
Emceeing Gig
“I am told you guys eat essays and term papers for breakfast; theses, dissertations, and other tomes for lunch; abstracts and research posters for light supper. Your hobbies include swinging from theoretical frameworks to conceptual frameworks.”
Dogood was met with deafening silence accompanied by glares. It is as if he had committed academic treason or intellectual heresy.
He was knocked off his stride but did not show it. “This is going to be a tough audience,” Dogood spoke to the copy of the program that was staring at him.He had been invited to emcee the launch of The Country Council of Scholars, Researchers, and Scientists. Although they were not in academic regalia, the air was filled with their academic prowess.
He thumbed through his tablet and it hit him.
“Distinguished ladies, and gentlemen; scholars, researchers, and scientists, that was meant to be a joke.” A few snickers registered their presence in the room. “I won’t tell another joke but I will tell you a story.”
“Before Video Assistant Referee (VAR), a technology-based system that helps football referees make decisions, was introduced in football, one of the main fears was that it could kill the spontaneous celebrations, and overall spontaneity of the game.
However, VAR introduced a new dimension to celebrations. When a decision is subjected to a VAR check, it means there are celebrations no matter the outcome. For instance, when a team scores a goal, and a VAR check is needed, the celebrations are muted. After the check, the full-blown celebrations follow.
“That is how it is with some people when it comes to jokes, and I am not talking about you. They smile, snicker, and then wait for a few minutes before they burst out laughing. It is as if they are subjecting the jokes to an equivalent of VAR to confirm that indeed they are jokes.
“Academic heavyweights like you have filters equivalent of VAR. Because you are programmed to think, theoretically, empirically, logically, scientifically, evidentiary, and methodically…, each joke has to pass through that filter. And the laughter that follows is so structured like a research paper, of course, guided by a specific theoretical orientation.”
Dogood looked at the audience. “I assure you, I am not speaking about my current audience, but it is okay to laugh without data and evidence. Humour is just that – humour!”
He was in his element and he started telling jokes.
Pointing at the group to his right, “If I asked you what you had for breakfast would you be spontaneous in your response or would you subject that question to a check to confirm which theory and data is required to respond?”
Dogood overheard two people at the front speaking. “This guy is humorous! And his jokes are so interdisciplinary – We should write a paper about it.”
“We should!”
Photo by Allie Reefer on Pexels
One thought on “Emceeing Gig”
Angie CPosted on 11:05 am - Oct 31, 2024
“ … it is okay to laugh without data and evidence.“ SO TRUE!!