There's nobody who takes humour more seriously than your average comedian. Ironically enough for those who practice the art; those who want to make people laugh the longest and loudest, comedy itself is no laughing matter, and no subject is more divisive than the appropriateness of black comedy - possibly because the subject matter is, by its very nature, shocking, controversial and often morbid or perverse. But black comedy and gallows humour functions as a vital way of exploring the taboo or satirising uncomfortable truths. Typical targets include death, murder, suicide, violence, disease, insanity, handicaps, famine, fear, drug abuse, war, terrorism, racism, sexism, homophobia, or bestiality. Bearing all that in mind, it's easy to understand why some people don't get the joke. If delivered badly then black comedy can seem like crass exploitation of tragedy for the sake of a cheap laugh, but if done well, then comedy can be used to explore complex issues and and provoke serious thought. Unfortunately, because of the grim subject matter, a good dark joke often lacks the mass appeal that a more family-friendly gag might achieve. However if you're a fan of black comedy, then we have some good news for you: a recent study claims that the more weird and messed up your sense of humour, the more intelligent you are. Seriously - for once I'm not joking. Shoot over to page two to learn more. Are you a fan of sick jokes and dark humour? Then you might well be smarter than average. A study from the the Medical University of Vienna, and published in the journal of Cognitive Processing, seems to have found a correlation between a predilection for morbid jokes and high intelligence. The study, which is entitled; "Cognitive and Emotional Demands of Black Humour Processing: the Role of Intelligence, Aggressiveness and Mood", asked 156 participants to view some darkly humorous cartoons. After looking at the cartoons, the participants were then asked if they a) understood the joke, b) thought it was good and c) found it surprising or interesting. Participants were subsequently given general tests to assess their intelligence and emotional stability. The research states: "Black humour preference and comprehension are positively associated with higher verbal and nonverbal intelligence as well as higher levels of education. Emotional instability and higher aggressiveness apparently lead to decreased levels of pleasure when dealing with black humour." So you might be more intelligent, but you're probably likely to be a little messed up as well. It continues; "Whilst a positive association between black humour processing and intelligence can be shown, aggressiveness and bad mood apparently lead to decreased levels of pleasure when dealing with black humour. Black humour processing is seemingly a complex information-processing task that depends on cognitive and emotional aspects. It can be hypothesised that these cognitive and emotional demands directly influence the mental operations underlying humour processing." Of course, we have to bear in mind that a sense of humour is entirely subjective, and what's funny varies from person to person. Source
