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Cursing as Peephole Into Brain Architecture

Posted by Zonk on from the keep-it-clean-people dept.

tabdelgawad writes "The New York Times offers this excellent and entertaining writeup on cursing and its role in recent studies of the brain. The article discusses the universality of cursing across time, space, and culture, its varied roles, from linguistic evolution to anger management, and its uses in recent brain research. You can also read all about the sexual effects of uttering obscenities and the swearing habits of sorority women." From the article: "Researchers point out that cursing is often an amalgam of raw, spontaneous feeling and targeted, gimlet-eyed cunning. When one person curses at another, they say, the curser rarely spews obscenities and insults at random, but rather will assess the object of his wrath, and adjust the content of the 'uncontrollable' outburst accordingly." As someone who plays a lot of MMOGs, in my experience this is only mostly true.

3 of 394 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Request for Comment by Nefarious+Wheel · · Score: 3, Informative
    Vulgar means "common"

    Originally it meant the use of Italian, not Latin, for church services. The "Vulgate" was spoken by village dwellers, or "Villeins". Poor and common == bad guys.

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    Do not mock my vision of impractical footwear
  2. Obligatory Link by Ironsides · · Score: 4, Informative

    The Alternative Dictionaries

    2743 Curse and Slang words in 162 different languages.

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    Fly me to the moon Let me sing among those stars Let me see what spring is like On jupiter and mars
  3. "Nothing" in Shakespeare by wizwormathome · · Score: 3, Informative
    It's not "an O Thing" that the title is referring to (which is totally ridiculous). The title is a reference to two things. "Noting" (as another poster replied) - which is insignificant conversation and "Nothing" which IS a polite bit of Shakespearean slang which can (and usually does) refer to the female genitalia. The pun on "nothing" is perhaps most obvious in a conversation in Shakespeare's Hamlet with Ophelia:

    Hamlet: Lady, shall I lie in your lap?
    [Lying down at Ophelia's feet.]
    Ophelia: No, my lord.
    Hamlet: I mean, my head upon your lap?
    Ophelia: Ay, my lord.
    Ham.: Do you think I meant country matters?
    Oph.: I think nothing, my lord.
    Ham.: That's a fair thought to lie between maids' legs.
    Oph.: What is, my lord?
    Ham.: Nothing.

    Incidentally, Much Ado About Nothing is about both the effects "casual" conversation and the implications of real and perceived sexual relationships.

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    An explanation of my choices for friends