I think one major element is absurdity, which is a big part of humour and of logic... Reductio ad absurdum is a logical negation, and it comes up a lot in sober politcal arguments/rhetoric.
Another element is taboo. Comedy is edgy, which pretty much means bringing up things you're not supposed to bring up.
Yet another part is what laughter actually is. We tend to assume it's about humour, but when researchers measure, it turns out that <10% of laughter is directly humour related. Think of how many awkward laughs you get in a board meeting or diplomatic negotiation. Laughter expresses solidarity, subservience, esprrit de corps.. The implications go deep.
I think one major element is absurdity, which is a big part of humour and of logic... Reductio ad absurdum is a logical negation, and it comes up a lot in sober politcal arguments/rhetoric.
Another element is taboo. Comedy is edgy, which pretty much means bringing up things you're not supposed to bring up.
Yet another part is what laughter actually is. We tend to assume it's about humour, but when researchers measure, it turns out that <10% of laughter is directly humour related. Think of how many awkward laughs you get in a board meeting or diplomatic negotiation. Laughter expresses solidarity, subservience, esprrit de corps.. The implications go deep.