Everyone knows the Oscar Wilde quote, “Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit.” But not many people remember the second half. What Wilde actually said was, “Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit, but the highest form of intelligence.”
Funnily enough, Wilde might have been right. Research suggests that sarcasm – the caustic use of words, often in a humorous or mocking way – actually makes our brains work harder. Sincere statements are easy. They’re exactly what they appear to be: obvious, frictionless. But when someone’s sarcastic towards us, or when we deploy.
