Some experiences and emotions are universal to human existence - love, anger, fear, joy, etc. As such, deep and weighty consideration is often given to these topics, and rightfully so. But one human universal that is often overlooked is laughter and humor, which by its very nature can seem opposed to deep consideration.

This opposition, however, is illusory, if only because the things we find amusing or want to find amusing often speak very deeply to who we are as individuals. As Monica Osborne's article in The New Republic suggests, humor is not simply a means of entertainment; it can be a means of coping, escaping, or trivializing the world around us. In examining Rudolph Herzog's new book (Dead Funny: Humor in Hitler's Germany), Osborne asks us to take a deeper look at the darker side of humor, and consider why we laugh at jokes that should not be funny.