The Importance of Humor in Language Acquisition

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Sally Kohn: What we're talking about now is the more or less the ambiguity of language. And in this case, if humor, the precision of language, it's necessary. Let me talk about something much deeper, which is the acquisition of knowledge and not just the factual kind that that you can look up,. But the absorbing of a lesson. The deep appreciation for something that when you encounter it again, you will know and recognize it.

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.