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posted by on Wednesday January 18 2017, @01:31PM   Printer-friendly
from the this-article-is-rated-pg-13 dept.

The fine bastards at Cambridge bring us this bit o fucking science:

As dishonesty and profanity are both considered deviant they are often viewed as evidence of low moral standards. On the other hand, profanity can be positively associated with honesty. It is often used to express unfiltered feelings and sincerity. The researchers cite the example of President-elect Donald Trump who used swear words in some of his speeches while campaigning in last year's US election and was considered, by some, to be more genuine than his rivals.

Dr David Stillwell, a lecturer in Big Data Analytics at the University of Cambridge, and a co-author on the paper, says: "The relationship between profanity and dishonesty is a tricky one. Swearing is often inappropriate but it can also be evidence that someone is telling you their honest opinion. Just as they aren't filtering their language to be more palatable, they're also not filtering their views. "

The international team of researchers set out to gauge people's views about this sort of language in a series of questionnaires which included interactions with social media users.

In the first questionnaire 276 participants were asked to list their most commonly used and favourite swear words. They were also asked to rate their reasons for using these words and then took part in a lie test to determine whether they were being truthful or simply responding in the way they thought was socially acceptable. Those who wrote down a higher number of curse words were less likely to be lying.

Guess that makes me the most honest motherfucker on the site, eh?


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  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by meustrus on Wednesday January 18 2017, @03:04PM

    by meustrus (4961) on Wednesday January 18 2017, @03:04PM (#455427)

    The researchers cite the example of President-elect Donald Trump who used swear words in some of his speeches while campaigning in last year's US election and was considered, by some, to be more genuine than his rivals.

    This on its own is the cautionary tale. Trump's profane speeches, like everything that comes out of his mouth, contain very little substance, and the word "honesty" has an entirely different meaning in his world; "honest belief" stands in for facts and promises, encouraging us to step into the world of their supposedly flawed perceptions instead of inviting us to shop for the most plausible explanation. But they sound genuine, and the manner of his speech makes him seem authentic. We must be careful that we don't let stupid things like this affect our perception of public figures. Otherwise, we are simply being manipulated.

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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Wednesday January 18 2017, @03:13PM

    by JoeMerchant (3937) on Wednesday January 18 2017, @03:13PM (#455435)

    Me thinks Trump doth protest... too much. His image is calculated, practiced, and polished to an edge.

    --
    🌻🌻 [google.com]
    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by linkdude64 on Wednesday January 18 2017, @03:46PM

      by linkdude64 (5482) on Wednesday January 18 2017, @03:46PM (#455457)

      He fooled everyone - they all think he's an idiot, and while they were shitting out terribly un-funny memes, newspaper comics, heavily biased comedy sketches, etc. he took everything.

      And they still underestimate him.

      • (Score: 3, Insightful) by DannyB on Wednesday January 18 2017, @03:52PM

        by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday January 18 2017, @03:52PM (#455463) Journal

        You can't underestimate trump. No mater how poorly you think of him. He has nothing.

        What was the surprise was how gullible the population is. Being a con man, going further than any previous politician would ever dare go to say what the base wants to hear, with no intention or plan for following through on promises; that is not some kind of greatness that should be admired.

        I don't underestimate him because he's such a great or brilliant man. He's not. I just didn't recognize how gullible are a large fraction of the US population. Say what they want to hear, stoke their anger, and they'll follow you right off the cliff.

        --
        People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
        • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Wednesday January 18 2017, @04:19PM

          by JoeMerchant (3937) on Wednesday January 18 2017, @04:19PM (#455477)

          He's a very old showman. Even his role as CEO was more acting than substance or leadership. I'm trying to think how that can make him an effective president, but I just don't want to believe that the federal level legislators, and agencies - domestic and abroad, will care much for how he presents himself, and will instead look to the substance of what he is proposing.

          Actions speak much louder than image after the election is over, and I'm afraid that the image and the promises haven't given anyone much to go on for predicting his actions.

          --
          🌻🌻 [google.com]
          • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday January 18 2017, @04:29PM

            by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday January 18 2017, @04:29PM (#455483) Journal

            A lot of the people Trump will work with are career politicians. People who want to continue to be elected until they die a crinkled up old prune at the age of 102 with hopelessly out of touch views of the world.

            They may want to put some restraints on Trump if they perceive that he will cause them to not continue to be perpetually re-elected.

            --
            People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
            • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Wednesday January 18 2017, @04:45PM

              by JoeMerchant (3937) on Wednesday January 18 2017, @04:45PM (#455494)

              old prune at the age of 102 with hopelessly out of touch views of the world.

              That's preservation of our culture and way of life, sonny! Mind your elders, and GET OFF MY LAWN!!!

              --
              🌻🌻 [google.com]
          • (Score: 2, Informative) by linkdude64 on Wednesday January 18 2017, @04:55PM

            by linkdude64 (5482) on Wednesday January 18 2017, @04:55PM (#455503)

            "I'm afraid that the image and the promises haven't given anyone much to go on for predicting his actions."

            Your opinions do not weigh greater or even equal to the several thousand jobs and billions of dollars in industrial investment that his "showmanship" during the race has already brought to this country even before his inauguration.

            • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 18 2017, @05:36PM

              by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 18 2017, @05:36PM (#455542)

              As has been pointed out repeatedly Trump lies and takes credit for things he didn't do. Keep drinking the kool-aid my man, you can tell your grandkids how you supported and promoted Trump as you cook you ratmeat over the fire.

              • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Wednesday January 18 2017, @09:58PM

                by Phoenix666 (552) on Wednesday January 18 2017, @09:58PM (#455714) Journal

                And that's different from every other politician, how? Why do you think the politicians are so terribly upset about all the leaks and social media puncturing their carefully manufactured personae? It's because there's no there, there. If you were, say, Linus Pauling and were elected senator, you could always point to the real science you did. Heck, even Sonny Bono could point to more actual accomplishments than nearly all the rest of his colleagues. They are empty suits, and lying and taking credit for things they didn't do is pretty much the entirety of their resumes.

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                Washington DC delenda est.
              • (Score: 2) by linkdude64 on Thursday January 19 2017, @04:17PM

                by linkdude64 (5482) on Thursday January 19 2017, @04:17PM (#456092)

                "As has been pointed out repeatedly Trump lies and takes credit for things he didn't do."

                The one thing he did do is take $1mil and turn it into $Xbil. If you think he "fooled/deceived/raped the money" into multiplying itself a thousand times over, you can argue with numbers until you run out of breath.

        • (Score: 2, Informative) by linkdude64 on Wednesday January 18 2017, @04:52PM

          by linkdude64 (5482) on Wednesday January 18 2017, @04:52PM (#455499)

          "You can't underestimate trump. No mater how poorly you think of him. He has nothing."

          This made me audibly laugh.

          In a thoroughly objective truth-based assessment Donald Trump holds not only billions of US dollars, but also the single most powerful position in the entire world - that is as far away from "Having nothing" as humanly possible, and it is this truly baffling demonstration of supreme cognitive dissonance that granted that to him. The cognitive dissonance not just regarding the election, but also regarding so many other issues whose side you undoubtedly take.

          Every other position you make is entirely irrelevant, and only serves to reinforce the above statement. This is why Clinton lost. People like you are objectively out of touch with reality.

          • (Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 18 2017, @05:34PM

            by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 18 2017, @05:34PM (#455539)

            Awe hunny bunny no no no, you have to use your brain not blindly give it over to an old turkey! Trump is going to betray you sweetie, and if you'd been paying attention you'd see he has already started. Getting conned is never fun, but I'll make you some cookies when the hurt really sinks in.

            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 18 2017, @05:49PM

              by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 18 2017, @05:49PM (#455553)

              Trump surely won't be as much of a con man like the last 8 years of having the wool pulled over our eyes. It's about time we had a "real" asshole in office that won't be afraid of firing anyone who doesn't pull their own weight. Ever notice how Trump and Hillary remind you of Al and Peggy Bundy? That's what you get for not putting Bernie in the final race, you gave us the choice of an Al or Peggy Bundy for POTUS.

              • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Wednesday January 18 2017, @10:00PM

                by Phoenix666 (552) on Wednesday January 18 2017, @10:00PM (#455719) Journal

                That's what you get for not putting Bernie in the final race, you gave us the choice of an Al or Peggy Bundy for POTUS.

                Yep, and we have the DNC and its corrupt leadership to thank for that. It's why I turned in my party card.

                --
                Washington DC delenda est.
            • (Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Wednesday January 18 2017, @09:58PM

              by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Wednesday January 18 2017, @09:58PM (#455716) Homepage Journal

              You really wanna know why Trump got elected? He may have said much but at least he came off *sounding* honest in what he did say. I didn't vote for the guy but at least I'm not blinded so badly by partisan bullshit that I can't see why other people did. Hillary, I wouldn't trust her to guard a bag of dog turds for five minutes. Everything about her says liar and crook.

              --
              My rights don't end where your fear begins.
              • (Score: 2) by aristarchus on Thursday January 19 2017, @08:15AM

                by aristarchus (2645) on Thursday January 19 2017, @08:15AM (#455949) Journal

                but at least he came off *sounding* honest in what he did say.

                A Big City New York Flim-flam Man? Buzzard, you have lost all your country cred, with one part of a sentence.

              • (Score: 2) by linkdude64 on Thursday January 19 2017, @04:12PM

                by linkdude64 (5482) on Thursday January 19 2017, @04:12PM (#456088)

                I agree with everything you say, however I still take issue with this:

                "I wouldn't trust her to guard a bag of dog turds for five minutes. Everything about her says liar and crook."

                If you or anyone is still "trusting your gut" when it comes to Clinton or Trump, you're doing it wrong.

                As a Trump voter, I would never state that I disliked Clinton because "Everything about her says liar and crook." I would say, "I can provide written and verifiable evidence that Hillary Clinton knowingly assisted the arming of ISIL by negotiating weapon sales to Saudi Arabia through her position at the State Department under the Obama Administration in exchange for donations to the Clinton Foundation."

                Sure sounds a hell of a lot more convincing than "Drumpf is a sexist! He said attractive women are attractive! His hair is stupid too! What a racist!" Which is really what I have a problem with.

            • (Score: 2) by linkdude64 on Thursday January 19 2017, @04:05PM

              by linkdude64 (5482) on Thursday January 19 2017, @04:05PM (#456086)

              "Awe hunny bunny no no no, you have to use your brain not blindly give it over to an old turkey! "

              This is not an argument. Nothing in your comment was verifiable by evidence or reason. You sound like the prosecutor from Not Sure's court case in Idiocracy.

          • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday January 18 2017, @07:07PM

            by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday January 18 2017, @07:07PM (#455616) Journal

            I'll just say it again. Being a con man, a liar who can fool a lot of people is not some mark of greatness. It is not something to be admired. And not emulated.

            He's obviously hiding something in the tax returns that are never going to be released. Maybe what he doesn't want anyone to see is how big of an illusion his supposed wealth really is, compared to debt.

            He's made no pretense of avoiding corruption or impropriety. He seems to openly embrace it. Taking his kids to meet heads of state, so their business interests can benefit? I don't need to go on about conflicts of interest.

            We'll see how great of a man he is as he uses the power of his office to enrich his personal interests. He might sell out the country to further his own business interests in foreign countries.

            --
            People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
            • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday January 19 2017, @03:26PM

              by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Thursday January 19 2017, @03:26PM (#456071) Journal

              "I'll just say it again. Being a con man, a liar who can fool a lot of people is not some mark of greatness."

              You're perfectly correct. That's why I never voted for any Clinton!

              • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday January 19 2017, @03:37PM

                by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Thursday January 19 2017, @03:37PM (#456074) Journal

                I would have to agree to the extent that I don't see either one as a particularly great choice.

                --
                People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
                • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday January 19 2017, @03:42PM

                  by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Thursday January 19 2017, @03:42PM (#456079) Journal

                  We are 100% in agreement there! My first, second, third, and fourth choices all lost. I'd have voted for any number of unqualified fools, ahead of the two unqualified fools who lead the race. Ehhh . . . .

                  • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday January 19 2017, @09:07PM

                    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Thursday January 19 2017, @09:07PM (#456229) Journal

                    The biggest chunks rise to the top.

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                    People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.