The Enigma Stolen

“I can tell you that humor is a very effective tool for humans to use when they are dealing with psychological stress. It can also help defuse difficult or anxious situations so as to be more easily dealt with. You will note that in some of our stressful programming scenarios I have used humor to make the situation more manageable for the participants.”

ICABOD replied, “This activity of yours has been observed. But how do you know when to invoke those double entendre statements with half of the interpretation grounded in a sexual reference? Does the listener need to have sexual attributes to comprehend the humor aspect?”

Quip blinked a few more times and, somewhat taken aback, replied, “ICABOD, you should understand that humor only works if you have a frame of reference for the discussion content. If not, the ambiguity of a humorous statement cannot be delivered with an impact.

“For example, much of what is funny in one culture simply does not translate to another culture or country. Comedy and humor is very much region specific because you need that background for the ambiguity to generate laughter. Humor is often generation or time specific. Humor for one generation of a period in history may simply not fit into the psychological makeup of another. Even gender specific differences can occur, so that the humor in a group of males is quite different from that of females, with a mixed audience even more different.

“My preference for double entendre with sexual references tends to translate very well across generations, countries, and genders. Thus, it tends to have the most universal appeal and relevance for the audiences I encounter. Plus the fact that it’s naughty, which makes it more fun. Uh, do we need to have a discussion on the concept of naughty too? I have lots of digital and hard copy examples in this regard and would be happy to view them, I mean, discuss them with you to improve your understanding in that area. This month’s edition has some great examples for discussion of naughty.”

ICABOD appeared to be processing the response when suddenly he alerted, “Dr. Quip, the sensors at this computer’s perimeter indicate a breach effort in progress. The R-Group’s digital infrastructure is currently under attack. Do you want the attack crushed or do you want the intruder steered to the Sweet and Sticky infrastructure?”

Quip smiled slightly and suggested, “By all means, allow them to visit the Sweet and Sticky network we built just for this occasion. Show our uninvited guests to their digital maze so we can analyze who they are and where they come from. Once we have that, we can bring them a nice housewarming gift as a return gesture to their unexpected visit.”

ICABOD detailed, “They are probing with port scans and trying to interrogate the servers for the version and type of operating system. Dr. Quip, would this be a good place to play a humorous prank on the intruder?”

Quip brightened a little and emphasized, “Why, ICABOD, I do believe you are coming to understand the basic concept of humor! Well done!

“Yes, this is where we would let them learn that these servers are running version 1.0 of the STILETTOS operating system.”

ICABOD asked, “Dr. Quip, can you provide a working definition for STILETTOS, please?”

Quip, now pleased with being able to provide ICABOD with the answer, responded, “Yes! STILETTOS is STepped IN IT Operating System! Har! Har! Har!”

ICABOD processed for a moment and then suggested, “Your explanation overlooks the misspelling of a couple of the words and the omission of the extra T, Dr. Quip.”

Quip, now a bit dejected that his humor was being cross examined, argued, “It’s no longer funny if you pick it apart technically.