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A Pixelated Mind

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Nonsense and Reference

Shockingly obvious realization:

You can have a joke that doesn’t refer to any cultural aspect and you can have a reference that isn’t funny.

Background: I went to a boardgame night a few weeks ago with some friends of a friend. The entire night could be summarized as a series of Internet pop culture references and nerd references. I got a number of them, but many more slipped by me. They seemed to amuse each other, but I mostly just wanted to shout

NEEEEEERRRDDDSS!!!!

Because what they were saying wasn’t amusing in the context. They were only amused because it reminded them of the original amusing quote.

And it occurred to me: If it’s possible to get the reference but not get the joke (or find it funny), then it’s got to be possible to get a joke but not get the reference.

I imagine getting the reference usually adds something to the joke experience, but if a person laughs at something but doesn’t understand that it was actually a reference to another thing– that person shouldn’t be embarrassed. Nonsense and reference are different things.

I think Frege taught us that.

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Shockingly obvious realization: You can have a joke that doesn’t refer to any cultural aspect and you can have a reference that isn’t funny. Background: I went to a boardgame night a few weeks ago with some friends of a friend. The entire night could be summarized as a series of Internet pop culture references…