the possibility of my becoming a cranky misanthrope is more likely by the day
A partial definition from Ambrose Bierce's wonderful The Devil's Dictionary:
Idiot, n. A member of a large and powerful tribe whose influence in human affairs has always been dominant and controlling.
Containing with that theme we find, a few pages later, another relevant definition:
Ink, n. A villainous compound of tanno-gallate of iron, gum-arabic and water, chiefly used to facilate the infection of idiocy and promote intellectual crime [...]
Is there a better definition of most media today? Referring to my subject title, I have the curious suspicion I too may one day define laughter as such:
An interior convulsion, producing a distortion of the features and accompanied by inarticulate noises. It is infectious and, though intermittent, incurable.
Idiot, n. A member of a large and powerful tribe whose influence in human affairs has always been dominant and controlling.
Containing with that theme we find, a few pages later, another relevant definition:
Ink, n. A villainous compound of tanno-gallate of iron, gum-arabic and water, chiefly used to facilate the infection of idiocy and promote intellectual crime [...]
Is there a better definition of most media today? Referring to my subject title, I have the curious suspicion I too may one day define laughter as such:
An interior convulsion, producing a distortion of the features and accompanied by inarticulate noises. It is infectious and, though intermittent, incurable.