Alain De Botton

But it really does tend to have origins in humour being something that you learn...

Because otherwise people are a little too serious and often too angry.

Exactly.

I mean, very often the wit of the child is there to ward off the parents' depression.

Really?

Yeah.

Listen, children come into the world, and all of us are honed by nature to figure out, what do I need to do here to survive?

I mean, literally, that's how one should imagine every child.

What do I need to do here to survive?

Not necessarily survive physically, though, of course, yes, physically as well, but psychologically, mentally, what do I need to do?

In some families, you need to excel academically.

In some families, you need to fail academically.

In some families, you need to be very witty.

In some families, you need to be invisible.

Why would you need to fail in some families?

Well, the classic one is parental envy.

I mean, it's an awkward fact, but some parents are hugely envious of their own children, and they cannot bear that their child, who they've put on the earth, should be happier than they've managed to be.

And so therefore, the child has to take early retirement from various things.

And the child ends up thinking, oh, I'm bad at maths or whatever.

Maybe.