Have you ever noticed how some things may seem very simple, but in fact, are quite complex upon closer analysis. Music is a good example of this. What do you think of when you hear the word music? Are you thinking about this new hit from your favorite artists such as Fall Out Boy, Lil Wayne or Katy Perry? On the other hand, you might think of old guys playing violins and real instruments in an orchestra. Maybe music isn't as simple as you thought? There's rhythm, tempo, meter, sound, dynamics, harmonies, tones, time and much more. More generally speaking, music has different genres, but what exactly makes certain artists part of a genre? What's the difference between alternative and indie, or hip-hop and rap, or blues and jazz? To answer your questions, you need to look deeper and find out how things are categorized. Just like music, comedy has many different genres. But what is comedy? Is he that funny kid they make fun of at school? Is this complete nonsense? Is it the humiliation of others that builds your own justice? Comedy refers to “the humorous or amusing aspects of something” as defined by my dictionary widget. Although I like this definition of comedy, in general I don't like how the definition uses the root word humor in the definition. Humor is very similar to comedy in that it is a word that cannot be easily explained or defined. The widget defines humor as “the ability to perceive…or appreciate a joke.” Again, this is another good definition, but again, I don't completely agree with it. This definition implies that humor only comes from jokes, which is certainly not the case. In order to discover what comedy actually entails, we must identify and understand where... middle of paper ...... we have power over others/situations, or which lead us to unexpected circumstances . Maybe it's just one, or maybe it's a combination of all three. However, the humor found in things is what allows us to understand why we think things are funny. The humorous aspects that can be identified among the three categories are what can be considered as the comedy of the situation. Next time you find something funny, think about the humor used and why it's funny to you. It may just be in one of the categories upon closer examination. Works Cited by Aaron Smuts. "Humor." Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2006. September 14, 2008. http://www.iep.utm.edu/h/humor.htm. “Comedy”. Oxford American Dictionary Widget. 2008 “Humor”. Oxford American Dictionary Widget. 2008Music. Wikipedia. September 15, 2008. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music.