读麦·讲演·人与媒介（1979）·004

You cannot have a joke without a grievance. The fast pace in our world has led to the development of the one-liner, the abbreviated joke. The one-liner is for people of very short attention span, who won’t stay around long enough for you to tell them a story. You have to work fast. You flip in with a single gag - in one ear and out another.

你不可能说一个没有一点不满的笑话。当今世界的快速发展催生了单句的俏皮话，即精简的笑话。俏皮话是为那些注意力持续时间很短的人准备的，他们在你身边停留的时间不够你给他们讲一个故事。你得动作快点。你用单句的插科打诨很快地逗人笑——左耳朵进右耳朵出。

按：电子人的注意力持续时间很短，他们的注意力停留在一处的时间，不够用来接受一段完整的叙述，表达者必须快，以单句作出提示，引人卷入。因而电子时代的表达以格言体或俏皮话为宜。