I think many of the disagreements in this thread can be attributed to different interpretations of the word.<p>There is the thought-dulling sarcasm common on the internet that is equivalent to preaching to the choir in reverse, &quot;It&#x27;s ok, congress is on it&quot; or &quot;Another cold day, so much for global warming.&quot; Similar is the the teenager&#x27;s use of mocking sarcasm as a blunt act of defiance.<p>Then there is the playful language that makes the listener try to inhabit the mind of the speaker and likely does generate creative thought, such as the article&#x27;s example “Pat, don’t work so hard!”<p>Finally, sarcasm can be used to express ideas that, if said bluntly, would be unacceptable.  A boss can tell a recently-berated employee, &quot;the customer is always right&quot; as a way of commiserating with the employee without directly discrediting the customer.  Or a coworker can say &quot;Another good policy decision from management&quot; and gauge the listener&#x27;s reaction without directly revealing their own opinion.<p>Pinker on shared vs mutual knowledge, the value of ambiguity: <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;scholar.harvard.edu&#x2F;files&#x2F;pinker&#x2F;files&#x2F;evolutionary_social_psychology_of_off-record_indirect_speech_acts.pdf" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;scholar.harvard.edu&#x2F;files&#x2F;pinker&#x2F;files&#x2F;evolutionary_s...</a>