According to the loose canon of The Simpsons, there is both a genetic and an inter-cranial reason for why Homer Simpson is so famously stupid. So why, then, does he know so many Supreme Court Justices?
The answer, of course, is that The Simpsons is a comedy, and its characters must be malleable enough to make the most hilarious moments work regardless of their past characterization. Or, alternatively, a wizard did it – whichever floats your boat. The Simpsons has never been about unbreakable rules, so, whether it’s the infamous “Simpsons Gene” or a crayon lodged in the brain, nothing can stop Homer from explaining the cosmological origin of karma or busting out some other piece of esoteric knowledge despite his reputation as a dullard.
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However, that doesn’t mean that Simpsons writers and showrunners are just tossing in shockingly scientific, philosophical or historical Homer lines into episodes all willy-nilly. Simpsons legend Matt Selman has a theory for why Homer has the ability to occasionally raise his IQ without removing the crayon, one which he shared with Cracked earlier this year.
When describing what makes a top-tier Homer-centered episode on The Simpsons, Selman shared his “Homer theory that people probably think is terrible,” which, in fact, we think is pretty smart:
“Homer is usually dumb, but sometimes his intelligence is in direct proportion to his greed,” Selman explained, “So, the greedier he is for something, the more clever he can become.”
For instance, there is a Season 25 episode written by Simpsons veteran Rob LaZebnik that illustrate’s Selman’s point. “There’s an episode called ‘The War of Art,’ where Homer realizes Marge bought a painting at a yard sale that’s very valuable and they debate what are the ethics of telling the people with the yard sale that they actually sold them something incredibly valuable or trying to share the money,” Selman explained, “Homer comes up with all these incredibly ingenious, devilish philosophical arguments for why the right thing to do is not to tell the Van Houtens that they sold them this valuable painting for $20.”
“His arguments are quite good, and I feel like it’s all in character because Homer’s greed is stronger than his stupidity,” Selman concluded.
While this certainly isn’t a one-theory-fits-all explanation for Homer’s occasional moments of brilliance, it’s clearly within his character – if Homer never had genuine moments of ingenuity when motivated by his deep desire for some gluttonous gain, then so many of the all-time greatest Simpsons plotlines simply wouldn’t have worked. Only a superior intelligence could ever think to have a drinking bird hit the “Y” key during Homer’s work-from-home scheme.
