Humor
Among his friends and professional colleagues, Leon Eisenberg was known for his humor and friendly wit which he shared in lectures, publications, and even as Recording Secretary for the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (sometimes in the forum of haiku).
Collecting his humor is difficult (often it was in personal e-mails), but many agree that a few typical scenarios recurred:
- Several persons of different social backgrounds involved in a difficult, odd, or even humorous situation, usually with a Jewish psychiatrist or a rabbi .
- A very wise person involved with something very unusual .
- A well-known historical event .
- Poetry (often haiku)
Close friends (and fans) described his stories as customized for each occasion (so they never tired of hearing the same stories repeated because, with customization, they never were the same story or joke).
Read more about this topic: Leon Eisenberg
Famous quotes containing the word humor:
“When humor can be made to alternate with melancholy, one has a success, but when the same things are funny and melancholic at the same time, its just wonderful.”
—François Truffaut (19321984)
“To be perfectly, brutally honest, those of us who are still carrying diaper everywhere we go are not at our most scintillating time of life....We need to remember that at one time in our lives, we all had senses of humor and knew things that were going on in the world. And if we just keep our social networks open, there will be people ready to listen when we once again have intelligent things to say.”
—Louise Lague (20th century)
“Affection, indulgence, and humor alike are powerless against the instinct of children to rebel. It is essential to their minds and their wills as exercise is to their bodies. If they have no reasons, they will invent them, like nations bound on war. It is hard to imagine families limp enough always to be at peace. Wherever there is character there will be conflict. The best that children and parents can hope for is that the wounds of their conflict may not be too deep or too lasting.”
—New York State Division of Youth Newsletter (20th century)