Do Funny People Really Have Higher IQ Scores? Give Me A Test Right Now And I'll Show You

by N/A, 9 years ago | 3 min read

Several different studies and publications throughout history has decreed that humor and smarts are correlated with one another, meaning if you have a sharp sense of humor you also tend to have a higher level of intelligence. This is particularly fascinating when you consider someone such as myself (this article's author) and realize that makes me far more brilliant than what some of my readers may be. That's right: I'm a very funny person, and if you can't see that, you're as dumb as I thought!

comedy funny smart Humor Mental Health Satire Neuroscience Non-Premium

Dating back to the 70s, a study comparing comedians/comediennes' IQ to that of the general population found an much higher result from the funny people compared to their dummy counterparts. 138 and 126 respectively vs. an average between 90 and 110.

If that study proves anything that holds up in todays world, it's that I, an omnipotent writer of all things Internet and what0have-you, have a leg up on those of you reading this article in astonishment. Now, maybe you're wondering how I'm actually funny rather than just telling you that I am funny. If that's the case, you've proven my point, because you're not seeing the humor in all of this.

Researchers at Bucknell University conducted an experiment relying on three variables: creativity, intelligence, and a sense of humor. Creativity were found to be independent of each other, while sense of humor was related to both.

So, can you now see what their research unveiled? It's just how funny I actually am, because I can both digest this information and make a satirical ploy that I am funnier and therefore superior in intelligence to you at the same time. That takes brains (if you ask me)!

A University of New Mexico study back in 2011 further implemented the idea of comedy as related to intelligence. 400 psychology students were asked to create captions for New Yorker cartoons. Those rated funniest were shown to have higher IQ scores.

The study was followed up by having working comedians do the same procedure. What they found was that comedians produced more and funnier captions, while also scoring higher on verbal intelligence–which is linked to overall intelligence. So, what I'm trying to say here again (unfortunately written and not verbally to further prove my dominance) is that I can promise you I'd be able to knock out some hilarious captions as part of that statistic.

In the end, people with quick wit tend to make more friends, more easily. People may just be drawn to their humor, or it may have something to do with their overall intelligence boost from verbal intelligence qualities.

While I may have lost many of you readers as potential friends from this writing, you should now finally see just how funny I am for having written this information this way and instead of being angry with me, long to be my friend. How does that sound? Friends with a really funny, really intelligent person. I'm up for it if you are, and if you're not, your unable to see the humor in this, and therefore not smart enough to roll with me.