‘A witty publication about wit that steers an elegant route between waggishness and wisdom.’ ―Stephen Fry

Much more than a knack for snappy comebacks, wit may be the quick, instinctive intelligence which allows us to think, say, or do the proper thing at the right amount of time in the right place. In this whimsical publication, James Geary explores every element of wittiness, from its role in technology to why puns will be the highest form of wit. Geary factors that wit can be both visual and verbal, physical and intellectual: there’ about Wit’s End: What Wit Can be, How It Works, and Why WE ARE IN NEED OF It s the serendipitous wit of scientists, the crafty wit of inventors, the optical wit of performers, and the metaphysical wit of philosophers.

In Wit’s End, Geary embraces wit in every form by adopting a different design for each section; he writes the section on verbal repartee like a dramatic dialogue, the neuroscience of wit like a medical paper, the spirituality of wit being a sermon, and additional chapters in jive, rap, and the heroic couplets of Alexander Pope. Wit’s End agilely balances psychology, folktales, visible artwork, and literary background with lighthearted humor and acute understanding, drawing upon traditions of wit from around the world.

Entertaining, illuminating, and entirely unique, Wit’s End demonstrates that wit and knowledge are really the same thing.