Do You Have To Have A High IQ To Understand 'Rick And Morty?' The Infamous Copypasta Explained

By now, everyone knows about Rick and Morty, Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland’s popular show on Adult Swim, which is currently wrapping up its sixth season. Whether you’re a fan of it or not, you’ve likely come across a particular copypasta that claims only those of extreme intelligence can enjoy this show.

The copypasta has been spreading online since 2017 as a means of mocking Rick and Morty fans, though most of them are just confused about how they got grouped in with such an embarrassing stereotype.

Here’s the history of the copypasta, its use and its meaning.

Where Did the Copypasta Come From?

For years, the Rick and Morty fandom has been one of the most contentious online. Much of the fandom consists of normal people who just happen to like nihilistic humor, but the other (albiet smaller) portion of the fandom is much more … complicated.

In fact, many of these fans seem to believe watching Rick and Morty puts them at a higher intellectual level than others around them. Many of them are also weirdly attracted to Rick, but that’s a whole nother problem that is better left for another article.

In response to this growing problem, on July 29th, 2017, a Redditor named Niekisch posted the following in a comment on the subreddit /r/CringeAnarchy:

To be fair, you have to have a very high IQ to understand Rick and Morty. The humour is extremely subtle, and without a solid grasp of theoretical physics most of the jokes will go over a typical viewer's head. There's also Rick's nihilistic outlook, which is deftly woven into his characterisation- his personal philosophy draws heavily from Narodnaya Volya literature, for instance. The fans understand this stuff; they have the intellectual capacity to truly appreciate the depths of these jokes, to realise that they're not just funny- they say something deep about LIFE. As a consequence people who dislike Rick & Morty truly ARE idiots- of course they wouldn't appreciate, for instance, the humour in Rick's existential catchphrase "Wubba Lubba Dub Dub," which itself is a cryptic reference to Turgenev's Russian epic Fathers and Sons. I'm smirking right now just imagining one of those addlepated simpletons scratching their heads in confusion as Dan Harmon's genius wit unfolds itself on their television screens. What fools.. how I pity them. 😂

And yes, by the way, i DO have a Rick & Morty tattoo. And no, you cannot see it. It's for the ladies' eyes only- and even then they have to demonstrate that they're within 5 IQ points of my own (preferably lower) beforehand. Nothin personnel kid 😎

Considering this appeared on a subreddit devoted to cringe and the post is riddled with typos, it’s pretty fair to assume this was meant to be ironic. However, it is based on some real truths — the truths that a well-known portion of the Rick and Morty fandom is incredibly annoying and that they love to talk about how “smart” the show is, forgetting that it’s just, well, a cartoon.

How Is the Copypasta Used Online?

The copypasta started to take over the very next day, jumping to /r/copypasta and then to Facebook in a matter of hours. Since the copypasta so effectively mocks the cringeworthy portion of Rick and Morty fans, it caught on quickly.

People started to post it in reply to just about anything slightly related to Rick and Morty (or completely unrelated, in typical copypasta fashion) just to annoy others in the comments of posts. Soon, people forgot that this copypasta was most likely satire.

This obsession with the copypasta caught on in memes about the show and its fans too. Much of the Rick and Morty fandom found themselves grouped in with the mindset of the nonexistent speaker of the copypasta, and nowadays, no fan can mention the show in public without hastily explaining that they’re not one of the “weird fans.”

Do You Need a High IQ to Understand Rick and Morty?

No, you definitely do not. Proponents of this copypasta’s theory claim that the show can sometimes be fast-paced. At the same time even if it takes a couple of watches to catch all the jokes because everyone’s talking so fast about turning into a pickle or finding Szechuan sauce, the show isn’t really complicated.

Plus, the moment you try to scientifically analyze a cartoon instead of staring blankly at the TV, aren’t you kind of missing out on the fun, anyway? It's also stated by some that the higher one's IQ, the more likely they are to avoid Rick and Morty entirely, perhaps considering there’s a whole plotline where Morty fathers a giant inbred space baby with his sister.

But ultimately, there’s nothing wrong with enjoying Rick and Morty. It’s a fun show. But it won’t give you a Ph.D. or designate you an expert on … well, anything. That’s probably a good thing though because that’s not what television is supposed to be for in the first place.

For the full details on the Rick and Morty copypasta, be sure to check out our entry on the meme here for even more information.