Sarcasm, as evolutionary benefit.

[rwx]

Sarcasm, seen as evolutionary survival skill.

http://www.livescience.com/history/080620-hn-sarcasm.html

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20080620/sc_livescience/sarcasmseenasevolutionarysurvivalskill

I would be interested in hearing people's opinions on this.

Comments

[teh-dirty-robot.livejournal.com]

I'm not sarcastic, cynical, and pessimistic...I'm just highly evolved. Yeah, I see that going over well.

[zenscribe.livejournal.com]

You'd endear yourself no end with that statement. :)

[hwrnmnbsol.livejournal.com]

Oh, right. REAL interested.

[rwx.livejournal.com]

winner.

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

Bastard, beat me to it.

[catbear.livejournal.com]

I think the empathy to understand sarcasm -- when it is used by others -- is important. Sarcasm itself not much; plain speaking is to be preferred.

[nihil-duce.livejournal.com]

Think you hit on something here; Sarcasm isn't the benefit, the capability to comprehend it for what it is is.

[spider88.livejournal.com]

I didn't read one word in the first article that made a coherent argument that sarcasm itself was a) genetically variable and/or b) increased fitness to the point of becoming an adaptation and so I saw absolutely nothing stating that sarcasm was an evolutionary survival skill.

[nihil-duce.livejournal.com]

All that said, would passive aggressivness be an evolutionary benefit too? It shares many of the characteristics of sarcasm.

[poupou.livejournal.com]

So...we're assuming that sarcasm is used universally across languages and cultures? And if so, since when? That would have been a more interesting article. Crap writing, that was.