Humor Gauges are a set of subconscious measurements, each of which is like a gauge on an early airplane’s instrument panel. Airplane gauges measures physical ranges like temperature between two extremes of Cold/Hot. Humor gauges are only metaphorical, but they also have a needle in between two opposites that reflects each observer’s subconscious assessment.
Compared to the first five humor context components (Exposition, Disposition, Setup, Subject Matter, and Distraction), the Humor Gauges are perhaps the trickiest to grasp. They are the most abstract, and as a novel category they are the least familiar. Clash Theory proposes five types of humor gauges, two major and three minor, each a range between opposites. For a given humor event there could be multiple gauges of the same type reflecting observer evaluation of distinct portions of the humor event.
Click on each gauge type for further analysis and examples.
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Why Funny Is Funny 