Guide to articles
An introduction and key to the level of each article
Word count 5,173
Humans receive a greater proportion of behavioural instruction through cultural means than any other species, and the reliability of information is therefore of crucial importance to the survival of the individual. Clarke’s theory suggests that humour exists to limit the risks involved with faulty data, encouraging circumspection about misinformation to which the individual might otherwise have been susceptible. Here the author considers the basics of the mechanism behind the system and provides an overview of the theory’s evolutionary implications.
Mediate Perception Theory: A Suggestion About Consciousness
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Clarke discusses the function of consciousness and introduces his new theory.
In Search Of Rationalism
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What is it, where can it be found, and why is there so little of it about? Elusive it may be, but vital all the same, argues Clarke.
Correction & Creativity
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An examination of Pattern Recognition Theory and Information Normalization Theory side by side.
Word count 8,288
Misinformation alone is insufficient to generate humour according to information normalization theory, so in this essay Clarke takes a more in-depth look at the concept of memetic value, its role in the assessment of data, and what can happen when it is judged to be absent. Why are individuals susceptible to some forms of error that amuse them, and what factors affect the way in which we receive information and determine whether we are likely to take it seriously or not?
Memetic Value And Its Role In The Generation Of Humour
Prospects For The Survival Of Individualism
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Has modern civilization made humans more or less individualistic than their ancestors?
