Life is like topography, Hobbes. There are summits of happiness and success, flat stretches of boring routine and valleys of frustration and failure.
Bill WattersonRead
Calvin: Isn't it strange that evolution would give us a sense of humor? When you think about it, it's weird that we have a physiological response to absurdity. We laugh at nonsense. We like it. We think it's funny. Don't you think it's odd that we appreciate absurdity? Why would we develop that way? How does it benefit us? Hobbes: I suppose if we couldn't laugh at things that don't make sense, we couldn't react to a lot of life.
Interpretation
The quote explores the role of humor and absurdity in human life.
In this dialogue between Calvin and Hobbes, they ponder the seemingly irrational human response to absurdity through laughter. Watterson suggests that humor is a crucial response mechanism to navigate the complexities and nonsensical aspects of life, highlighting its importance for emotional resilience and coping with uncertainty.
In practice
During a speech about overcoming challenges, one could use this quote to illustrate the necessity of humor in difficult situations.
Life is like topography, Hobbes. There are summits of happiness and success, flat stretches of boring routine and valleys of frustration and failure.
Sometimes when I'm talking, my words can't keep up with my thoughts. I wonder why we think faster than we speak. Probably so we can think twice.
The secret to enjoying your job is to have a hobby that's even worse
Shutting off the thought process is not rejuvenating; the mind is like a car battery - it recharges by running.
Mothers are the necessity of invention.
Dad: Honey, have you seen my glasses? I can"t find them. Mom: I haven't seen them. Calvin: (with glasses, to Dad) Calvin, go do something you hate! Being miserable builds character!
I require only three things of a man. He must be handsome, ruthless and stupid.
The audience today has heard every joke. They know every plot. They know where you're going before you even start. That's a tough audience to surprise, and a tough audience to write for. It's much more competitive now, because the audience is so much more - I want to say sophisticated.
You can tell how smart people are by what they laugh at.
Lady Bracknell. Good afternoon, dear Algernon, I hope you are behaving very well. Algernon. I’m feeling very well, Aunt Augusta. Lady Bracknell. That’s not quite the same thing. In fact the two things rarely go together.
Surveys show that the #1 fear of Americans is public speaking. #2 is death. That means that at a funeral, the average American would rather be in the casket than doing the eulogy.
There are so many funny women in the world, and there has been for so many years, so I'll be happy when people can just move on from that, and things can just be 'comedies' and not 'female' or 'male,' and everyone gets an equal opportunity.
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