To me, sarcasm is a form of a riddle, albeit one highly dependent on the trust and relationship between the two or more parties involved. A sarcastic statement does not always have to convey a "belittling" or "malicious" overtone, but can be much closer to a maxim, a form of wordplay, a metaphor, or an allegory. Or, in the case of the following Futurama quote, sarcasm can be a container for one of the above literary devices:<p><i>Professor Farnsworth: Is it true that stem cells may fight the aging process?<p>GeneWorks receptionist: Well yes. In the same way an infant may fight Muhammad Ali.</i><p>I like how the article points out that the over-arching caveat to the benefits of scarcasm involve the 'human capital' of <i>trust</i>. That reminds me of why my friends and I would use sarcasm with each other as games of wit, and why, on occasion, I'd cringe when one of my friends would be sarcastic, sometimes in a not-very-nice way, to a stranger who was simply trying to do their job. Or, in other words, sarcasm is a very powerful weapon in the "put down" game, and a large swath of the population isn't really mentally equipped or practiced in the contest, so it's a belitting thing...but when sarcasm ace meets sarcasm ace, holy cow it can be some funny material.
One of the few lessons to stick with me from high school English was during the lesson on irony, when a student asked "Is sarcasm the same thing as irony?" and the teacher thought about it for a moment, before responding that, yes, it is, kind of, but it's the lowest form of irony.<p>I really enjoy irony in life and in literature, so I try to avoid sarcasm as to not cheapen the fun of "higher" forms of irony (like finally understanding Alanis Morisette's "Ironic").
<i>Instead of avoiding sarcasm completely in the office, the research suggests sarcasm, used with care and in moderation, can be effectively used and trigger some creative sparks.</i><p>Who really has the presence of mind and self control to use sarcasm with "care and moderation" when in the midst of a work-related social interaction? I think this is just a silly extrapolation to draw from the evidence presented.<p>Sarcasm can be amusing and perhaps useful in satire and social settings where there's no risk of generating animosity between people, but in the workplace where relationships don't necessarily arise from a sense of mutual understanding, I think this article gives us little reason to believe it can do more good than harm.
Not directly related to the article but just to the topic: one of the biggest things for me to get used to when I moved from the UK to France earlier this year is the lack of sarcasm used/understood by French people. There's a couple of French people I know who get my sense of humour, for everyone else I have to conciously knock off what I think of as the UK part of my joking and keep it to "international-friendly humour" only.
The worst thing about using sarcasm with coworkers who aren't on the same page is when they miss it and not only take it seriously but accept the statement. If you tell them/they figure out you were being sarcastic not only did they miss it in the first place they actually supported a sarcastic statement so they hate you for making them look stupid. If you don't tell them they find out it's wrong and think you're an idiot for suggesting it. It really curbed my use of sarcasm after school :(
> Other research has show that sarcasm can be easily misinterpreted, particularly when communicated electronically.<p>I can't tell if the comments thus far are sarcastic.
This is anecdotal, sure, but I think worth noting. Of my youngest students that I teach, starting around 4 or 5, I've consistently noticed that the most developmentally advanced students in terms of language, patience, and focus are the ones that have very sarcastic and witty conversations with their parents and/or me. They are also always very pleasant to work with (sense of humor!). There are times where I am surprised the student even understands that what's being said isn't literal, but they do get it and will joke back.<p>I'm convinced this type of rhetoric forces an additional cognitive load on the child's brain that helps with context, perspective, and self-awareness which in my mind, are the absolute most powerful aspects of becoming an intelligent individual. This is sort of the basis of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy as well and is the most important "gateway" concept when teaching anyone anything.
I feel that when one's conveying sarcasm in electronic forms, a wink emoji goes a long way in making it clear. However the sarcasm purists might disagree.
I've worked at a lot of companies where the devs are incredibly snarky. Most of the people making the jokes are straight, white, and male. I wonder if this is perceived as another barrier to minorities.