How do creativity and humor go together?

I do research in the psychology of creativity and the arts, the slightly happier side of psychology, not depression and trauma. A lot of human creativity is about being funny. We have all this amazing technology, and what do we use it for? Sending each other cat memes. Humor is the very meaning of creativity.

There are many different ways to be funny?

Absolutely, language is one of them. Part of being human is being funny, silly, and playful, and that is also true for language itself. Children use crayons to be creative. Adults use language.

Humor can teach us a lot about how language works. English, for example, is very irregular when it comes to spelling and pronunciation. Germans often find that frustrating because German tends to follow clear rules. English is more chaotic, kind of like American culture. But that chaos also creates opportunities for wordplay and puns.

Can you give an example?

Funny words often have slightly rude meanings, unusual sounds, or they barely seem like “real” words. Many are slang terms connected to the human body, food, animals, excitement, or partying.

Words like poop, boobs, bubbly, squiffy, wriggly, yaps, giggly, or waddle often sound funny to people.

For non-native speakers, these words can be even funnier because they are especially sensitive to sounds. For example, the German word “schlimm” sounds very funny to English speakers.

What makes certain words especially funny?

The funniest words are often diminutives and contain uncommon letters like z, q, or k. A word like zoomies has all of that.

Are you funnier than other people because you study humor, or do you study humor because you’re funny?

(Laughs.) I try to be funny, although my students might disagree.

But honestly, everyone is funny all the time. Some people simply find it easier to be creative, to invent new jokes or come up with something on the spot. Still, a lot of humor is built on familiar ideas and things that work naturally in conversation.

What can people expect from your lecture?

Academic talks are usually very serious. It’s difficult to stay serious when talking about humor.

What will you be doing in Hildesheim?

I’ll be here for two or three days, meeting with Prof. Dr. Selina Weiss and some students. And we’ll beat some data with a stick until science happens.

The wipperman lecture will be held at 23.06.2026 18:00 MET.
More infos here.