The necessity of this psychic stepping back (or up) to the metalevel is probably what is meant when people say that a sense of perspective is needed for an appreciation of humor. It also explains why dogmatists, idealogues, and others with one-track minds are often notoriously humorless.

— John Allen Paulos Mathematics and Humor: A Study of the Logic of Humor (1980)

More quotes by John Allen Paulos

Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and its Consequences (1988)

Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and its Consequences (1988)

A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper (1995)

A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper (1995)

Mathematics and Humor: A Study of the Logic of Humor (1980)

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