Humorous Wit

For fans of computers and comedy alike, an accessible and entertaining look into how we can use artificial intelligence to make smart machines funny. Most robots and smart devices are not known for their joke-telling abilities. And yet, as computer scientist Tony Veale explains in Your Wit Is My Command, machines are not inherently unfunny; they are just programmed that way. By examining the mechanisms of humor and jokes--how jokes actually works--Veale shows that computers can be built with a sense of humor, capable not only of producing a joke but also of appreciating one. Along the way, he explores the humor-generating capacities of fictional robots ranging from B-9 in Lost in Space to TARS in Interstellar, maps out possible scenarios for developing witty robots, and investigates such aspects of humor as puns, sarcasm, and offensiveness. In order for robots to be funny, Veale explains, we need to analyze humor computationally. Using artificial intelligence (AI), Veale shows that joke generation is a knowledge-based process--a sense of humor is blend of wit and wisdom. He notes that existing technologies can detect sarcasm in conversation, and explains how some jokes can be pre-scripted while others are generated algorithmically--all while making the technical aspects of AI accessible for the general reader. Of course, there's no single algorithm or technology that we can plug in to make our virtual assistants or GPS voice navigation funny, but Veale provides a computational roadmap for how we might get there.

The former senator and presidential candidate collects bipartisan presidential humor from famous, and not-so-famous, chief executives, from Washington to Clinton.

Humorous Wit is a new compilation of quotations in their most humoristic form. There are over 15,000 of these taken from various parts of the world, with over 1,200 of them translated into English for the first time. This book features 5,000 authors from every corner of the globe, covering a period starting before classical antiquity, when man first started to record his thoughts, to modern times, enriching the cultural heritage. This does not in any way mean that the caveman was less humorous, but the richness of the environment we live in today and the variety of subject matter contribute considerably to a refined sense of humour. Moreover, considering that chimps and other primates also possess the ability to laugh, humour may have been around longer than the human race : )

More than 1000 ripostes, paradoxes, and epigrams on sin, society, genius, wealth, men, women, religion, America, education, and smoking: "Work is the curse of the drinking classes," "I can resist everything except temptation," etcetera. Also excerpts from his trial testimony, where the tragedy implicit in Wilde's humor is nowhere more vivid.

From the first satiric cave drawings to the quirky humour of Push Pin studios, Design Humor explores what makes wit and humour such important tools in graphic design. Compiling some of the most clever, ironic, and acerbic pieces from annuals, exhibitions, and designer's drawers, this entertaining sourcebook demonstrates how to communicate effectively through visual puns, type play, and ironic images. It features dozens of classic examples of comical type creations such as Goudy Stout as well as the exuberant playfulness of post-modern design. Full of captivating historical and philosophical references from such humour experts as Groucho Marx, Max Eastman, and Mark Twain, Design Humor is an invaluable resource for designers and design students, as well as a treasured collection of design wit for the enthusiast!

Got wit? We’ve all been in that situation where we need to say something clever, but innocuous; smart enough to show some intelligence, without showing off; something funny, but not a joke. What we need in that moment is wit—that sparkling combination of charm, humor, confidence, and most of all, the right words at the right time. Elements of Wit is an engaging book that brings together the greatest wits of our time, and previous ones from Oscar Wilde to Nora Ephron, Winston Churchill to Christopher Hitchens, Mae West to Louis CK, and many in between. With chapters covering the essential ingredients of wit, this primer sheds light on how anyone—introverts, extroverts, wallflowers, and bon vivants—can find the right zinger, quip, parry, or retort…or at least be a little bit more interesting.

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