Irish Mensa Lecture & Discussion: Why Do We Laugh?

Each month we watch a pre-recorded lecture from Gresham College and follow up with a discussion inspired by what we just learned. This month's topic is "Why Do We Laugh?"

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Laughter is an incredibly powerful and yet mysterious emotion. We laugh with delight, but also surprise. We laugh at jokes, but also at embarrassment. Why? What subconscious signal is laughter intended to display? Why do we laugh when someone tickles us and what should we make of the fact that rodents do it too? And why is it that people's sense of humor differs wildly and yet some drugs can send us all into fits of the giggles, even if there is nothing to laugh at?

Our Speaker:
Professor of Infectious Disease at the University of Birmingham, and (interim) Chief Scientist at the UK Health Security Agency, Robin May was appointed Gresham Professor of Physic in May 2022. Between July 2020 and September 2025 he served as Chief Scientific Adviser at the Food Standards Agency (FSA).

Professor May continues his work on Infectious Disease at the University of Birmingham. A Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, Wolfson Royal Society Research Merit Fellow and Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology, Professor May specializes in research into human infectious diseases, with a particular focus on how pathogens survive and replicate within host organisms.

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This is a FREE virtual event, with no need to register in advance. Just click on the Zoom link below when it's time to join the meeting.

Join Zoom Meeting: https://tinyurl.com/4tjn3nv8
Meeting ID: 828 0185 2969
Passcode: 850078

The lecture will take place at 7 p.m., Irish time. Consider using this time zone converter for your local equivalent: https://tinyurl.com/r868am4y.

For more information, contact Mary Reilly at mary@craftcottage.ie.