Literal Thinking and Its Impact on HumorDuffy’s work inspired me to reflect on how humor has helped me cope with literal thinking. Little did I know at the time that literal humor had the potential to become a hotbed for creativity. According to humor expert Lois McElravy, literal humor is the art of amusing others by responding to figurative language in a way that conveys its literal meaning. I often find myself adapting his guidance for using literal humor as a mood booster. Listening to others’ humor, including literal humor, can help you get better at creating humor out of your own literal thinking moments.