May 23 (edited) • General discussion
Superiority Versus Commonality Jokes
One of my rules when writing humor:
If there’s a victim in the joke… and it’s not you… don't say it.
Now before comedians come for me…
I’m not saying superiority jokes don’t work.
They absolutely work.
In fact they can be amazing.
But I think we laugh for two very different reasons:
1. Superiority
We laugh because something looks worse than us. We feel smarter. Safer. Ahead.
That can work GREAT…
Especially when the target is:
✅ Yourself
✅ A product
✅ A system
✅ A shared frustration
Example:
Making fun of a flip phone in 2026?Easy.
Making fun of PEOPLE who still use flip phones?
Now the joke changed.
Because maybe they can’t afford something else. Maybe they hate tech. Maybe they’re simplifying their life.
Now they became the victim.
But if YOU still have a flip phone?
Game on.
Now we laugh because we recognize something human.
Which brings me to the second kind…
2. Commonality
We laugh because we recognize ourselves.
“That’s me.”“I do that.”“Oh man… I’ve thought that.”
That kind of laughter creates connection.
And connection creates trust.
That’s why my favorite humor usually isn’t making fun of people.
It’s showing people they’re not alone.
In this video I talk about why I think this matters…
…and why the biggest laugh isn’t always the best laugh.
Curious where you land on this 👇
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Superiority Versus Commonality Jokes
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