Hi smart alecks, Julian here for DNews.

嗨！自作聰明的各位，我是 DNews 的 Julian。

My parents always told me when I was a petulant teenager that, "Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit."

當我還是個暴躁青少年時，我父母總是告訴我：「諷刺是最低等的幽默。」

To which I replied, "Yeah whatever," and totally won the argument.

我的回應則是：「喔，是喔。」，然後就此完全贏得爭論。

Now I’m a petulant adult and I’m happy to report science seems to agree with me.

現在我長大成了脾氣暴躁的成年人，而我在此要高興地宣布，科學似乎認證了我的說法。

A new study published in Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes examined if there was a link between sarcasm and creativity.

在《組織行為和人類決策過程》期刊中發表的一項新研究調查了諷刺與創造力之間是否有關連。

Participants were randomly assigned to behave sarcastically, sincerely or neutral.

參與者被隨機分配成要以諷刺、真誠或中立的方式說話的三個組別。

They were then paired with another participant and went through a simulated conversation.

然後他們會與另一位參與者配對，並進行了模擬對話。

In a variation of the experiment, participants were asked to recall an exchange that they had had in their life that was either sarcastic, sincere or neutral.

在不同組合的實驗中，受試者被要求回憶一段他們生活中曾發生過的諷刺、真誠或中立的對話。

After they had simulated or recalled a conversation, they were given 3 tests to measure their creativity, and another to measure how well they could think abstractly.

在模擬或回憶該對話後，他們接受了 3 項測試以評估他們的創造力，並進行了另一項測試以評估他們的抽象思維能力。

The researchers found that after a sarcastic conversation, participants were more creative and better at abstract thinking.

研究者發現參加者在經過一段諷刺的對話後，變得更有創意，並更能抽象思考。

And it didn’t matter if they were the ones being sarcastic; just being on the receiving end bolstered their cognitive functions.

不管他們是否諷刺了對方，僅是做為接收者，便能增強他們的認知功能。

So just hearing sarcasm, makes you more intelligent. You’re welcome.

僅僅只是聽到諷刺，就能讓你變得更聰明。不客氣。

But why would being sarcastic help with anything aside from being the funniest person ever?

但除去語帶諷刺能讓你變成史上最幽默的人以外，為什麼它能有其他正面幫助呢？

Co-author of the study, Francesca Gino, explained in an email to the Harvard Gazette that:

此項研究的合著作者 Francesca Gino 在給《哈佛公報》的一封電子郵件中解釋道：

"To create or decode sarcasm, both the expressers and recipients of sarcasm need to overcome the contradiction between the literal and actual meanings of the sarcastic expressions.

「要創造或解析語帶諷刺的話語，表達者與接受者都必須克服諷刺表達的字面含義與實際含義之間的矛盾。

This is a process that activates and is facilitated by abstraction, which in turn promotes creative thinking."

這是一個由抽象啟動和促發的過程，因此會進而促進創造性思考。」

So decoding when someone says, "You look nice today" needs more thought than just hearing "You look nice today!", and it gets your brain in gear.

因此，解讀「你今天看起來有漂亮哦」，比起「你今天看起來真漂亮欸！」還需要更多腦力，而這能使你的腦筋轉得更快。

But then another problem arises: it may also make you want to punch that sarcastic jerk in the face.

但此時另一個問題出現了：這也有可能會讓你想往那語帶諷刺的混蛋臉上揍一拳。

So, how do you get the benefits of being sarcastic while remaining un-face-punched?

那麼，該如何在語帶諷刺的同時，又避免挨揍呢？

The researchers looked into that too and discovered that the key is the relationship you have with the other person.

研究人員也對此進行了調查，並發現關鍵是你和對方的關係。

If a sarcastic exchange happens between two friends, they know the other is joking and don’t mind.

如果兩個朋友之間進行諷刺性的對談，因為他們知道對方是在開玩笑，所以不會介意。

But if a stranger is sarcastic towards another, the recipient isn’t sure if they’re being mocked and so may take offense.

但如果一個陌生人諷刺其他人，聽者不確定他們是不是被嘲笑了，因此可能會感到冒犯。

So to practice safe sarcasm, the researchers recommend doing it with a friend.

所以如果想安全地練習諷刺技巧，研究者推薦最好和朋友一起練習。

To which I say, "Duh."

對此我的回應是：「啊不然呢。」

Sarcasm is my second language and comes easily to some, but it actually requires more mental gymnastics than you may have realized.

諷刺是我的第二語言，對我來說駕輕就熟，但是實際上諷刺所需的腦力可能比你預想的還要來得更多。

People with some forms of brain damage or autism may have a tough time picking up on it.

患有某種形式的腦部損傷或自閉症的人可能會難理解諷刺的意涵。

Anthony explains why, here.

Anthony 在這部影片中解釋了原因。

Sarcasm is a pretty interesting thing.

諷刺是一件很有趣的事情。

A popular theory says that we developed it as an emotional tool that helps poke around a conversation and see what the polite boundaries are.

理論認為，我們將諷刺作為一種對話的調劑，試探彼此間合乎禮貌的界線在哪。

Are you usually sarcastic? Let us know, by writing "No?" or "No." in the comments.

你常諷刺別人嗎？在評論留言「沒有？」或「沒有。」讓我們知道答案。

And if you have any questions you want us to tackle, let us know down there too, or on Facebook, Twitter; we even have a Subreddit, r/DNews that you can reach us at.

如果有想要我們回答的疑問，也可以在下面評論欄或 Facebook 和 Twitter 上告訴我們。我們現在甚至還有 Subreddit 帳號：r/​​DNews，你也可以透過它聯繫我們。

Subscribe for more and I'll see you next time on DNews.

記得訂閱觀賞更多內容，下次在 DNews 再見囉。