Provine, Robert R. Laughter; a scientific investigation.258p. notes. bibliog. index. c2000. 0-14-100225-5. $14.00. SA This is that rare serious work of scientific scholarship that can attract a varied general readership read·er·ship n. 1. The readers of a publication considered as a group. 2. Chiefly British The office of a reader at a university. . Built from a perspective based on neuroscience neu·ro·sci·ence n. Any of the sciences, such as neuroanatomy and neurobiology, that deal with the nervous system. neuroscience the embryology, anatomy, physiology, biochemistry and pharmacology of the nervous system. and comparisons of human and animal behavior, it ranges from the evolution of vocal chords to the history of TV laugh tracks. A chapter on tickling serves as a fine example of the way Provine weaves together science, social science and just plain good thinking and observation. Billed as the world's leading scientific expert on laughter. Provine's study certainly substantiates that claim. The book's length is not overly intimidating in·tim·i·date tr.v. in·tim·i·dat·ed, in·tim·i·dat·ing, in·tim·i·dates 1. To make timid; fill with fear. 2. To coerce or inhibit by or as if by threats. , and its nine chapters are clearly enough titled to let some readers browse (1) To view the contents of a file or a group of files. Browser programs generally let you view data by scrolling through the documents or databases. In a database program, the browse mode often lets you edit the data. See Web browser. with comfort. Daniel J. Levinson, History & English Teacher, Thayer Acad., Braintree, MA |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion