A good few years ago, I attended a lecture. It was so long ago that I do not even remember who the lecturer was and what the lecture was about but the lecturer said something I will never forget! It is amazing what we remember and what we do not.

He spoke about a certain social experiment. The experiment was as follows:

They approached bus driver (he did not know he was partaking in a social experiment) and asked him about his workday, what is his travelling routine, how long each trip was, etc.

He replied that he gets up every morning at 7 AM. He gets on his bus and travels from such and such to such and such; he has four stops on the way. He arrives at his destination and then has a half an hour break and then he returns to his original starting point with four stops on the way back as well. He has another half an hour break and then travels to back again and so on. He does this same routine five times a day, five days a week.

The researchers Asks him how much he is paid for his job. Then they asked him if he would like an extra payment of 1,000 $ per month for the exact same job. He said “of course, but what’s the catch?”

He was told that he must do exactly what he has been doing so far. That is, leave in the morning and stop at all the stations and do exactly what he has been doing every day, but he may not pick up any passengers on the way. Meaning he will do the exact same job, without passengers.

He told them “clearly I’m willing to do it for an extra grand a month.”

The social experiment had begun.

On the first day, the driver drove as usual, having peace of mind that he did not have to pick up passengers and drop off passengers, without the hassle or headache of dealing with them.

On the second day, he was happy just thinking about the additional income and the ease with which he was going to earn another 1,000 $ a month.

By the third day, he was already starting to feel uncomfortable.

By the fourth day, he was already starting to feel like he had made a huge mistake.

On the fifth day, he called the people who offered him the deal and asked to stop. He asked to return to pick up and drop off passengers without the additional 1,000 $.

What can we learn from this social experiment and how does it relate to humor?

The first and most important lesson that we can learn is that we humans are social beings. We are, in our essence, in our DNA, in our being – we need to be with other people. It is important for us to be part of a social group, part of a society and part of a community in which we can establish our status and our internal value. That is, the driver was deeply lacking being a part of something greater than himself. He misses being with people and missed human interaction. Much more so, than a significant amount of additional payment at the end of the month.

The second (and just as important) lesson is that it is important for us to feel important. It is important to us as human beings that we feel a like we contribute and add value to our surroundings and to others. Even if it is a relatively small value, it is important for us to know that we have done something useful.

Even though the driver is being paid for his service, and not a volunteer, it is still important for him to know that he “helped” people get from a one place to another. He gave them real value that was well worth his time and energy. It is important for us to feel meaningful.

The other obvious question is, “Okay, but how does that relate to humor?”

The answer is simple. Humor plays a significant role and a very important part of our social interaction and interpersonal communication. Humor is not just jokes and having a laugh. Humor is also a smile, a kind word, and the positive feeling we give and are supposed to give to each other within our society and environment in which we are.

When I speak about humor, I speak about an attitude, a philosophy and way of life. Humor is a point of view. Humor is the ability to see the funny side of life. Humor is having a fun and playful approach to life. Humor is the smile, the kind gesture and the happy disposition we can portray onto others. Humor is the kindness we can express and the sense of belonging that we can give.

And, it is more important than money! (Or at least more important than a thousand dollars a month)