Humor, Autism, and Asperger's

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WP has many humorous user names - user names which require thought/creativity to invent. Also, there can be occasional mottos / slogans attached to some user names. Has anyone else noticed this?

Aspies have no sense of humor that I am aware of ...

http://autismnaturalvariation.blogspot. ... humor.html

seems to be pretty good summary.

I've seen no, we don't, yes, we do but it's frequently centered around wordplay, puns...my personal experience is yes, but like so much social understanding it's not the same as NTs'.

There are things they find funny I don't, and I can't tell you how many times I'm the only person in an audience laughing. A lot.

Well played.

Oh. Yes.

I get my stuff from TV

LOL!

I almost mentioned MIB but I was hoping someone would catch the reference without making it explicit.

EXCELLENT!

I have humour but most of my life I have been told that I'm too serious, can't take a joke, etc.

I'm pretty sure the whole not having humour thing is just people again perceiving things wrongly about us.

I don't necessarily agree with the whole "Aspies don't have a sense of humor" thing. I'm an exception to that rule, because I love humor. It's one of my most favorite things of all time.

I don't think having a sense of humor is an exception.

It can seem that way, perhaps, because we can miss some jokes or realize it's a joke and not care because it does not seem funny. This is certainly not the same as not having a sense of humor, but that humor may seem quirky or odd to other people.

I like deadpan delivery (like the MiB line wavefreak58 quoted) and wordplay.

Humor is pretty universal. I don't think being an Aspie disqualifies you in any way.

I'm wondering if wordplay is favored more by aspies since it is not necessarily socially based. A lot of humor is about people's foibles and flaws so one needs to understand people to see the humor. Wordplay doesn't require me to process any of that.

I like wordplay because it's a type of humor that I actually "get". I also enjoy deadpan humor. It's great when people can pull it off properly.

I find that humor based on foibles and flaws can make me uncomfortable, like, well, if something is supposed to be embarrassing I feel that embarrassment more than the humor itself and don't really care for it. Like I find the Mel Brooks' quote



funny, because it's true for a lot of people, but I don't really find people cutting their fingers or falling into open sewers funny at all.

Yes, Deadpan or Dry Humor.

I could never tell the kind of jokes that most people tell, that are like a story that build up to a punch line. I don't think I could of remembered one if I tried.

One liners that came out based on the conversation I was in. They just came out automatically, with no planning or effort.

Some common characteristics of dry humor are also characterstics that some people on the spectrum have. It stands to reason that this kind of humor might be harder for "NT's" to deliver or understand. Some common characteristics of Dry Humor:

Minimal or no use of facial expressions, body language.

Maintaining a very monotonous or unflinching demeanor.

Expressionless faces are its highlight.

People might consider deadpan humor to be rude, because they might not understand it.

Simple facts and ideas that are stated extremely plainly.

It doesn't work as well in written form, because much of the humor involves the "odd" physical presentation.

I moved from my small school to a large private school just for the second grade. I had a horrible time catching up, but finally did toward the end of the year. I felt left behind most of the year and was surprised to get an award for the wittiest kid. I didn't consider myself funny or smart at the time, and was really confused if it was a compliment on intelligence or humor. I wonder how many of us do this and don't even realize it and how much our general demeanor contributes to it.

I LOVE word play! Half the time I too am the only one who thinks it's funny, but I will go off into peals of giggles at something I've concocted with words that are connected, that regular people don't seem to get. It's annoying to have to explain it, blah.