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Sucks To Suck, Neat Freaks: New Study Shows That Messy People Are Smarter Than Tidy People

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There are many, many reasons why I’m a constant source of disappointment for my mother, but one of her biggest issues with my life is that I can’t manage to not be a messy person. For her, it’s simple—everything has a place, and all you have to do is put your shit back where it’s supposed to be when you’re done using it.

I have a tendency to leave books and notebooks strewn everywhere, and I also have a weird habit of leaving my socks in the living room. I actually looked down at my foot the other day and I had one shoe and one sock on and no idea where the other one was or when I’d taken it off. My desk is no better. I tend to want to work in an environment where everything isn’t in a perfect place, for whatever reason. And now, thankfully, I might just have scientific evidence to support my love of disorganization.

According to a new study recently performed by The University of Minnesota, messy people have a tendency to be more intelligent and more creative than those who are more organized. All my life I’ve been told I need to get my shit together and make my bed in the morning to be successful, and it was all a lie.

The study reported that people who work in an untidy environment tend to come up with more interesting ideas than people who work in a clean space. Literally, messy people are smarter and more entertaining than neat freaks. This news brings me so much self-righteous joy. Chaos-lovers also tend to show more openness toward new ideas instead of a desire to fall back onto an established one, so we’re also way more down to try new things, which is also awesome.

Who would you rather go on a date with, a girl who is up for doing something fun and adventurous or the girl who wants to go home and organize her pencil box? I think we all know that answer.

The study also revealed that those in a neat room were less likely to do “the right thing” than those in a messy room, so maybe underneath it all untidy people are just sick and twisted individuals. That’s fine with me, too. I’ll keep my creative mind and messy sock drawer, thanks, and I’m not sorry about it.

[via Psychological Science]

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Shannon Layne

My favorite things are tiaras, compliments, and free drinks, which are becoming harder to come by the more I tend to show up at the bar in sweat pants. The proudest moment of my life so far has been landing an actual, paying job that allows me to Facebook stalk people for a living. I tweet about my mom way too often, who is constantly trying to remind me that I'm not nearly as cool as I think I am. Please send me funny stories to read at work here: [email protected]

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