Laughter

Laughter is love.

That private chuckle we have immediately compels us to tap others on the shoulder and invite thwm to obtain the same laugh. We click Share. We laugh just loud enough, knowing curiosity will stir the right others into asking what's so funny.

But laughter is more than a response to humor. We laugh to cope. We laugh keep from crying. We laugh just to hear each other do it. It is contagious. It is an airborne pathogen of the gleefulest kind.

It is no coincidence that our favorite laughs to listen to belong to our favorite people; never would that mean ol' math teacher of yours guffaw in a charismatic way. She may chuckle a bit at your unsuccessful attempt to solve for x, but it is a sad tune in a minor key, a game show trumpet, better luck next time.

Real laughter, though, is a window. When it appears, you can see right through the walls of ulterior motives and melodramas. Of all our verbal instruments of social bonding, it is the hardest to fake.

And, therefore, the easiest to trust.