# Silliness > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Silliness > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Silliness.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silliness > Source revision: 1344152931 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Funny or ludicrous behaviour}} {{about|funny or ludicrous behavior|other uses|Silly (disambiguation)}} [[File:KPU Alfiansyah Bustami Komeng.jpg|thumb|Official senatorial candidate portrait of [Komeng](/source/Komeng) with a silly face]] '''Silliness''' is defined as engaging in "a ludicrous [folly](/source/foolishness)",{{cite web|url=http://www.thefreedictionary.com/silliness |title=silliness - definition of silliness by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia |publisher=Thefreedictionary.com |date= |accessdate=2013-07-06}} showing a "lack of good sense or judgment",{{cite web|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/silliness |title=Silliness - Synonyms and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary |publisher=Merriam-webster.com |date= |accessdate=2013-07-06}} or "the condition of being frivolous, [trivial](/source/Minimisation_(psychology)), or [superficial](/source/superficiality)".{{cite web|url=http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/silliness |title=Definition of silliness |publisher=Collins English Dictionary |date= |accessdate=2013-07-06}} In television, film, and the circus, portrayals of silliness such as [exaggerated](/source/exaggeration), funny behavior are used to amuse audiences. Portrayals of silliness, provided by [clown](/source/clown)s and [jester](/source/jester)s, are also used to lift the spirits of people in hospitals. In "The Art of Roughhousing", Anthony DeBenedet and Larry Cohen argue that "wild play" between a child and a parent can foster "joy, love and a deeper connection"; among the actions they suggest is for the parent to be silly and pretend to fall over.{{cite news|url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-08-17/health/sc-health-0817-child-health-roughhous20110817_1_light-touch-physical-fitness-freeze |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130419155006/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-08-17/health/sc-health-0817-child-health-roughhous20110817_1_light-touch-physical-fitness-freeze |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 19, 2013 |title=The benefits of horseplay - Chicago Tribune |publisher=Articles.chicagotribune.com |date=2011-08-17 |accessdate=2013-07-06}} Michael Christianson from New York’s Big Apple Circus "became so interested in the healing qualities of physical comedy that he quit his job"..."to teach [jester](/source/jester)s, clowns and [comedian](/source/comedian)s how to connect with hospital patients through his Clown Care Unit."{{cite web|url=http://www.alexthejester.com/html/historyPopup.html |title=Brief History of the Jester |publisher=Alexthejester.com |date= |accessdate=2013-07-06}} A doctor named [Patch Adams](/source/Patch_Adams) "...leads a merry band of mirth makers on trips around the world to locations of crisis or suffering in order to serve up some levity and healing." In the United States and Mexico, the US practical joke group Improv Everywhere has created an 'international celebration of silliness' by asking commuters to board the New York and Mexico City subways without trousers on a specific day.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2013/jan/14/no-pants-subway-day-video |title=No Pants Subway Ride celebrates silliness - video | World news | guardian.co.uk |publisher=Guardian |date= 2013-01-14|accessdate=2013-07-06 |location=London}} thumb|right|200px|A clown with "happy face" painting In the [circus](/source/circus), one of the roles that [clown](/source/clown)s play is engaging in silliness. When clowning is taught, the different components of silliness include "funny ways of speaking to make people laugh", making "silly face[s] and sound[s]", engaging in "funny ways of moving, and play[ing] with extreme emotions such as pretending to laugh and cry".{{cite web|url=http://www.jimdalling.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=50:clown-activities-structured-silliness&catid=18:teachers-resources&Itemid=59 |title=Jim Dalling |publisher=Jimdalling.com |date= |accessdate=2013-07-06}} In Canada, the [Northern Arts and Cultural Centre](/source/Northern_Arts_and_Cultural_Centre) held a Children's Festival of Silliness in January 2012.{{cite web |url=http://www.naccnt.ca/events/421/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130706012355/http://www.naccnt.ca/events/421/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=2013-07-06 |title=Northern Arts and Cultural Centre: NACC 1st Annual Children's Festival of Silliness! |publisher=Naccnt.ca |accessdate=2013-07-06 }} ==Quotes== [C. S. Lewis](/source/C._S._Lewis) noted in chapter six of ''[The Magician's Nephew](/source/The_Magician's_Nephew)'' that "Children have one kind of silliness, as you know, and grown-ups have another kind."{{cite web|url=http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/silliness |title=Quotes About Silliness (11 quotes) |publisher=Goodreads.com |date= |accessdate=2013-07-06}} The English singer and guitarist [Roy Harper](/source/Roy_Harper_(singer)) included a song called "Grown Ups Are Just Silly Children" on his 1975 album ''[HQ](/source/HQ_(album))''. The title is repeated as the chorus.{{Cite web |url=http://www.royharper.co.uk/magento/hq-remaster.html |title=Roy Harper Official Site |access-date=7 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130130044238/http://www.royharper.co.uk/magento/hq-remaster.html |archive-date=30 January 2013 |url-status=dead }}{{YouTube|dUTVomiW8mU}} ==See also== * [Absurdity](/source/Absurdity) * [Comedy](/source/Comedy) * [Foolishness](/source/Foolishness) * {{annotated link|Silly Billy}} * {{annotated link|The Ministry of Silly Walks}} * [Stupidity](/source/Stupidity) ==References== Category:Silliness Category:Emotions Category:Comedy Category:Mental states --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Silliness](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silliness) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silliness?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.