The Structure of Stand-Up Comedy

I started to appreciate stand-up comedy a lot more after realizing just how much effort goes into delivery. It's almost uncanny to watch a comedian perform the same routine twice, because their timing is so consistent. Here's a good breakdown of a Louis CK joke: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufdvYrTeTuU Jerry Seinfeld also gave an interview with the NYT about the process — I think Jerry is a good example because so much of his comedy depends on the delivery. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itWxXyCfW5s

I believe the humor and novelty and interestingness of this standup routine is related to the _density_ of information conveyance. I read this paper a while back, it was so good I wanted to make it more sharable: https://josh.works/driven-by-compression-progress-novelty-hu... The title is: Driven by Compression Progress: A Simple Principle Explains Essential Aspects of Subjective Beauty, Novelty, Surprise, Interestingness, Attention, Curiosity, Creativity, Art, Science, Music, Jokes And... it's really good. It…