Sarcastic people are smarter, so are people who sleep late, and if you say “fuck” a lot, you are definitely smarter and cooler than everyone else. On the other hand, waking up early makes you more productive and less of a jerk. And sarcastic people may be smart, but they are generally assholes, so if you want to be a smart asshole, I guess that’s your decision. And I want to see more science on that “fuck” study. I’ve found that a diverse and creative vocabulary is a sure sign of intelligence and relying heavily on the f-word displays a limited vocabulary.

Google just about anything and it will come up: extroverts are smarter, introverts are smarter, pizza is healthy, handwriting versus typing… The thing is, you can find confirmation and justification for anything with a click or two if you just want to feel better about yourself or your world view. And those guys who do that algorithm thingy know this, so they bring you headlines that cater to your insecurities and vanities in order to trigger your click finger and bring you to their clients and advertisers.

There is a wealth of great information out there and I encourage everyone to read and learn. But if you’re just skimming the headlines (as we do with most articles) please don’t put much stock in the information you get there. When you do click and read the article use your critical thinking skills. Don’t have critical thinking skills? I think you probably do. And if you don’t, they are not that difficult to attain. Try this.

See you out there.

Charles Bursell is a writer, performer, host and commentator heard nationally on SiriusXM, National Public Radio, and The Pacifica Radio Network. He currently hosts the podcasts Stream of Consciousness Talk Radio Theatre and Conversations With Charles Bursell. Both shows, and more, can be found on several platforms, including Apple Podcasts (iTunes) and Libsyn.com.

Contact: charlesbursell@gmail.com  Follow: facebook.com/charlesbursell