

[@cchiri]

Xoid97 Luckily, it doesn't seem to affect her abilities to investigate nor her sense of humor! That's good, right? ;)

[@mikel.3470]

Ocio2 L2 navigate comments, bro. do not feed the trolls. proceed to report for spam or abuse -> hate speech. you have now removed his comment from your life. protip#3, you're welcome.

[@egzit9463]

***** Thanks! Found it: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03bdpl5

[@RachelledelaRosa]

I absolutely love that she is a neuroscience and can credibly speak on this topic. *sigh* goals :')

[@backyardsounds]

I'm just a minor in anthropology but I've studied it for years. It's my opinion laughter developed as a way to demonstrate there is no danger. For example someone falls out of a tree, which could have been a fatal fall. They stand up and his or her friends all laugh as if to say, "it's okay". So of tickling? Same thing. You see two roughing it up,. Now if one is screaming, well then you know something's wrong. But laughter that's a signal,"oh,they're just playing around." I think it developed as a way to help early hominoids the ability to continue on doing what they're doing and by a simple sound they don't have to run and protect others.

[@dups4992]

All your examples come from scenarios of possible danger. What about telling a joke or laughing at someone dancing, why do we laugh then?

[@d.2542]

Justyn Caesar it cant be it because we laugh even someone is under danger or could be under danger we still laugh. For exmpl when a friend falls (from ur example) and they could have a fracture or any kind of injury but we still laugh lol

[@obadiahkilgore2964]

I think thats just part of it. There may be a danger-mitigating factor, but also a social bond strengthening factor. Theres also superiority theory, where it laughter based on us vs them or we vs you.

[@doriangel97]

Jack Taylor maybe thats why a lot of comedy is based on controversial topics, the laughter signals its okay to keep talking about it and were all cool and it makes it safe for the person joking to say those controversial jokes

[@VimboVivien]

This is definitely one of the most upbeat, lighthearted TedTalks I've ever seen :) Definitely made me laugh out loud. Definitely brought a smile to my face!

[@OrganicGreens]

Ive always found laughter incredibly interusting. But i never released how important it was

[@FockCopyrights]

oh god..

[@TheSiddhiDesai]

Didn't expect to laugh so much during a Ted talk! She's so witty =D

[@cactusman07pim]

I'm disapointed, tought it was a chanel about the bear movie. Only thing interesting was out of control breasts resting on a giant belly. That gets boring after half a minute, can't stand any longer watching that.

[@Vanilla91459]

@@cactusman07pim You are sick in the head, her breasts don’t matter it’s her speech that does.

[@DabbyCakes1]

@@cactusman07pim you got issues bro😭

[@DarkJak]

Not so much wit, but nervous contagion

[@minervac.4978]

when your friend's laugh is funnier than the joke

[@22z93]

Especially when you were in grade school during class because it wasn’t allowed.

[@calamar1e320]

Why is this so bloody accurate

[@solab3075]

Ahhahahahahhahahaha my best friend's laugh is the funniest🤣🤣🤣

[@amcgee0668]

Yesss!😂

[@bana6957]

she seems so full of life and excitement!

[@sandrablow6305]

I hope she laughs at all the ignorant, inconsiderate, self absorbed and immature people out there who thought it would make them look….WHAT….cool, juvenile, uncaring…….IF SO THEY’VE ACCOMPLISHED THAT!!! Sophie has shown she a beautiful person, who is willing to share the education of laughter with us. Thank you Sophie, allow no place in your heart, your life for ignorance!! God Bless!,,

[@kyobnj7451]

Immensely sophisticated sense of humour... this one phrase is just for you Mrs. Sophie Scott... I actually have learned English just through watching your speeches up online and reading what you've written.. Love this ted talk. This is the best of all the ted talks ever!

[@kimvanwingene181]

I think she explains it so well. I never would have thought that there is so much more to laughter than just laughing but now I know there is.

[@deathlessmile]

I loved the idea that laughter helps us get through hard situations together :)

[@constantin_oprea]

Just brilliant. I love the way she explains laughter. Is so much behind it. We all need a good laugh and I think is just impossible to not laugh every single day. When LAUGH stops I am pretty sure human kind will be all gone. SO LET´S HAVE A GOOD LAUGH.

[@egonzlatovlas2304]

Yeah, man!

[@reannar678]

I think it’s even deeper, I think laughing is healthy for the function of the body. It reduces stress at the very least, but I feel like it also promotes a positive environment for your mind and body.

[@Sophia-lk2mr]

What a great speaker! And intelligent and humorous as well

[@jimmychan8008]

What a great speaker! So natural and informative!

[@marytravis1845]

One of the funniest days I've had was in the office when we got a new phone system. Everyone had to record a new 'leave a message' greeting. We worked in closely spaced cubicals so everyone could hear everyone else trying to record a greeting without tripping over our tongues. The entire office was laughing. Then, the next day, we couldn't wait for coworkers who hadn't been present the day before to come in and record their greetings.

[@Bayleebutton]

I love this woman

[@VeronaRoma7546]

That French girl’s laugh is my new ringtone

[@brookearcher856]

This was such an intelligent reminder to just...laugh. What a lovely woman~

[@chuckarneson8296]

I am never going to under estimate the power of laughter again ... especially from a social and physiology standpoint. Important not to take yourself to seriously and share a laugh with a good friend.

[@BoloBouncer]

Right when my grandfather died, his grown children were standing around his bed. My mom said, "I don't want to leave him." My aunt said, "Well he left first!" They laughed.

[@lijojose4682]

Just watched due to an anxiety created by reading Mr. Chris Anderson's book TED TALKS... Really wonderful one.

[@SaniSensei]

She must have the funniest job :-)

[@TheEpitome44]

Interesting talk! I hadn't thought about laughter like that before.

[@realmoa]

Anyone else notice: 1:10 she has that odd, reflective necklace - 1:13 it's gone!

[@davidmeade6356]

Wow that is so weird, why edit it out??

[@diegolazares8734]

woah, you're right. better view of the necklace around 0:45 . so strange

[@brookearcher856]

ok, wehlp....

[@shumailakhan1973]

I watched on Delta Airline flight from London Heathrow UK to Minneapolis Minnesota USA,it made my journey easier.worth to watch and enjoy .

[@jasonchaves8828]

extremely fascinating especially cuz I'm a stand-up comic and it makes a lot more sense to me now thought this was great unbelievable actually

[@michaelposey6529]

This lady is visibly brilliant.

[@Champlol414]

Anyone else notice that for the first ~1:10 of the video she has a necklace on and then the next second it magically vanishes?

[@Interceptor]

Champlol414 No, but now that you mention it... that's creepy.

[@Champlol414]

Martin Lie It was bothering me at the start because the glare of the necklace was all over her neck..anywho im still really confused on where it went

[@Champlol414]

Champlol414 inb4 she ate it

[@gurudeclan]

Champlol414 Please someone explain WTF happened

[@xabk]

Champlol414 It happens on good conferences where there's proper staff. «The necklace was removed because it was casting some distracting shimmers on Sophie's face».

[@skyfashionzone5573]

I cry now..so started watch this

[@nimitytei4715]

Because life is too sad when you do not laugh.

[@kerryclarke2774]

I'd not heard this lady until she was a guest on the richard nicholls podcast and now she keeps popping up everywhere. Love her!

[@kerryclarke2774]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/rn7Jo6iZZtJlaZY

[@dannyruiz105]

This Ted Talk helped me complete a much needed assignment,thank you very much.

[@bilibili68]

I don't think she actually explained to us why we laugh. sure it has something to do with social interactions, but none of the research she mentioned actually looks at why we laugh as opposed to screaming at the top of our voices when we want to bond in a social context. I mean, why is this the reaction we evolved, rather than something else?

[@hottiekitty96]

WE don't have exact reasons for 90% of things. We look at application and fossil records. Why do we laugh, well for the same reason we do everything. It's a social behavior of social animals

[@mohammedmuzammil1233]

She is beautiful so her laugher and so her talk - totally brilliant

[@TechyTubeDotCom]

Very noicely delivered, I laughed very hard. Never thought of laughter in this manner.

[@VivianixonArts]

Noice

[@DeimosSaturn]

Really eye opening research especially the metrics on people differentiating posed versus involuntary laughter. It seems that even if laughter is shared among many mammals, it is an especially complex function in humans since humor involves cognition of many abstract concepts that are beyond chimps. If laughter is the physiological component of the phenomenon of humor, that seems to be all the research can talk about. Why humans evolved the ability to experience humor is still not understood.

[@lilneedoba8345]

for someone who use the text book called "PERSPECTIVE" 4:15 11:50 17:50

[@vodchia9816]

Thank you Sophie Scott. I will start my laughing gear more now. :D

[@TienLeNguyenAnh]

Aww! I love you Sophie! You are so wonderful and your accent is so beautiful! I’ve known you for a while through some podcasts and BBC videos, but I haven’t known your name. Not until today that I stumbled upon this video! 🥰❤I would like to say thank you for sharing such an informative, intriguing and hilarious talk!

[@neufeld2007]

I've never understood why some people, usually males, laugh when they see someone get injured. I've always thought that it must be because they have low empathy. When I see someone get hurt my whole body tenses up involuntarily and I get a unpleasant sensation similar to shivering. It never makes me laugh. It was interesting to hear Sophie Scott's theory that the group laughs to encouraged the injured person to laugh in order to counteract the pain they are feeling. Maybe that's possible, although I feel a bit skeptical as none of my personal experience backs that up. The few times I have been laughed at when I was injured, made me feel worse not better.

[@maiacalenda]

I read it's about power. Seeing an ordinary guy stumbling can be comical, but if you see a powerful man (ex.the president of a state, a priest etc.) stumbling, the laughter comes much louder.

[@RandyVilleneuve1]

I like that we don't fully comprehend the meaning of laughter until the end our natural, early human lifespan.

[@AnandChafekar]

Thank you. One it the best Ted videos till date. Laughter is one of the best ways to kick that stress. It has also helped me to quit smoking many years back.

[@phoebejones3944]

I recently had my wisdom teeth removed and the number one rule is "do not laugh because you will tear your sutures and bleed everywhere" and I have to tell you, it was one of that hardest things I have ever had to do.

[@mhtinla]

Laughter, is contagious. HAHAHAHA

[@mhtinla]

***** HOHOHOHOHO... it's not Xmas but.... HOHOHOHO

[@ThermicYT]

*boi*

[@Capta1nFarrell]

There's a saying here in Finland that the more you laugh, the longer you'll live :) Which is ironic, considering the fact that we often think of ourselves as being quiet and serious.

[@MaxsSeveredHead]

***** That isn't a strictly Finnish saying :/

[@Capta1nFarrell]

MaxsSeveredHead Never said it was. Just made an observation based on my own culture.

[@martialkintu2035]

It gets even more ironic when you think about the fact that there's a chance of dying of laughter

[@FrancisLandivar]

Laughter is the best medicine!!!!!

[@jezjords]

But if you're laughing for no reason, you need medicine. :D

[@UjjwalMaurya1234]

This was amazing. I loved it. Thanks for the talk 😃

[@jkhbgvkg]

I'm clapping and laughing! Outstanding presentation!

[@angelean.o]

does anyone know what video she's referring too, though? about the toilet signs on the train.

[@xl0001]

it's first time for me to hear about science behind laughter.

[@PemikBlue]

Thank you about the Greek Subtitles. I really appreciate it.

[@dreamitable]

I love to laugh so much but the person who made me laugh enormously is back in my past over forty years ago .Jim Flushing from Flushing, Michigan WHERE ARE YOU OUT THERE !!! I love to make people laugh. My brother said I am a natural comedian. And I was trying to get discovered for something all my life. My other brother calls me Crazy Lou cuz I make him laugh. Love this subject you talked of.

[@SudhashenNaicker]

Really enjoyed this talk - very informative and quite obviously from someone who appreciates laughter! She's great!

[@itsneerajrandhir]

She is awesome. Loved the video😊

[@Craigbn981]

It's great to laugh at least once a day.

[@krallavcilari4694]

İt's great to laugh at least once a day🎉

[@drsyedakiranumefarwabukhar2942]

Laughter is best form of medicine

[@jezjords]

But if you're laughing for no reason, you need medicine. :D

[@officialyumishin]

My theory on why we laugh is so psychological. I think it's because whatever happens reminds us about ourselves or something in our lives (pain?) which then evokes a humorous emotional reaction. We start to Love the person who purposely makes us genuinely laugh. Probably because we can see that they understand how we feel on a deeper level. Laughter hits so close to home more than you imagine. It's so personal. Like she said, it takes the pain out of us. It replaces pain with a good mood.

[@QRIOART]

Sophie, YOU ARE UNUSUALLY AMAZING AND WONDERFUL. 😂❤❤❤

[@neptunejill]

I once learned you also use your laughing muscles for swimming... I almost drown once by getting obscenely tickled at a joke while swimming in the ocean...in Negril Jamaica. Great 30th bday moment.

[@hyenaedits3460]

So the ability of humans to talk is our ribcage,not our vocal cords. Fascinating. I guess it makes sense. Most animals have vocal cords, so they're not unique. Edit: We laugh to get out of uncomfortable situations. Is that why cats purr when they're injured? Is purring how cats laugh? I also heard something about how a cat's purr is at a frequency that speeds the healing of broken bones. Does laughter have a similar effect on humans? Also... (blue screen)

[@haleydonovan3421]

Such interesting research, thank you for sharing

[@MichaelXuelinHuang]

Very inspiring! I guess we all need something to make us laugh hard, especially in stress

[@laviniagiovagnoni984]

laughing is so good for your health

[@Siddharth_dif_n_dif_Co.427]

Thanks your Excellency 🙏

[@antonackermann9620]

1:11 The moment her lovely necklace dissipated into thin air

[@debonairrose]

Whaaaaaaat

[@Vanilla91459]

:O I didn’t see that.

[@ianpatrick23]

Love the idea that laughter can help us through crisis!

[@fastestwaytofreedom]

Description should say "30x times more likely" not 13x. Time Magazine did an edition on The Science of Laughter and they quote this same study by Robert Provine.

[@nguyencongthanh6721]

Brilliant speech !!!!

[@ferociousgumby]

I watched The Ghost and Mr. Chicken with Don Knotts tonight - alone - and laughed my a$$ off. No kidding, I fell out of my chair. I didn't need anyone there and I didn't need anthropology. It was damn funny. It was DON KNOTTS!

[@sebvanjole]

haha love her talk, the ice prank would've killed me though

[@IndioXeo]

anyone else ended here cause of the Book?

[@zhiyarali557]

what book pls

[@sagargarg7055]

what book?@@legoplaytime1823

[@joycethayil6659]

Hilarious & insightful... One of the best tedtalks ever.. !!!

[@Luckyy227]

I laugh alone does that make me crazy lmao

[@brookearcher856]

That's what I'm saying! Sometimes I'll remember a super funny situation I came across with my brother and I'll just replay it in my end over and over again until I burst out laughing in front of people....then they look at me like I'm crazy

[@niknic9703]

I woke myself up out of sleep laughing at something funny i said in my dream! I laughed so hard I couldn’t breathe 🤣

[@Dude0000]

This isn’t learning, it confirms what, I assume, most people already know but can’t explain verbally.

[@b-complex6010]

We laugh, because: 16:26. Focus on the important things with B-Complex!

[@willaylwardcoaching]

Beautiful and insightful talk!

[@amcgee0668]

Very interesting, thanks for sharing🐝

[@Clomwellschimdt]

She should take this talk on the comedy club circuit.

[@nikkyttta2404]

Brilliant! Love it!

[@K0sm1cKid]

Aww she's so cute haha

[@koemye5887]

K0sm1cKid, SWIMlovesyou alisha

[@JoshMaxPower]

yessss. :)

[@Nvrloptimism]

Does "you laugh more when you're not alone" rule work with pets and AI?

[@gregorykraemer2901]

5:00 does she say 30 or 13 ? The description is confusing, i hear 30 am i crazy?

[@joaolancadecarvalho7059]

Sounds like 30 to me. No nasal ending

[@ruutaandestegge4118]

she says 30. But if you wish to check, go to the dots under the video and click to download the transcript :-)

[@carlhitchon1009]

She never said anything (besides tickling) about WHY people laugh.

[@travelingtorie]

Excellent!! Loved this Ted talk. 👏😄🌞

[@loopyluu9302]

The second guy has got to be Jimmy Carr? LOL. Literally....

[@NishantSingh-yw2dk]

The topic made me laugh..

[@niedarle]

I think whether you'll laugh or not also depends about the age of the person laughing. That is why young people laughed at the voice of an adult and older people didn't so much.

[@isaiahb.7956]

Great Ted talk

[@jasminebullard2745]

Extremely interesting and humorous!

[@djmohglojojo]

We all laughed at something and thought to ourselves "what is laughter" or rather "what do we laugh"

[@RedirectMyDay]

Brilliant talk x

[@stevebutler812]

I wondered if she was referring to the 1970s sitcom episode of The Brady Bunch, where Jan is going for her driver's test, and someone recommends that she imagined the state trooper dressed in his underwear. When she goes for her driver's test and imagines that, she starts laughing, and relaxing and does a good job on her driver's test. She doesn't point out how similar laughing and crying can sound and how we also are affected by others crying.

[@olilithziosmarell9384]

What if you laugh by yourself? In a room... alone... in the dark.

[@fatimamukadam]

🙄😨😨

[@yul7898]

Late reply but you're probably watching vine compilations at 2am

[@yasmina1060]

A very interesting video :)

[@dinkusoninkus]

That necklace!

[@thorn9382]

The 20 most watched ted talks *22*

[@charliebull5935]

And laughter can take us to some pretty odd places in terms of making noises