Researchers Pinpoint Brain's Sarcasm Sensor

LibertarianWackJob writes "Researchers have found the section of the human brain that is responsible for understanding sarcasm. " I'm sure the comments on this story will be incredibly insightful.

Comments

Asperger's as well?

[Amoeba]

The researchers think lesions in several parts of the brain can contribute to an inability to understand sarcasm. But, they wrote, this particular area is important because it draws on your innate recognition of the emotions of other people -- empathy -- and past experiences to comprehend a speaker's intentions.

Wouldn't this also be applicable to people with Asperger's Syndrome? If this research is correct then sarcasm must be especially difficult for Aspergerians (is that even a word?)

Note to self: When Bram Cohen asks how you are doing, do not reply "I so great you should kill me now so I can die happy."

non-American Culture

[rtconner]

Well, seriously though.. what of different cultures besides American Culture? When I went to China we were told not to use sarcasm to the people we interacted with. It was not a part of their culture and sense of humor to be sarcastic, and therefore they would not understand our sarcasm at all.

cultural gap

[Kortec]

i wonder how they account for sarcasam missed from cultural differences. a friend of mine did some time in africa with the peace corps, and remembers all of the american humor based on sarcasam just deadpanning; maybe this sector is only developed through cultural trends?

failed sarcasm = speaker's fault, not listener

[DunbarTheInept]

I say when sarcasm fails to be detected as such, it's usually the speaker's fault. Why? Becuase the thought process going through the listener's head in an instant is something like this:
1 - Hmmm - that statement seemed like a really dumb thing to say, in direct contradiction of reality.
2 - I wonder why this person would say something so at odds with the truth?
3 - It could be because he literally believes it and is just dumb or delusional, or it could be because he knows better and is trying to make a joke.
4 - If I respect the speaker's intelligence, then I realize it's not serious, and thus a joke.
5 - If I do not respect the speaker's intelligence, then I still think he seriously meant the dumb thing he said.

So the problem is that if I fail to see sarcasm, it's because I don't have reason to respect the speaker's intelligence.

This is why sarcasm doesn't work online, by the way - the speaker is a stranger to you and so you don't know he's smart enough not to believe something dumb, and so step 4 up above doesn't trigger.