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"Altman also turned Carlin on to a new book by Arthur Koestler, author of the anti-Stalinist novel Darkness at Noon. Called The Act of Creation, the book explored the author's theory of human ingenuity, the ability to integrate previously unrelated ideas. Jokes, as Carlin was well aware, are rooted in incongruities. To Koestler, scientific discovery, mystical insight, and "The Logic of Laughter," as he named his opening chapter, can each be traced to the unique human ability to make cognitive connections. The author designed a triptych showing a continuum from jester to sage to artist. "Jester and savant must both 'live on their wits,'" he wrote, "and we shall see that the Jester's riddles provide a useful back-door entry . . . into the inner workshop of creative originality." By falling into dream-states or finding other ways to transcend our stagnation, Koestler argued, we can achieve a "spontaneous flash of insight which shows a familiar situation or event in a new light, and elicits a new response to it."
~ taken from the book 7 Dirty Words: The Life And Crimes Of George Carlin by James Sullivan
"That was another impact. I was doing nightclub comedy down in the Village. I was down there in '63, '64, and my friend told me about Arthur Koestler's book about the act of creation and it has a section on humor.
He was talking about the creative process. There was an illustration on the panel that showed a triptych. On the left panel, there were these names of artistic pursuits. There were poets, painter, composer. And one of them was jester. I was only interested in the jester. What he said about each of these, he said these individuals on the left hand side can transcend the panels of the triptych by creative growth.
The jester makes jokes, he's funny, he makes fun, he ridicules. But if his ridicules ase based on sound ideas and thinking, then he can proceed to the second panel, which is the thinker---he called it the philosopher. The jester becomes the philosopher, and if he does these things with dazzling language that we marvel at, then he becomes a poet, too. Then the jester can be a thinking jester who thinks poetically.
I didn't see that and say, "That's what I am going to do," but I guess it made an impression on me. I was never afraid to grow and change. I never was afraid of reversing my field of people, and I just think I've become a touch of each of those second and third descriptions and I definitely have a gift for language that is rhymic and attractive to the ear, and I have interesting imagery which I guess is a poetic touch. And I like the fact that most of my things are based on solid ideas, things I've thought about in a new way for me, things for which I have said, "Well, what about this? Suppose you look at it this way? How about that?" And then you heighten and exaggerate that, because comedy's all about heightening and exaggerating. And anyways I guess I was impressed that there was another thing from my early life that probably at least influenced me to some level."
~ Comedian George Carlin
"It explains that people attach their egos to their sense of humor before anything else."
~ Brian Wilson on The Act of Creation
The new name of the website, The Good Humor SMiLE Site!, was the result of two ways of thinking.
In one way, "Good" is taken from "Good Vibrations." "Humor" is taken from the title The Act Of Creation: A study of the conscious and unconscious process in humor, scientific discovery and art, and "SMiLE" is taken from the album.
In another way, the name is derived from the visual of Brian Wilson used inside the Sunflower LP. Atop Brian's head is a "Good Humor" ice cream cap and on his face is a smile.
Bill Tobelman
william.tobelman@snet.net
Ha!
