写作方法2013chortle.co.uk
为什么数学家能成为出色的喜剧编剧
Why mathematicians make great comedy writers
导读
这篇 Chortle 的文章讨论为什么数学家的思维适合写喜剧；HN 评论区里一位讲过一年多脱口秀的程序员现身说法，把写段子类比成写代码：A/B 测试、按数据筛选、结构规则像语法、精简到不能再删、措辞精确到改一个词就“编译不过”。值得写作者读，是因为它提供了一套把“灵感”变成可测试、可迭代、可删减的工程化方法；同时也有评论提醒：公式只能保证下限，真正的好喜剧靠人物、视角、时机和节奏。
可以直接用的写作要点
- 01
把素材当实验：记录哪些内容能稳定引起反应，用反馈数据而不是自我感觉来决定留什么、删什么。
- 02
先做减法：删掉多余的字往往让笑点或观点更有力，写完先问自己还能砍掉哪几个词。
- 03
规则虽模糊但可借：把“punchline 放句末”“开场和结尾用最强的两个段子”这类结构经验，迁移到文章里最强论点和金句的排布上。
- 04
打磨到“一个词都不能换”：好段子换个语气、换个语序就失效，写作也应追求这种措辞与节奏上的不可替换性。
HN 评论精选
用程序员的工程方法打磨段子：A/B 测试、数据化筛选、结构规则、极致精简、措辞精确。
我说过一年多脱口秀（背景是计算机科学），很能印证这篇文章。我讲的是单句笑话而不是讲故事（虽然我很想成为会讲故事的人）。计算机背景帮我的地方：笑话要调到最好往往需要 A/B 测试；我尽量客观地挑最好的段子——看自己的演出视频，记录哪些笑话能稳定逗笑观众，再写程序按“效果比”给笑话排序；写笑话有很多规则（虽然模糊），有点像编程语言的语法，比如尽量把包袱放在句子最后、开场用最好笑的笑话、结尾用第二好笑的（这条规则可能是反的，我记不清了）；尽量简洁，通常删掉几个字笑话会更有效，这让我想到消除代码里的重复；有些笑话非常“技术”，每个词都按应有的语气和顺序说出来才会笑，改动任何一点就“编译不过”；和编程一样，大概要十年才能做好；有时你会给已有的笑话想到一个 tag（只有紧接前一个笑话的语境下才成立的笑点），这就像在旧代码库上加功能，往往需要重构……
tieTYT查看英文原文
I performed stand up comedy for over a year and I can relate to this (but I've got a computer science background). I was a one-liner instead of a story teller (even though I wished I was a story teller). Here's how my background in computer science helped: * Getting a joke to work best often requires A/B testing * I tried to choose my best jokes objectively. I'd watch my videos and keep track of the jokes that got the laughs consistently. I then wrote a program to sort jokes by the best ratio. * There are lots of rules (though they are fuzzy). This kind of reminds me of programming language syntax. Like you should attempt to make the punchline the last part of the sentence. Start with your funniest joke, end with your second funniest (this rule might be reversed, I can't remember). * Try to be as concise as possible. Usually if you can cut out words your joke will be more effective. This reminds me of removing DRY violations in code. * Some jokes are really technical. They'd consistently get a laugh if every word was said in the exact tone and order they're supposed to, but if anything about the joke changed, it wouldn't "compile". * Like programming, it'll probably take 10 years to get good at it (see http://norvig.com/21-days.html ) * Sometimes you'd think of a tag for an already existing joke. A tag is a joke that only makes sense in the context of the immediately preceding joke. This is like adding a feature to a legacy code base. It often requires refactoring and maintenance. I like the way Marc Maron put it: One liners are the Math majors of comedy. Story tellers are the English majors.
写歌词和写段子都像解谜：在约束条件下求解。
我记得 Tom Lehrer 的一次采访，他说写歌词就像解谜题——我能看出这种相似性。
ColinWright查看英文原文
I remember an interview with Tom Lehrer in which he said that writing lyrics is like solving a puzzle - I can see the similarity.
数学训练本质是“在规则内操作系统的能力”，可以迁移成洞察式幽默。
机智幽默是才智的产物，是思维的敏锐，通常伴随着快速而有创意地建立关联的能力。数学家被训练去理解系统并在一定规则内操纵它——这和社会系统、信念等没什么不同：创造性地、有洞察地把逻辑用上去，就能产生机智的幽默。
kangaroo5383查看英文原文
Clever humor, a product of wit, mental sharpness which usually comes with the ability to make correlations quickly and creatively. Mathematicians are trained to understand systems and manipulate it with the confines of certain rules - which is not unlike taking social system, beliefs, etc, and applying logic creatively and insightfully to create witty humor!
公式只是下限：喜剧的核心是人物、视角、时机和节奏，数学只能提供前半部分。
我觉得拿现在这代《辛普森一家》编剧来印证这个类比不合适，更合适的是《飞出个未来》那样的编剧团队（很多粉丝都知道，那是个由数学家组成的班子，他们还为剧情连续性真的写过证明）。不过我不认为数学家是理想范本（我甚至会把魔术师排在数学家前面）。我更认同 Conan O'Brien 的说法：喜剧最像音乐，音乐家常常是好喜剧演员（脱口秀里遍地都是音乐喜剧演员）。因为喜剧关乎人物、视角、时机和节奏，而不是公式。世界上有很多喜剧演员靠读几本套路化的脱口秀手册谋生，讲懒惰的公式笑话，拿廉价的笑声，领工资，然后销声匿迹或在 D 级名单里沉沦；或者更贴切地说，写那种 12 季前就不好笑了、只靠观众习惯撑着的动画情景剧的平庸剧集。数学能提供公式那一面，但真正好的部分超出了数学。
sanjiallblue查看英文原文
I don't think the current generation of Simpsons writers would be the best group of writers to put this comparison to, but rather to the writers of shows like Futurama (which as I'm sure many devotees will know, consisted of a staff of mathematicians that actually developed proofs for plot continuity and one-offs). Though, I don't think mathematicians really is the ideal here (hell, I'd even go one further and put magicians ahead of mathematicians). I prefer Conan O'Brien's observation that comedy is most similar to music and how musicians often make good comedians (and why stand-up comedy is inundated with musical comedians http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_musical_comedians). Because comedy is about character, point of view, timing and rhythm more than it is about formula. There are plenty of comedians out in the world that make a living having read their share of formulaic stand-up books, tell their lazy formulaic jokes, get their easy laughs, collect a paycheck and burn out into obscurity or languish in D-List infamy. Or more relevantly, write mediocre episodes of an animated sitcom that stopped being funny 12 seasons ago aimed at a fan-base that watches out of habit. Mathematics can provide the latter, but the former takes an approach that goes beyond the mathematical. That isn't to say that great mathematics can't produce great material, but like the mathematics of the Eulers, the Pythagorians, the Euclids, The Turings, and so many others, it takes subverting the problem at a slightly different angle.
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