Laughter and Wealth

God, Nature, Evolution, or whatever has so ordained that we come to the most interesting conclusions only means of the most boring arguments, and that the most immediately fun and interesting topics of conversation take us to the most boring of places. This is why Thomas Aquinas is so famous yet so arduous to read, and why, though a delightful story-teller, in one or two decades no one will know Doug Greshm’s name. This is also why the State of the Union is heard, remembered, criticized, praised, and otherwise discussed for weeks, though it is dry, slow, and dull to listen to, and stand-up comics (except for a few memorable phrases, repeated for a quick laugh) are fun, zesty, and interesting to listen to, but have little lasting effect on the audience other than removing the burden of a few idle minutes and a few extra dollars.