John Allen Paulos cleverly scrutinizes the mathematical structures of jokes, puns, paradoxes, spoonerisms, riddles, and other forms of humor, drawing examples from such sources as Rabelais, Shakespeare, James Beattie, Rene Thom, Lewis Carroll, Arthur Koestler, W. C. Fields, and Woody Allen."Jokes, paradoxes, riddles, and the art of non-sequitur are revealed with great perception and insight in this illuminating account of the relationship between humor and mathematics."-Joseph Williams, New York Times
"'Leave your mind alone, ' said a Thurber cartoon, and a really complete and convincing analysis of what humour is might spoil all jokes forever. This book avoids that danger. What it does. . .is describe broadly several kinds of mathematical theory and apply them to throw sidelights on how many kinds of jokes work."-New Scientist
"Many scholars nowadays write seriously about the ludicrous. Some merely manage to be dull. A few-like Paulos-are brilliant in an odd endeavor."-Los Angeles Times Book Review
- ISBN10 0226650243
- ISBN13 9780226650241
- Publish Date 1 September 1980
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 23 April 2013
- Publish Country US
- Imprint University of Chicago Press
- Format Paperback
- Pages 120
- Language English