Sarcastic Much? Intelligence, Wit, And Creativity All Linked To Sarcasm, Study Suggests

Sarcasm is often viewed as a low form of wit, but new research published in Organization Behavior and Human Decision Processes suggests that it might make you more creative.

Little research has been done on the effects of sarcasm, which is why researchers from a host of top American universities, including Harvard and Columbia, experimented on how sarcastic comments affect creativity. The experiments involved more than 300 men and women whose creativity was tested by completing tasks after saying or receiving sarcastic comments. Another control group of participants was also asked to complete the tasks, although they were told sincere comments. The findings revealed that those who gave and received sarcastic comments were three times more creative than the control group because the sarcasm forced their brains to think abstractly, boosting creativity.

“We found that sarcasm may stimulate creativity, the generation of ideas, insights, or problem solutions that are novel and useful,” Dr. Li Huang, an author of the study and assistant professor of organizational behavior at Insead, a graduate business school, told The Independent. “As Oscar Wilde believed, sarcasm may represent a lower form of wit, but we found that it certainly catalyzes a higher form of thought.”

In one study, after a participant either said or was told a sarcastic comment, they were confronted with a test that measured creativity. They were shown different objects on a table near a wall:  a candle, a box of nails, and a pack of matches. The participants were told to attach the candle to the wall so that it would burn without dropping wax on the table. The right way to do this was to empty out the box of nails, nail the box to the wall, and put the candle in the box.

The results showed that 64 percent of the people who made sarcastic comments were able to find a creative solution and complete the task. But those who were on the receiving end of comments did even better, with a completion rate of 75 percent. These statistics stand in contrast to the control group, in which only 30 percent of participants successfully completed the exercise. Even though participants exposed to sarcasm reported more interpersonal conflict, they were able to demonstrate more creativity in their tasks.

Previous studies have shown that creativity can be unlocked by things that would normally be seen as creativity killers. In an early study in 2015, for example, researchers found that noise can be an untapped source of creativity, providing a distraction for the brain to focus on a particular task. In addition, alcohol is believed to make you more creative because it makes you less focused and frees the brain from the thoughts that occupy it — a more relaxed brain is one that is better able to think creatively.  In this study, it seems the sarcastic comments primed participants to think abstractly, which in turn stimulated their creativity.

“We have shown that creativity is enhanced following all types of sarcasm, from sarcastic anger and criticism to sarcastic compliments and banter,” the researchers said. “All forms of sarcastic exchanges, not just sarcastic anger or criticism, seem to exercise the brain more.”

Source: Huang L, Gino F, Galinsky A, et al. The highest form of intelligence: Sarcasm increases creativity for both expressers and recipients. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. 2015.

How Much Water Should You Drink Each Day? 4 To 6 Glasses Is Ideal, Researchers Say

Water is necessary for carrying nutrients to your cells, flushing bacteria from your system, preventing dehydration, and replacing fluids lost from sweating, but you may not need to drink as much as you thought.  The Harvard Health Letter published new water recommendations challenging the long-standing eight 8-ounce glasses-a-day rule, which they say weren’t based on science, but instead an educated guess on what the body needs to stay hydrated.

Harvard recommends drinking 30 to 50 ounces a day, which is equivalent to approximately four to six glasses of water. However, the team isn’t just recommending water to drink at this optimal standard, but fluids in general to aid in hydration. Even certain foods like watermelon, lettuce, spinach, and soups provide the body with fluids that can work in tandem with water to retain and process a healthy amount of water. Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding and those who engage in a lot of exercise may need more than the standard six glasses, however. 

Recently, a panel of experts from around the world collaboratively wrote a study published in the Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine that also warned how drinking beyond thirst can be hazardous for your health. Athletes are at the greatest risk of drinking to the point of exercise-associated hyponatremia, which occurs when the kidneys become flooded by large quantities of water, unable to process the liquid efficiently. The sodium levels in the human body aren’t able to balance the amount of water, eventually leading to swelling cells and — in severe cases — death.

How The Brain Processes Thirst

"Using the innate thirst mechanism to guide fluid consumption is a strategy that should limit drinking in excess and developing hyponatremia while providing sufficient fluid to prevent excessive dehydration," according to the guidelines, published in the  Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine.

Going overboard can be avoided so long as you listen to your body and recognized when you’re thirsty. Thirst is one of the basic survival instincts, as it performs several crucial bodily functions, according to the Society of Neuroscience. In addition to flushing and cleansing the body, water maintains body temperatures; transports vitamins, minerals, hormones; and lubricates joints, eyes, and intestines.

But how do we really know we’re thirsty? The instinct to drink water keeps us alive. Adults can’t survive for more than a week without water, while children can die in a period of a few hours if left in a hot car, according to Scientific American. Thirst is regulated by a messaging network between the brain and various parts of the body. The negative feedback from organs and other parts turns on the thirst mechanism located in the brain, which cues us to pour a glass of water. As humans age, the loop can weaken and put the elderly population at risk for dehydration and a host of other health issues.

This Is What Happens Inside Of Your Body Within An Hour Of Drinking A Can Of Coke

What drinking a can of coke does to your body. The Renegade Pharmacist

By now we should all know what long-term health consequences await frequent soda drinkers, but rarely do we consider what a single can of soda does to our bodies in the short-term. An infographic compiled by The Renegade Pharmacist — a blog run by a former pharmacist from the United Kingdom, Niraj Naik — shows what exactly happens inside of our bodies within an hour of drinking a can of coke.

From our brains to our hearts to our lungs to our teeth, there are very few parts of our bodies that are left unaffected by sugary soda consumption. As we’ve mentioned in the past, it only takes between 10 and 20 minutes before 10 teaspoons of sugar (100 percent of our recommended daily intake) hits our system and our blood sugar begins to spike, resulting in a burst of insulin that tricks our livers into converting all sugars into fats.

Forty minutes after finishing that can of coke, you may realize certain physical effects caused by the completion of caffeine absorption. For example, you may notice your pupils dilating, a rise in your blood pressure, and the brain’s adenosine receptors are blocked, which prevents drowsiness. After 45 minutes, our bodies begin to up dopamine production, leading to the stimulation of the brain’s pleasure centers. I can assure you this is the same effect heroin has on the brain.

You may be thinking, “I know soda is bad for me, but this all sounds just a little bit exaggerated.” While added sugar gets all the attention, it’s the combination of sugar and another ingredient that makes soda consumption such a detriment to our health. Phosphoric acid is a colorless, odorless acid that can result in toxic fumes when combined with alcohols, ketones, and other organic compounds. Now, does that sound like something you want in your body?

Coca-Cola uses phosphoric acid to cut down on the beverage’s sweetness so it's easier to keep down. It's also responsible for binding calcium, magnesium, and zinc in our lower intestine, causing a spike in metabolism. A study published in 2007 showed that phosphoric acid leads to tooth enamel erosion even at low levels. If you need more proof that your predilection for soda is harming your body, check out what drinking 10 Cokes a day for 30 days does to your body.  

Here are the real reasons why some friendships end.

Conventional wisdom has led us to believe wechoose friends because of who they are. However, what attracts and binds friends, beginning with the shift from acquaintance to friend, is how often two people cross paths with each other. Typically, friends tend to be coworkers, classmates, and people you see on a regular basis. A 2005 studypublished in The Quarterly Journal of Economicsfound geographic proximity and race are greater determinants of social interaction than are common interests, majors, or family background. For example, in a college setting, the black and white student in the same freshman dorm increased the frequency of interaction compared to if they were randomly selected to interact with one another.

The shift from acquaintanceship to friendship is characterized by an increase in reciprocity. In other words, when a person takes the risk to disclose personal information, this serves as a test to see whether the other person reciprocates. Now, while we might know the glue that holds friendships together, what drives friendships apart?

Brett Laursen, professor and graduate studies coordinator in Florida Atlantic University’s Department of Psychology, sought to examine whether adolescent friendships end because of undesirable characteristics of friends, because of differences between friends, or both. A total of 410 adolescents involved in 573 friendships were observed in the six-year-long study. All friendships originated in the seventh grade, and researchers followed the participants from grade seven through grade 12. They collected data annually in the spring semester during a required English class.

The researchers measured the effect of both dissimilarities and undesirable individual attributes in determining whether a friendship would end. The findings revealed fewer than one in four friendships that started in the seventh grade were maintained across the next school year, and fewer than one in 10 friendships that started in the seventh grade survived the transition from middle school to high school. Only one percent of those friendships that started in the seventh grade continued to the 12th grade.

The strongest determinant of friendship termination were differences in sex or other-sex friendships. They were almost four times more likely to dissolve than same-sex friendships. Physical aggression, followed by differences in school competence, and differences in being liked by other children were also strong predictors of ending a friendship.

“We knew from previous studies that children prefer similar others as friends,” said Laursen, in the press release. “Now we know why. Dissimilarity is bad for friendships. It causes conflict, it interferes with cooperative activities and shared pleasures, and it creates circumstances where one friend bears more costs, such as the friend who is less aggressive; or gets more benefits, such as the friend who has lower social status than the other. Dissimilarity disrupts relationship bonds.”

This proves the old adage that birds of a feather really do flock together. A 2010 study published in the journal Human Nature found women who are roughly equal physical attractiveness tend to bond together in same-sex friendships. There was a positive association between the attractiveness ratings of women and their friends.

The downside of dissimilarities among friends can lead them to drift apart and outgrow each other. After all, the glue that holds friendships together is similarities such as common hobbies and interests.

Sources: Cillessen AHN, Hartl AC, Laursen B et al. A Survival Analysis of Adolescent Friendships: The Downside of Dissimilarity. Psychological Science. 2015.

Marmaros D and Sacerdote B. How Do Friendships Form? The Quarterly Journal of Economics. 2005.

Bleske-Rechek A and Lighthall M. Attractiveness and Rivalry in Women’s Friendships with Women.Human Nature. 2010.