A poor farmer came to the priest, complaining about how miserable his life was and how badly he was suffering.
The priest asked him to allow a stray dog to live in his house.
After a month, the farmer returned, even more upset, saying that life had become worse with the dog. The priest then advised him to invite homeless bums to live with him.
Another month later, the farmer came back and declared that he would rather die than continue living like this. The priest then told him to send away the bums and also to get rid of the dog.
A few days later, the farmer rushed to the priest with gratitude. His life had drastically improved – it was freer, quieter, with fewer hungry mouths, and overall, life was wonderful!
Moral of the story: Everything is understood through comparison.
When nation complain, make their situation temporarily worse, then restore it to how it was- then people will honor you with a monument and thank you for life! ( Joseph Stalin)
Joke Poo: The Intern’s Delight
A junior marketing intern was agonizing to the CMO about their crippling workload and chronic burnout.
The CMO, known for unorthodox methods, told the intern to add managing the company’s TikTok account to their existing responsibilities.
A week later, the intern returned, near tears, claiming they were on the verge of a complete mental breakdown. The CMO then instructed them to also be in charge of writing all the internal company newsletters.
Another week passed, and the intern was practically catatonic, murmuring about algorithms and subject lines. The CMO then told them to remove the newsletter duties and also delegate the TikTok management to an automated bot.
A few hours later, the intern burst into the CMO’s office, beaming. Their life had dramatically improved – they had more time to focus, felt less pressured, and were actually enjoying their work!
Moral of the story: Everything is understood through comparison.
When interns complain, pile on even more pointless, soul-crushing work, then remove only some of it – then they will think you are doing them a huge favor and will become loyal, tireless employees! (Inspired by Silicon Valley Startup Culture)
Alright, let’s dissect this joke!
Elements of the Joke:
- Situation: A farmer in deep misery.
- Problem-Solving Method: The priest applies the “make things worse to appreciate what you had” method.
- The Priest’s Logic: The priest creates a comparative experience for the farmer, making his original situation seem bearable by comparison.
- The Twist/Irony: The humor arises from the simplicity and almost absurd cruelty of the solution. It’s a social commentary on how perspective and relativity influence our perception of happiness.
- The Moral: Everything is understood through comparison.
- Darkly Humorous Application: Using Joseph Stalin as the one who understands this ‘moral.’
Interesting Tidbits to Leverage:
- Cognitive Bias: Anchoring Effect: This joke leverages the anchoring effect, a cognitive bias where we rely too heavily on the first piece of information offered (the “anchor”) when making decisions. The worsened situation acts as the new “anchor,” making the original situation seem much better.
- Hedonic Adaptation (The Hedonic Treadmill): The farmer’s initial misery could be seen as a result of hedonic adaptation, where we quickly adapt to new experiences, even positive ones, and return to a baseline level of happiness.
- Stalin’s methods: Stalin used the worsening and restoring of a situation to show how in comparison his previous methods were more suitable.
New Piece of Humor (Witty Observation):
Did you know that “perspective” is just the art of manipulating someone else’s anchor? “Honey, I spent all our money on lottery tickets.” – That’s the anchor. Suddenly, that new toaster oven doesn’t seem so bad anymore, does it? You can apply Stalin’s method in smaller ways.