Psychology Today interviews John Hodgman

Matthew Hutson interviewed John Hodgman about humor for Psychology Today.

Your delivery is famously dry. Do you ever crack yourself up?
I find it to be comedically unethical to laugh at your own jokes on stage. But I probably feel so strongly because it happens pretty frequently lately, and I am ashamed. My deadpan needs re-deadening (see my new book, on the various historical styles of deadpan).
But the reverse is true when writing. I generally only like a joke of my own if I make myself laugh when I write it. If my brain can fool myself into a surprised chuckle, even when I am the one who wrote the joke, my guess is that it can also fool you.
That said, it may be that those are just the weird, unconscious, half-literal "inside jokes" that only my brain and I get. For example: "Stun Gravy" gets me every time. But do you know what it means? NO ONE DOES.

Previously:

Discussion

Take a look at this

#1 posted by FoetusNail, June 22, 2009 10:56 AM

He said, "Stun Gravy."

#2 posted by david85282, June 22, 2009 11:11 AM

Is John Hodgman associated with BoingBoing, or do they just have some sort of man-crush on him?

#3 posted by dculberson, June 22, 2009 11:21 AM

david85282, I didn't realize there was some sort of limit on the number of posts BoingBoing is authorized to make on a single individual. Do you have those standards published, or are they supposed to submit each post to you for review before publishing them? Thanks.

#4 posted by Chasqui, June 22, 2009 12:06 PM

I don't know why I blurted out a laugh when I read "stun gravy".

#5 posted by Raj77, June 22, 2009 12:35 PM

Because it's a brilliant phrase and a brilliant concept, that's why :)

#6 posted by Takuan, June 22, 2009 12:44 PM

I'm very annoyed now. "Stun gravy" seems familiar and now I'll waste a ridiculous amount of time trying to remember where I heard it before.

#7 posted by woid, June 22, 2009 12:59 PM

Separated at birth: John Hodgman and Dr. Bunsen Honeydew.

#8 posted by buddy66, June 22, 2009 1:01 PM

Booze

#9 posted by Takuan, June 22, 2009 1:05 PM

yeah, but from where first?

#10 posted by JJR1971, June 22, 2009 2:26 PM

There was a stand-up comedienne named Margret Smith in the 1990s whose style was 100% deadpan--loved her stuff. Sarah Vowell does a pretty good deadpan delivery, and David Sedaris.

If you can keep a perfectly straight face while all about you are cracking up, you've done it right (keep your satisfied smile on the inside and press on).

#11 posted by Gilbert Wham, June 22, 2009 2:42 PM

Can a group of people, of mixed sex, have a man-crush as such? Are websites specifically male, in the way ships are always 'She'?*

Anyway, Hodgman can come back anytime. Dude's ok.

*Probably, on the matter of discerning the sex of inanimate objects/concepts, it's best to consult the French. They have departments for that kind of thing

#12 posted by PaulR, June 22, 2009 6:48 PM

see my new book, on the various historical styles of deadpan

See here: http://www.harpers.org/archive/2009/07/0082548

#13 posted by evolucien, June 22, 2009 7:04 PM

yin/yang

...i've been scrolling past hodgman ever since he invaded boingboing; mostly, his humor, book pitch and writing style are TIRING.

...but, he's great on the dailyshow; and he is a talented musician -you got to give him that; not to mention, his publicist/agent is brilliant -hodgman's friggin' everywhere these days!