> > > > > "[An idea] can be stabbed to death by a joke [..]" -- Charles Brower.
> >
> > I'm not quite sure why, but that piece caused particular resonance within me.
> >
>
> As it did in me. See below.
>
>
> > > On the other hand, Spinoza said something along the lines that, "a thing does not cease to be true just because it is not accepted by many."
> >
> > That just goes to show that the truth exists regardless of (wo)man. Specifically, regardless of whether we perceive it or not.
> >
>
> No. What I meant by my previous comments (about mediocrity and greatness, and that concepts do not necessarily speak for themselves), is that an idea at core must be honest -- and TRUE -- for it to be accepted by people, in the long run. And a true idea, when it is good, will upset the comfortable fictions in which people would otherwise prefer to believe. It will be met with resistance in the short term before it finally finds acceptance in the main.



What I meant by that response was that, regardless of what we believe (religion, witches, science, mind, accupuncture (sp?), aliens, etc.), the truth is out there, and it may be different or even oppose our beliefs. Actualy, this comment was unrelated to one about joking.

Exceptions arise only in cases where ideas are much too far ahead of their time. The only example I can think of right now is Leonardo Da Vinci inventing the helicopter, but I'm sure there are better examples. These ideas will seem so far out to contemporaries that they die (only to be resurrected by historians after "the helicopter has been invented", so to speak).


>
> That is why the best and most lasting kind of humour is not destructive... it does NOT hurt or belittle others purely for the sake of stabbing at people or confusing them. Joking is best when we can identify with the joke, because then it tells us a little more about ourselves. I find, for myself, that a topic being joked about can reveal a hurtful truth about myself; but the humour of the situation allows me to work through it, and show a new way of looking at the world.
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> Wolfspirit

That's my favourite tool for convincing people (does it appear in "How to be persuasive"? Don't have time to look). I find that the optimum trick is to bring the "hurtful truth" home gradually, i.e. as the person thinks about what you just said while still in a good mood. Often, this will also enable an intelligent discussion instead of just exchange of abuse.

jul"working on that trick"ian