Science Proves Why Funny People Are Smarter

Researchers Gil Greengross and Geoffrey Miller, both from the University of New Mexico, and Rod A. Martin from the University of Western Ontario, involved students in an interesting study and came to the conclusion that humor is a sign of underlying cognitive ability and fitness.

The trio asked a group of college students to make-up profiles of people based on some basic information and then were asked to rate each others’ profiles. Afterward, they completed evaluations for general intelligence, conscientiousness, openness, extroversion, sociability and neuroticism.

The results showed that humorous people correlated with better cognitive ability and intelligence factors.

Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking, both celebrated for their highly intelligent minds, are both known to have a sharp sense of humor. Albert Einstein once said, “Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves.” This has to be more proof that funnier people are just smarter than your average grumpy cats!

Here is more evidence as to why funny people are smarter:

1. They have a higher IQ

An IQ test that was taken back in the 1970s, reveals one study, where male and female comedians persistently scored a higher mark on their test than the average population.

2, Friends Come Easier

It’s not the case of birds of a feather flocking together; but funny people are like human magnets because of their witty verbal banter. Funny people not only have it easier in the friend-finding department but they have more sexual partners than the norm, a study by the University of Mexico reveals.

3. Verbal skills and reasoning ability are their forte

Some of the satire legends of our times, notable names like Ellen Degeneres, Trevor Noah and Amy Schumer, are highly appreciated. Their work takes a lot of creative and intellectual output which wouldn’t be possible without a good amount of perception.

Bucknell’s University’s William E. Hauk  and John W. Thomas humor as important for both creativity and intelligence despite them both being mutually exclusive of each other.

4. They tend to be highly creative minds

The University of Mexico once again conducts an experiment on psychology students, this time in 2011, asking them to captions for the New Yorker Cartoons after taking a test on verbal intelligence and abstract reasoning ability. It’s a known fact that verbal intelligence is linked with overall intelligence.

A follow-up study conducted by the same university  on comedians showed that startlingly, comedians came up with more amusing captions and a higher score on intelligence.

Don’t feel too disheartened if you believe your lack of sense of humor indicates your less than average IQ. There are many factors you may have which point to higher intelligence so never fret that you won’t end up with a romantic partner!

Here’s a hint: appreciate the humor in others and laugh along with the crowd because that one of the other symptoms of having a quick brain.

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