Laugh Learn Lead

02/19/2020

Walking and running were key elements in our cognitive and creative evolution: Run Walk Think Create

Since at least the time of Greek philosophers, many writers have discovered a deep, intuitive connection between walking, thinking, and writing.

01/21/2020

Laughter is distinct from humour but the two spend a lot of time together and the benefits of laughter are fascinating, numerous and well documented. Here is one of my favourite lesser known benefits of laughter. According to Kimata's study laughter increases the levels of breast-milk melatonin and feeding infants with increased levels of melatonin-containing milk positively regulates sleep patterns and reduces allergic responses in infants.

01/15/2020

A reasonably detailed article on the connection between humour problem-solving and creativity. There is some good information in here and a sprinkling of evidence based research as well. Worth a read if you have a few minutes.

Research shows that humor can help people be more creative in problem solving.

01/10/2020

Depression is something you often have to work through rather than simply avoid - here is a little article on the positive role that creativity can play.

Colin Dardis has lived with anxiety and panic attacks since his mid-teens but poetry has helped him cope

12/24/2019

Did you see Eddie Murphy's return to SNL?

This was the triumphant return both Murphy and his fans were hoping for.

12/18/2019

Now that’s a fine Christmas present 🎁

Beloved cartoons, which had been retired for 24 years without any official internet presence, now have an archive site with new work in the pipeline

12/17/2019

A short article on the positive role of comedy in Angola

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/01/luanda-angola-new-wave-standup-comedy-scene

In a country scarred by war, corruption and inequality, a vibrant comedy scene has emerged

12/13/2019

Humour revolves around seeing things in different ways. It is a creative process that helps to trigger other creative processes. Here is a small slice of science that shines a little light on how this happens.

Different studies at Harvard, MIT, and Northwestern universities shows that humor and sarcasm have a strong positive effect on creativity, and explains why, and what you can do about it.

04/10/2019

Here is a copy of an article in the current edition of Audi Magazine where I discuss the nature of developing humour systems in Artificial Intelligence

02/05/2019

Visual humour has the power to catch the eye and the mind at an early age, which demonstrates the link between humour and art as well as how in human evolution humour led to the emergence of art.

A mom and her 3-year-old daughter create adorable optical illusion images with everyday items. At the right angle, the girl wears "dresses" made of food!

01/25/2019

Humour was born our of play - and the benefits of play are quite remarkable https://lnkd.in/ehWngQy

New research shows how parrots and crows learn new skills through play. Can adults implement this advice?

01/13/2019

Part of the value of developing humour systems in Artificial Intelligence and robots is recognizing the power of the associated smiling and laughter. In Iran they have developed an emotionally oriented robot to help children cope with cancer - take a look: https://lnkd.in/e_yPxZG

Arash Robot a Mobile Social Robot for Pediatric Cancer Hospitals