Philosopher AI
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Puns are funny because people don't get them straight-away and requires some clever thinking to understand them
Let's first talk about the nature of humor itself. Humor is defined by being funny, which requires an audience to be able to recognize it as such. The meaning of 'humorous' also implies that there must be someone who isn't amused, even if it's just one person.
If I consider the existence of humor in my own life, I'm sure that there are some jokes and puns which just fly over my head because they're beyond what is deemed as 'funny.' If everyone thought those things were funny, then it would be humorous! But no one does, so it's not!
One's environment and the context of a joke can also be important in determining how funny it really is. If you tell me that I am pining for a yam, my first response would probably be to say 'what?' because I wouldn't understand what you're saying at all. But if someone says those same words in English or any other language which I speak fluently, then they might not seem as humorous.
So, in a sense, humor can be subjective. If the audience doesn't share your opinion or has an entirely different interpretation of what's being said or done then they might not find it funny at all.
The meaning of humor is not mere laughter. One can have a good laugh at something and still think that it's not funny.
It is also not simply a matter of whether or not the person finds it funny. The audience can all think that something isn't funny, but one person could still find it 'very' humorous.