
Sarcastic comments boost creativity, a study finds (2015) - SQL2219
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-surprising-benefits-of-sarcasm/
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blackrock
It's easier to criticize, than to actually do something.

You can also get labeled as a jerk, and ostracized among your social group.
You become known as "that guy.."

Often, it's more fun to use it to share an inside joke with someone, when you
use it to criticize someone else.

When I give feedback, I like to preface it as a constructive criticism.

When something doesn't affect me directly, I prefer to just let it slide, than
to deal with the blowback.

As with anything else, it's better to use it judiciously.

~~~
alexhutcheson
A recent paper found that people who endorsed cynical beliefs were more likely
to be treated disrespectfully by others:
[https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2020/01/th...](https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2020/01/the-
vicious-cycle-of-disrespect-and-cynicism.html)

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awinter-py
possibly because if you're not being sarcastic, you're engaging in self-
censorship

rather than saying sarcasm _enhances_ creativity, this result could mean that
being polite in the face of nonsense _reduces_ creativity

~~~
krapp
A compulsion to express sarcasm out of fear of self-censorship is, itself, a
form of self-censorship based on a fallacious premise that sarcasm is somehow
more sincere and "honest" than politeness.

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puggo
And verbal abuse can increase self defense abilities. (Was that creative
enough?)

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notacoward
Definitely putting "creativity booster" on my next self-review. :D

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dang
Discussed at the time:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10595520](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10595520)

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brenden2
I believe that. I bet comedy does, too.

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gerdesj
Oscar Wilde was Irish and with that quote ("sarcasm is ..."), he was clearly
taking the piss.

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stared
Seriously?

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aslhrewui
Important PSA: sarcastic comments are against the HN rules. My main account
was banned because I made a sarcastic comment regarding a HN (technological)
holy cow.

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dang
We don't ban accounts for that reason.

Comments like this are always linkless, because supplying the relevant links
for readers to make up their own minds would reveal a different story.

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mettamage
I think this study has been fabricated.

Yep, definitely feel more intelligent now.

If this gets downvoted a lot then I do think that people stating to stay away
from sarcasm are right ;-)

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capableweb
> If this gets downvoted a lot then I do think that people stating to stay
> away from sarcasm are right ;-)

Or people don't find anything wrong with sarcasm, it's just your comment that
is a low effort one.

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mettamage
Hmm... that might be true — it’s a bit subjective to judge it.

But what I can tell you is that I made similar low effort comments that got
high upvotes. The key difference is that those comments have a positive
sentiment.

I sometimes make comments like the above to test the hypothesis: negative
sounding comments get downvoted.

I find it interesting because I’ve learned that if I want to be relatable then
I should be positive. Even when a negative comment is thematically appropriate
(like the one above), the chance of it being downvoted is still quite high.

I think it’s easier to be critical when negative affect is in play.

I find it fascinating to see both sides of the story.

