Here's another wonderful excerpt from Dilip Mukerjea's new book, Conquering Critical Thinking:

HUMOUR IS CRITICAL TO YOUR HEALTH!

There’s a reason jokes entertain us, and it has more to do with intelligence than we think. Crafting a good joke is as serious an exercise in critical thinking as anything else. When comics recognise something as funny, they actually explore why it is funny. The process usually looks something like this:

(1) Humorists will make an observation about the world around them, something that reflects the mundane occurrences of life.

(2) Then they will examine one of those observations and think about the ways that most people intuitively interpret that observation (the more universal the better).

(3) Finally, the comic must look for alternative interpretations that no one else has considered but are just as true, if not more so.

A Critical Thinking Apéritif For You!

Michael: Do you drink beer?

Conrad: Yes, I do.

Michael: How many beers a day?

Conrad: Usually 3.

Michael: How much do you pay per beer?

Conrad: $5.00, which includes a tip.

Michael: And how long have you been drinking?

Conrad: About 20 years, I suppose...

Michael: So a beer costs $5.00, and you have 3 beers a day, which puts your spending each month at $450.00. In one year, it would be approximately

$5,400.00 correct?

Conrad: Correct.

Michael: If in 1 year you spend $5,400.00, not accounting for inflation, the past 20 years puts your spending at $108,000.00 correct?

Conrad: Correct

Michael: Do you know that if you didn’t drink so much beer, that money could have been put in a step-up interest savings account and after accounting for compound interest for the past 20 years, you could have now bought a Ferrari?

Conrad: Do you drink beer?

Michael: No.

Conrad: Where’s your Ferrari?