Today, it seems obvious that Friends wasn't perfect and was often even problematic, but it continues to be a comfort show for many. Among the reproaches it's faced lately is its lack of diversity (which reportedly even lead to a pledge of $4 million by a co-creator), and its disrespect of trans-neutral pronouns for Chandler's mother.
While not exactly the same level of insensitivity, Friends creators did dumb Joey down significantly for humor's sake, despite the fact that he was so much more than that. In fact, Joey ends the show almost like a grown toddler, but he certainly has smart moments on the show, which prove that he's as "wisdomous" as he claims.
Chemistry
"Look, The Rule Is When Two Actors Are Actually Doing It Off-Stage, Then All The Sexual Tension Between Them Is Gone."
Despite the fact that Joey seems clueless for most of the time regarding his career, as he forgets his auditions, struggles with getting good roles, and so on, he occasionally still delivers some wisdom that can only be obtained by being in the business.
His theory might have failed Chandler in the end, but it was delivered thoughtfully and it was a sensible and good theory. It's very rare that the audience gets to see Joey so insightful and to use his career to help him deliver this smart quote was very clever of the writers.
Moo Opinion
"It's Like A Cow's Opinion. It Just Doesn't Matter. It's Moo."
Joey's logic often leaves no room for arguments. As much as viewers laughed at this, it only took a couple of moments of deliberation to realize it might actually not be so dumb at all. Phrases and sayings have all sorts of origins, and Joey does seem very confident in his version of the saying.
While the correct word is "moot," as in a "moot point," Joey offers a third option and explains it really well. It even ended up being one of the best quotes on Friends. It isn't a smart quote but Joey explains it with the kind of logic that can confuse even the smartest of viewers.
Finding The Secret irer
"You Can Match The Evaluation To The Exam With The Handwriting And Boom, There's Your irer."
Moments in which Joey outsmarts Ross are rare. Ross has a Ph.D. and Joey is street-smart at best and dumb most of the time. So this moment where Joey conveniently realizes something obvious before Ross was very satisfying for fans to see.
This proves that Joey might not be as dumb as he's made out to be. He can actually be quick and smart when it's either convenient or useful for him or his friends. Or perhaps he is dumb, and like everyone else, he just has his moments.
Women Live Longer
"Just Ask Her How Long She’s Gonna Live. Women Live Longer Than Men."
The way Joey delivers this line when talking about Chandler's mysterious "cyberchick" without even realizing how ridiculous it is, just fits with his "wisdomous" personality. He even incorporates a fact into it to make it more plausible. Whether he learned it from a Discovery Channel documentary or in school, he is actually correct.
This is the type of thing that Joey says often, in that it is something that only seems to make sense to him. Everyone else ends up being confused or dumbfounded but his brain just works in a more mysterious way, and it's what makes life more fun.
Smart Reasons
"Or Maybe It's Because You All Are Hanging Around Here At 11:30 On A Wednesday."
Joey was a bad actor on the show, and it was often the running gag or the reason it made his character even funnier. However, he takes pride in his profession and takes it seriously (most of the time). He gets upset when Chandler doesn't give him the message about his audition, and he goes to great lengths to qualify for a role (learning to speak French).
This is why this quote seems smart and insightful coming from him. He's the show's humor relief, and even he realizes the reason for his friends not being liked by their respective bosses. They spend entirely too much time doing other stuff to be considered employees of the year.
Handy And Smart
"The Knob Was Broken, So I Turned It Down From Underneath. I Hope That's Alright."
The fact that Joey was the only one who knew how to turn down the heat when the knob got broken is rather embarrassing for the rest of the bunch. Joey isn't the handiest when it comes to stuff, and throughout the show, he continuously proves it to his friends and the audience.
But every once in a while, he manages to pull something like this. It makes everyone around him wonder if he really is as clueless as he seems, or if some of it is an act. This thinking never lasts long, because sooner or later he says or does something so stupid, that it evaporates any doubts about his intelligence or lack thereof.
Nice Logic
"You'd Just Be Eating My Animals."
Considering his love of food, Joey making it as a vegetarian is highly unlikely, so it's a good thing the situation has an expiration date. But the way he reaches the conclusion that if he stops eating meat for the duration of Phoebe's cravings, it would mean the same amount of animals would get killed is just brilliant.
It doesn't only show Joey can be smart in life and in math but also illustrates he's a comionate human being and the best friend among all the friends. There isn't a thing he wouldn't do for the people he loves, including giving up one of his favorite things.
Joey Logic
"Well, The Fridge Broke, So I Had To Eat Everything."
Any other character on the show, or even any other person would probably do something like transfer their food into someone else's fridge or find a temporary solution for the problem. But Joey was always food-oriented, and the thought of all the food spoiling probably made him go into panic mode.
His solution to the fridge breaking was to eat all the food, even the questionable contents of it. And it's not something anyone else would do, but his logic is actually pretty good and he did save all the food from going bad, so it was a win-lose situation.
Outsmarting Ross (Again)
"Ross, I Was Thinking We Could Just Go Down The Fire Escape."
Not that many things could actually affect Joey, and he rarely acts panicky. So when he got stuck on the roof with Ross, it's no wonder he was the one who kept cool and collected. Though there is no doubt that Ross is the more intelligent of the two, Ross doesn't act like it in this scene.
While Ross immediately takes some drastic measures, Joey wisely suggests they just go down the fire escape. He's able to remain sensible in a stressful situation, which is not something everyone can do. The fact that Joey's plan completely fails, in the end, is beside the point.
About His Knowledge
"I Am Pretty Wisdomous."
Inventing new words and sayings at this point is part of Joey's existence, and it's only one of the reasons why the fans love him so much. It's obvious he's anything but wise in actuality, but he has a different kind of wits about him, so it's only right that the word is different as well.
Throughout the show, Joey is known to have a dumb moment here and there, and give out some pretty terrible advice, so his description of himself as "wisdomous" is especially hilarious.