I like to tell jokes, I don't know if I tell them well. But sometimes people pretend to laugh at my jokes and now that I'm president by the way they'll have all the time it's one of the great negatives of being a manager is that people laugh your jokes even if they're not funny. Maybe they're actually thinking they're funny. So many jokes require a punchline that is quite precise. If you watch a really skilled comedian, I'll pick Gary Gullman as an example. He works very carefully at crafting his word choicesHis timing is obviously important but the word choice itself can be just as important.
Psychologist and writer Adam Mastroianni says our minds are like the keep of a castle protecting our deepest held values and beliefs from even the most skilled attacks. The only problem with this design for self-preservation is that it also can keep out wisdom that might be both useful and true. Mastroianni's summary of the problem is "you can't reach the brain through the ears." Listen as Mastroianni talks with EconTalk's Russ Roberts about the implication of this view of mind for teaching, learning, and our daily interactions with the people around us.