• February 13, 2012

OBVIOUS HUMOR EXPLAINED: An important Scientific Study reveals that sarcasm is actually a form of mind-reading, so congratulations Wonkette fans, you get a BIG GOLD STAR for your paranormal brilliance. [NYT]

{ 63 comments }

Paultardville June 5, 2008 at 12:12 pm

I knew you were going to post that.

Naked Bunny with a Whip June 5, 2008 at 12:13 pm

Meh. Now, if sarcasm were a form of buttsecks, I’d be fucking Don Rickles.

Naked Bunny with a Whip June 5, 2008 at 12:14 pm

*re-reads his post*

Wow, that was phrased really poorly. x.x

Doglessliberal June 5, 2008 at 12:14 pm

Well, my god, I thought most of the people I went to law school with and then who surrounded me in legal practice simply had no sense of humor. They were, in fact, brain damaged!

EnBuenOra June 5, 2008 at 12:14 pm

Man, we really, really appreciate your noticing us. Really.

NotUrEvryDayWEzl June 5, 2008 at 12:15 pm

Those who lose the ability, whether through a head injury or the frontotemporal dementias afflicting the patients in Dr. Rankin’s study, just do not get it when someone says during a hurricane, “Nice weather we’re having.” Or when Stephen Colbert praises Republicans ::COUGH COUGH COUNTRY ABOVE SELF COUGH COUGH:: OH, excuse me!

AfghanVet June 5, 2008 at 12:15 pm

So, you’re basically fucked if you are German?

WhatTheHeck June 5, 2008 at 12:15 pm

Sara, we can thank Dubya for our mind-reading capabilities.
Without him, I got nothing for you.

ManchuCandidate June 5, 2008 at 12:17 pm

Does this mean that humor challenged Repubs aren’t in their right mind?

Godless Liberal * June 5, 2008 at 12:19 pm

Is that an actual whore star, or do we just have to keep pretending? Because that is exactly the same.

shortsshortsshorts June 5, 2008 at 12:19 pm

Iz en ur brainz, reading ur sarcazmz

The Real JR Revisted June 5, 2008 at 12:20 pm

Yeah, sure.

jagorev June 5, 2008 at 12:21 pm

Oh that’s great, I totally believe that.

NotUrEvryDayWEzl June 5, 2008 at 12:21 pm

[re=7946]ManchuCandidate[/re]: Indeed, given the reversal of sides between brain and body, it would seem, ironically, that repubs are actually far-leaning lefty brained. They will, of course, take that as an insult, because they can appreciate neither sarcasm nor irony.

jagorev June 5, 2008 at 12:23 pm

Given McCain’s absolutely awful attempts at sarcasm in his greenscreen speech (“That’s not change you can believe in!”), does this constitute scientific proof that McCain is brain damaged?

masterdebater June 5, 2008 at 12:23 pm

“There was nothing very interesting in Katherine P. Rankin’s study of sarcasm — at least, nothing worth your important time.”
Well, rather obviouly, that is either sarcasm (and not a particularly good example of it), or the worst opening line ever. I’m picking option two. I thought the object was to grab the attention of your reader and make them want to continue…oh wait, it’s a “newspaper”. Never mind.

blogfather June 5, 2008 at 12:23 pm

dejavu!

Darehead June 5, 2008 at 12:24 pm

While we’re on this topic, I always wonder if our editors go home and use snark on their significant others, neighbors, mothers-in-law, bratty offspring etc. Do they have dreams in snark? Do they say eulogies in snark? Or is it purely a work thing, and as soon as they go thru the door of their home-sweet-homes they start talking like average wooden policy wonks, drop-jawed yokels and humor-challenged Paultards.
Just wonderin’.

queeraselvis v 2.0 June 5, 2008 at 12:24 pm

I’m not a size queen, but I’ve seen Jon Stewart’s MRI. His “huge right frontal lobe”? Meh, not so much.

AxmxZ June 5, 2008 at 12:24 pm

I SEE WHAT U DID THAR

wallythepug June 5, 2008 at 12:25 pm

Is that real gold, or the stuff that flakes off after a few months?

MoodProcessor June 5, 2008 at 12:25 pm

Parahippocampal Gyrus = Bullshit Detector

Edward Bulwer-Lytton June 5, 2008 at 12:27 pm

Which bring me to the only good thing about the new commenting thingy…no fucking stars.

Jewdishoowary Square June 5, 2008 at 12:28 pm

[re=7963]AxmxZ[/re]: O RLY?

blogfather June 5, 2008 at 12:29 pm

I hope this is different than the ‘big chocolate star’ we got last time…

MoodProcessor June 5, 2008 at 12:32 pm

[re=7957]jagorev[/re]: Nah….He just sucks. Eggs…and nasty hard candies.

nowukkers June 5, 2008 at 12:32 pm

Is this Australia morning or something?? Between the philandering premier, and the actors in the video in the linked article, these fucking people are everywhere. I mean Australia is big enough for more than the 20 or so million of them – do they have to spread their nasal paint-stripping voices all over the world??

Gopherit v2.0 June 5, 2008 at 12:32 pm

Further proof that Dubya must be brain damaged.

Sara K. Smith June 5, 2008 at 12:32 pm

[re=7961]Darehead[/re]: Newell is sarcastic to his Xbox, Layne laughs at everything, and I am Glorious in person.

Darehead June 5, 2008 at 12:33 pm

[re=7971]Edward Bulwer-Lytton[/re]: you anti-elitist! If you get a star you get to be first in line at the buffet for the Wonkette Christmas party. The tater-tots and arugula go really fast!

Q June 5, 2008 at 12:33 pm

Thank you for acknowledging my brilliance. But my wife keeps calling me an idiot. Couldja give her a call for me Sara? ThankQ!

tunamelt June 5, 2008 at 12:33 pm

[re=7957]jagorev[/re]: It’s dementia.

blogfather June 5, 2008 at 12:34 pm

[re=7980]Gopherit v2.0[/re]: Remember when everyone thought Bush was just ‘playing dumb’?

WonksRunAmuck June 5, 2008 at 12:35 pm

Oh no, this doesn’t bode well for Barry. The “learning how the phones work” comment would indicate that he spent all that time READING HILLZ MIND! So all the delegates voted for her! Via telepathy!

AfghanVet June 5, 2008 at 12:36 pm

[re=7975]blogfather[/re]: Star or Starfish?

blogfather June 5, 2008 at 12:39 pm

[re=7992]AfghanVet[/re]: starfish. Damnit I always fuck up a good laugh! The stupid shit I say comes out just fine though.

ManchuCandidate June 5, 2008 at 12:40 pm

[re=7957]jagorev[/re]:
The human brain isn’t designed to take all those high-G acceleration/deceleration carrier traps and cat shots that Walnuts took when he was Walnuts Hero of the Nation.

Darehead June 5, 2008 at 12:41 pm

[re=7982]Sara K. Smith[/re]: OK, thanks for the answer. I like how you call each other last names, like Mulder and Scully.

Humble Pi June 5, 2008 at 12:43 pm

[re=7961]Darehead[/re]: I don’t know about them, but I get in trouble at work all the time for snarking during meetings, particularly after spending time here. Sometimes it hard to go from paranormal back to normal at the drop of an asshat.

Humble Pi June 5, 2008 at 12:45 pm

[re=7982]Sara K. Smith[/re]: Ooh wait, don’t tell me! I know! I know! That was “sarcasm”, right?

Darehead June 5, 2008 at 12:45 pm

[re=7971]Edward Bulwer-Lytton[/re]: Plus, now that I think about it. You already have a pretty elitist avatar name. If not a star, a few more names and titles and you would be so elitist not even Barry’s long arms could reach you.

articulate moran June 5, 2008 at 12:45 pm

Oh good, now the Times will tell us how to be funny as well.
Can’t wait to read the 5 page Magazine feature on knock knock jokes.

bitchincamaro June 5, 2008 at 12:48 pm

frontotemporal dementias: my business partner has it.
That’s why I never talk to him. Ever.

Darehead June 5, 2008 at 12:48 pm

[re=8001]Humble Pi[/re]: Yeah, tru for most of us. But they snark for their bread and butter and bacon and arugula and whatever. Paid to laugh, so I was worried they might go home and cry the tears of the lonely snarkers, when there’s no one online.

Vanity Smurf June 5, 2008 at 12:48 pm

Sarcasm is also positively correlated with having a big dick.

Gopherit v2.0 June 5, 2008 at 12:52 pm

[re=8013]Vanity Smurf[/re]: Word.

TGY June 5, 2008 at 12:53 pm

This puts wonketteers (or whatevs the term is) so high above the common man, we are like unto gods.

Ahem.

Actually, the study discusses the ability of being able to perceive sarcasm, not produce it.

NotUrEvryDayWEzl June 5, 2008 at 12:53 pm

[re=8013]Vanity Smurf[/re]: True. We’re less defensive about things like that than certain other bitters. However, do sarcastic female-types also have big dicks? Or just a large collection of TruckNutz?

SayItWithWookies June 5, 2008 at 12:54 pm

So does this mean emoticons are a sign of brain damage?

spiffyvif June 5, 2008 at 12:55 pm

[re=7954]NotUrEvryDayWEzl[/re]: or science.

From The Bridge June 5, 2008 at 12:57 pm

Vanity, if that is true, then Don Rickles is HUGE and he is REALLY giving it to our friend Naked Bunny.

Gopherit v2.0 June 5, 2008 at 12:58 pm

[re=8019]NotUrEvryDayWEzl[/re]: There is scientific evidence to suggest that two X chromosomes has a multiplicative effect on one’s ability to discern and utilize sarcasm. So my wife tells me, anyway.

Doglessliberal June 5, 2008 at 1:00 pm

[re=8013]Vanity Smurf[/re]: well, gee, I seem to be missing something then.

S.Luggo June 5, 2008 at 1:03 pm

Riv-vet-ting.

shortsshortsshorts June 5, 2008 at 1:04 pm

[re=8030]Gopherit v2.0[/re]: Paultards lack said chromosomes.

AfghanVet June 5, 2008 at 1:06 pm

[re=8013]Vanity Smurf[/re]: I get it…sarcasm!

DominicGwinn June 5, 2008 at 1:24 pm

We should hurry up and figure out pyrokinesis already. That way, we can continue to harass and exploit other countries without missing “American Gladiators” or another “I Love the *insert decade*”.

WadISay June 5, 2008 at 2:05 pm

Oh, the great assistant professor Katherine P. Rankin speaks? May I kiss your feet?

Iggy Plop June 5, 2008 at 2:35 pm

Pffft. I don’t bother trying to read any minds cuz I don’t care what’s in them. I just skip the sarcasm and go right to contempt and derision. And poking with the sticks.

Tits_LaRue June 5, 2008 at 2:43 pm

So, I’m, like, “special” special, and not “short bus” special? Good to know! This still does not deliver the mutant powers I was promised from reading X-Men as a youngster, but I’ll take it.

loquaciousmusic June 5, 2008 at 4:17 pm

If this is the same “science” that says I evolved from an ape, then do not want!

problemwithcaring June 5, 2008 at 4:24 pm

The saddest thing about the dumb story is OF COURSE they have some random metion of Jon Stewart at the end.

He is clearly THE ONLY known example of Sarcastic Western Witticism by B-school journalist in the mordern media. I love the Daily Show but that is just fucking sad.

RuperttheBear June 5, 2008 at 4:40 pm

[re=8013]Vanity Smurf[/re]: My wife started telling me I had a big dick when we were sitting in a bar the other day. She’s going on and on about it and then–doh!–she’s being sarcastic.

Or is she? I’m pretty sarcastic myself, so, yeah, there’s that.

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