Why Barney Stinson of How I Met Your Mother is a Genius

The hit show How I Met Your Mother is iconic for many reasons. If not for its countless inspirational life lessons, hilarious jokes, or seamless plot-lines, its complicated characters put it above the rest. Though easily written off as a shallow playboy and corporate stooge, Barney Stinson has depth that requires a more profound analysis. From his bachelor pad decked out with customized tech to his elaborate revenge plan that spanned over a decade, it's clear that Barney Stinson is no average man.

Though intelligent, Barney rarely used his smarts for academic purposes. He claims that he went to MIT, but we find out later on in the series that this was not the famed tech school but actually the Magicians Institute of Teaneck. However, he has a natural knack for technology that is exemplified in the wild additions to his bachelor pad. Episode 19 of season 8, The Fortress, gives us a tour of his inventions. Highlights include the "Hoe-Be-Gone Sleep System," a set of tracks under his bed to remove clingy bedmates; the "Heavy-Set-Go," a doormat that calculates his potential mate's dimensions and body fat instantly; and the "Room with a Screw," a descending greenscreen to make it appear as if his apartment is anywhere in the world. Though somewhat creepy and misogynistic, it's undeniable that creating these things would require a certain degree of intelligence. The show implies that he designs and builds them almost single-handedly, which is definitely a feat, especially without an engineering degree.

Barney is best known for his plays, the wacky plans he uses to get girls into bed. One thing that always bugged me about his character was the implication that he needed the lies to get girls to sleep with him. Given that he's good looking, well dressed, employed at a large corporate firm, and wealthy, it seems hard to believe that he'd have issues picking up quality women. I think he does the plays like a challenge, a game to make his lifestyle unrepetitive and justify his coping mechanisms. It's obvious that Barney's childhood left him with some pretty big emotional scars, mainly due to his father's absence. When it comes to his Playbook it seems as if it's the plays that are more important than the deeds that follow. It's a challenge to pull off the grandiose lies he tells and their success fuels his desire to try increasingly daring stunts. Pretending to be someone else allows him to escape his issues and feel a sense of pride (even if the things he's being proud of are totally made up). These plays make his intelligence more obvious: you'd need exceptional social skills to manipulate people the way that Barney does. High intelligence doesn't only manifest in STEM disciplines, those with high intelligence have a greater ability to master social interaction. And it's no doubt that Barney is a guru of social interaction. As Ted says in season 5, episode 19, Zoo or False, "there's a fine line between a good story and a bald-faced lie. I've never met anyone who could work that line better than your Uncle Barney." Some of Barney's most insane plays include the one where he comes back as himself from the future (in believable old man makeup) to tell a girl to sleep with his current self (season 4, episode 4), and the Scuba Diver when he pulls an elaborate ruse that leads to his friends convincing the girl to go out with him without any knowledge of his plan (season 5, episode 8). His proposal to Robin is a long-winded plan that plays out over months, spanning six episodes and culminating in the big moment in season 8, episode 12. Though his plays may be questionable, it's undeniable that they require a superior level of social intelligence.

Arguably one of the best Barney moments is in season 9, episode 15, Unpause, when we finally find out what Barney does for a living. This is when it becomes clear that Barney is not his persona at heart, but has actually created this persona to achieve his ultimate goal of getting revenge on the jerk that stole his girlfriend when he was 23. If you're unfamiliar with the story (or haven't rewatched the series so many times that it's committed to memory), Barney initially started his adult life working in a coffee shop with his girlfriend, Shannon. They were saving themselves for marriage and planning to join the Peace Corps. On the day they were supposed to leave, Barney finds out that his girlfriend has been unfaithful and has left him for the businessman who believes that money is the most important thing in life. He then made a vow to track the businessman down, gain his trust, and destroy him. He created his persona and got a job at the company his nemesis worked for, providing legal exculpation and signing everything (PLEASE). Instead of taking the fall for all of the company's wrongdoings he colluded with the feds and eventually brought down the whole operation. Barney is a mastermind of social interaction: completely fabricating a persona to achieve his personal goals, unbound by society's expectations but using them to further his plans. His revenge plan was over a decade in the making and a success. One may think that his goal of revenge is a mark of childishness, which while somewhat true, I think is more of a representation of his emotional maturity that was stunted by his traumatic childhood.

Barney Stinson was a starry-eyed kid who wanted the best and was dealt a rough hand, becoming a broken adult with a playboy persona big enough to push self-doubt out of the picture. He creates characters to avoid what truly scares him: his own emotions. He fabricates his reality so that he doesn't have to face it. He avoids emotional attachments with women to guard his heart and avoid abandonment by making it a game. Like in season 5, episode 14, Perfect Week, Barney uses a "perfect week" (sleeping with 7 girls in 7 nights) to distract himself from the fact that he might be getting fired. All he really wants in life is to be loved, valued, and to know that those he holds dear aren't going to leave him behind. His pure heart has so many walls built up around it that few can get inside, but there are moments where we see it and can appreciate his humanity. In Tick Tick Tick (season 7, episode 10), our hearts broke for Barney when he found out that Robin chose Kevin over him. In Cleaning House (season 6, episode 20), we see that while Loretta may not have been the best mom, she did everything in her power to save her son from his most painful childhood moments and give him a good life. In Bachelor Party (season 2, episode 19), we see how he secretly visited Lily in San Francisco to convince her to take Marshall back. And let's not forget when he memorized the prices of every potential item on the show The Price is Right and performed flawlessly so that he could meet Bob Barker (season 2, episode 20). Emotional maturity aside, Barney has raw intelligence. He is a genius of social interaction, a puppetmaster of his reality. His character is a satire of machoism and corporate America. Whether you like him or not, Barney Stinson is a TV writer's masterpiece and really is, as he would say, legen... wait for it... dary.