Title: The Science of Sarcasm? Yeah, Right  | Science   | Smithsonian Magazine
Headings: The Science of Sarcasm? Yeah, Right
The Science of Sarcasm? Yeah, Right
How do humans separate sarcasm from sincerity? Research on the subject is leading to insights about how the mind works. Really
By Richard Chin
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Content: Actually, scientists are finding that the ability to detect sarcasm really is useful. For the past 20 years, researchers from linguists to psychologists to neurologists have been studying our ability to perceive snarky remarks and gaining new insights into how the mind works. Studies have shown that exposure to sarcasm enhances creative problem solving, for instance. Children understand and use sarcasm by the time they get to kindergarten. An inability to understand sarcasm may be an early warning sign of brain disease. Sarcasm detection is an essential skill if one is going to function in a modern society dripping with irony. “ Our culture in particular is permeated with sarcasm,” says Katherine Rankin, a neuropsychologist at the University of California at San Francisco. “ People who don’t understand sarcasm are immediately noticed. They’re not getting it. They’re not socially adept.”