Humor is hard to do. Consider the 2016 Ignobel Prize in Medicine, which went to German scientists who discovered (in 2013) that if an itch is induced in one forearm, having the sufferer watch himself in a mirror while scratching the like spot on the other arm
will bring substantial relief.
While the idea is amusing the implications seem serious enough. Really, the only funny part was the speculation as to the mechanism:
This effect might be due to a transient illusionary intersensory
perceptual congruency of visual, tactile and pruriceptive signals.
That's great! If I could somehow memorize this, it could provide a explanation for nearly anything. e.g. Why are you so cranky today? Oh, "This effect might be due to a transient illusionary intersensory perceptual congruency of visual, tactile and pruriceptive signals."
ReplyDeleteAnd as a bonus now I now what pruriceptive is.
The amazing thing is that they're Germans. They wrote that in their second language
ReplyDelete