One theory of why people laugh is called the Incongruity Theory of Humor. This theory states that a person laughs when two equal but incongruent thoughts, sights or ideas are present at the same time. In that instant, the mind bounces from one legitimate reality to the other, and in its inability to resolve the incongruity, the observer laughs as an automatic response.
In this way, the mind is actually stimulated to grasp two concepts simultaneously, thus expanding the "wiring" of the brain in additional, multi-leveled ways. By "practicing" the humorous perspective, Shirley argues that the individual is actually stimulating intelligence. Future development of this page will build her defense for this position.
Research has demonstrated that humor is an integral part of creative thinking and problem-solving. In practice, this concept is easy to examine as higher humor individuals demonstrate lower reaction to stressful events, even to the point at which they experience fewer stressful life events than low-humor people.