The hour was late, and I was sitting upstairs in my room reading “Crime and Punishment.” Downstairs, my parents were watching some sitcom, having a jolly old time as I toiled away with my pal Dostoevsky.

In my easily distracted state, I heard chirps of laughter coming from downstairs. Looking up from the pages, I listened carefully and determined that the dozen or so different giggles were not, in fact, emanating from my amused parents, but rather from a laugh track.

Much as I was tempted to ponder the deep meaning of “Crime and Punishment,” I set my book down and settled instead for pondering this laugh track. When you think about it, a laugh track is a pretty weird device – forgive me for saying so, but one might even call it laughable.

Do TV producers think the home-viewing audience will only feel comfortable giggling when there is a crowd of recorded laughers laughing along with them? Do they think people will feel far too self-conscious to laugh when no one is else around? Perhaps they are envisioning the following situation:

Bob: I think I’ll sit down on this nice paisley sofa with my bucket of popcorn chicken and watch a good old situation comedy!
TV: *flips on*
Bob: Boy, it sure feels awkward sitting here all by my lonesome. I just saw something funny happen, but I don’t want to be the only one laughing!
TV: giggle giggle!!
Bob: Giggle! Wow, with my computer-generated friends, I can finally feel comfortable enough in my own home to laugh at the funny parts!
Popcorn chicken: Good for you, Bubs.

Is that or is that not an abnormal concept? We’ve become so accustomed to hearing laugh tracks that we don’t ever pause to think about why they’re there or even notice them. Just the other day, my best friend told me that laugh tracks have been around since 1950 and are used heavily today in a number of shows.

Wiki went on to list off several TV shows with laugh tracks or recorded laughter -- or not. As a regular viewer of several of these shows (the Disney Channel is a guilty pleasure at times and “Scrubs” is always brilliant), I couldn’t have told you beforehand if they included laugh tracks.

It’s obvious I’ve been brainwashed. How could I not notice several dozen strangers chuckling in my home? But I’m warning you, you sneaky TV-laughers – I’m onto you. I know you’re there, and the next time I turn on the TV, I will hear you.

Tarah Knaresboro is a senior at Leland High in San Jose. Her column, “Tarahfying Thoughts,” is published on this blog the second week of every month.