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posted by Fnord666 on Friday January 17 2020, @01:33PM   Printer-friendly
from the well-f***-me dept.

Worried About Swearing Too Much? Science Says You Shouldn't Be:

Well, damn. Maybe you stubbed your toe first thing in the morning. Or some thoughtless commuter forced you to slam the brakes on the drive to work. Perhaps you're just fed up with it all and feel like sinking to your knees and cursing the heavens.

If you've ever suppressed the urge to unleash a string of obscenities, maybe think again. Some research suggests that it might be a better idea to simply let the filth fly.

Scientifically speaking, a penchant for profanity doesn't seem to be such a bad thing. Studies have shown that swearing relieves stress, dulls the sensation of pain, fosters camaraderie among peers and is linked with traits like verbal fluency, openness and honesty.

And the effects of cursing are physical as well as mental. A 2018 study in Psychology of Sport and Exercise found that letting out a few choice words during a workout can actually make you stronger. In the study, participants who cursed aloud while gripping a hand vise were able to squeeze harder and longer.

Timothy Jay, professor emeritus of psychology at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, thinks that humans partly developed taboo language as an emotional release valve.

"There's a point where it's just more efficient to say, 'F*&^ you,' than it is to hit somebody," adds Jay, a world-renowned expert in cursing. "We've evolved this very efficient way to vent our emotions and convey them to others."


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  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 17 2020, @01:42PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 17 2020, @01:42PM (#944515)

    I predict only the finest intellectual discussion in this comment section.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 17 2020, @03:48PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 17 2020, @03:48PM (#944562)

      I used to get slapped for saying heck or darn as a kid. Now fuck is in every fucking sentence that kids say.

  • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Friday January 17 2020, @02:09PM (1 child)

    by Phoenix666 (552) on Friday January 17 2020, @02:09PM (#944519) Journal

    "Worried about swearing too much?"

    Fuck no.

    The most I'll ever do to protect delicate ears is to switch to another language. Even if they know the other language it doesn't seem as offensive somehow. It's a bit like downshifting "shit!" to "crap!"

    --
    Washington DC delenda est.
    • (Score: 2) by gtomorrow on Friday January 17 2020, @05:53PM

      by gtomorrow (2230) on Friday January 17 2020, @05:53PM (#944623)

      The most I'll ever do to protect delicate ears is to switch to another language. Even if they know the other language it doesn't seem as offensive somehow.

      Actually, to my ears anyway, it's not. It's actually more offensive (again, to my ears) to hear non-native speakers cursing in native tongue, going out of your way to be offensive so to speak. Then again, it might be just me...?

  • (Score: 2) by pkrasimirov on Friday January 17 2020, @02:13PM (4 children)

    by pkrasimirov (3358) Subscriber Badge on Friday January 17 2020, @02:13PM (#944520)

    > Studies have shown that swearing relieves stress, dulls the sensation of pain, fosters camaraderie among peers and is linked with traits like verbal fluency, openness and honesty.

    I finally found a nice thing to put as my signature but the site won't allow me as it is beyond 120 chars. Daymn.

    • (Score: 4, Interesting) by The Mighty Buzzard on Friday January 17 2020, @02:38PM (2 children)

      by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Friday January 17 2020, @02:38PM (#944526) Homepage Journal

      Yeah, that's a combination of not wanting to have to scroll past five page sigs and the fact that we have to keep thousands of them stored in RAM or face much slower disk reads.

      --
      My rights don't end where your fear begins.
      • (Score: 2) by pkrasimirov on Friday January 17 2020, @03:02PM (1 child)

        by pkrasimirov (3358) Subscriber Badge on Friday January 17 2020, @03:02PM (#944542)

        Oh I completely understand the reasons and the logic, and I did not want to suggest changing that. I guess the UTF encoding does not help too. I just pointed out it's a pity that the physical constraints (pages, RAM) don't fit such an eloquent sentence. Btw thanks for these 120 chars even if I don't use them at the moment. Have a nice 2020!

        • (Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Friday January 17 2020, @09:29PM

          by maxwell demon (1608) on Friday January 17 2020, @09:29PM (#944734) Journal

          Given that the text contains only ASCII characters, and UTF8 encodes those to themselves, I'd expect the encoding not to make a difference in this case.

          --
          The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
    • (Score: 3, Touché) by Booga1 on Friday January 17 2020, @09:37PM

      by Booga1 (6333) on Friday January 17 2020, @09:37PM (#944739)

      Well, you can get most of the point accross with "Studies have shown that swearing relieves stress, dulls the sensation of pain, and fosters camaraderie among peers." Total: 117 characters, including quotes.

  • (Score: 4, Funny) by Coward, Anonymous on Friday January 17 2020, @02:17PM

    by Coward, Anonymous (7017) on Friday January 17 2020, @02:17PM (#944522) Journal

    TFS is about spoken swearing. What goes on here is written. Put your pants back on.

  • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Friday January 17 2020, @02:20PM (7 children)

    by Phoenix666 (552) on Friday January 17 2020, @02:20PM (#944523) Journal

    I find the most withering pejoratives are the precise ones that aren't curse words. Instead of calling a man an "idiot," call him "simple." Instead of calling a bad driver an asshole, call him a "jehu." And so on.

    The way classic Southerners use poetic insults is pretty good too, eg. "You're lower than a snake's belly."

    --
    Washington DC delenda est.
    • (Score: 4, Interesting) by BsAtHome on Friday January 17 2020, @02:33PM (1 child)

      by BsAtHome (889) on Friday January 17 2020, @02:33PM (#944524)

      There is a difference in using curse words for the intend of insult or as an expression of frustration. The paper measures the effect on performance, where the curse words are a personal expression of frustration (forcing you to do better). They show an actual significant impact in the paper.

      Concluding that using same curse words in other contexts are "good" would be a stretch. It could be, but not necessarily so.

      • (Score: 1, Troll) by Ethanol-fueled on Friday January 17 2020, @11:47PM

        by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Friday January 17 2020, @11:47PM (#944796) Homepage

        I consider written and spoken cursing to be like food seasonings -- Used judiciously and with balance they can amplify a message, but put too much on and now you just have a wastebasket-worthy plate of crap nobody wants to taste.

        Compare the writings of Hunter S Thompson or beat Literature, or spoken occasional use of the word "asshole" or bullshit, against the "Fuck you, you fucking fuck shit goddamn" speaking style of Bernie Supporters and other filthy modern American commies. Listening to the recent Veritas transcript of the Bernie Bro "Mr. Gulag" brought back memories of when my buddy (who had Tourette's) and I used to play Sega Master System and everytime he died it was "Fucking goddamn nigger frog-fuck shitanimal!" as he threw his controller against the wall.

        I never thought there would be a whole demographic of people, people who have a say in deciding our political future, that would adopt that style as their baseline language.

    • (Score: 3, Funny) by The Mighty Buzzard on Friday January 17 2020, @02:41PM (1 child)

      by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Friday January 17 2020, @02:41PM (#944527) Homepage Journal

      The Irish are better at them. My personal favorite is "May all your teeth fall out but one and may that one have a toothache."

      --
      My rights don't end where your fear begins.
    • (Score: 2) by ikanreed on Friday January 17 2020, @02:53PM (2 children)

      by ikanreed (3164) Subscriber Badge on Friday January 17 2020, @02:53PM (#944530) Journal

      It's a balance though.

      Sometimes linguistic effort indicates you've considered a great deal about what you detest about a particularly inarticulate ape wearing ill-fitting cargo pants, which shows how thorough your contempt is.

      Sometimes linguistic effort indicates you've considered a great deal about what you detest about some dumbshit, and you're wasting your life being angry about it.

      The deciding factor ought to be your ability to ignore them and that solving the problem.

      • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Friday January 17 2020, @04:57PM (1 child)

        by Phoenix666 (552) on Friday January 17 2020, @04:57PM (#944590) Journal

        Sure, but there's no real effort involved if you have the vocabulary. Clubbing somebody to death will work, but running them through with a foil in just the right place bespeaks an artful economy of motion.

        --
        Washington DC delenda est.
        • (Score: 2) by ikanreed on Friday January 17 2020, @05:08PM

          by ikanreed (3164) Subscriber Badge on Friday January 17 2020, @05:08PM (#944598) Journal

          Apparent effort is perhaps more relevant than actual in this case.

  • (Score: 5, Interesting) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Friday January 17 2020, @02:54PM

    by Rosco P. Coltrane (4757) on Friday January 17 2020, @02:54PM (#944531)

    If you don't do it too often. When you do, it carries that much more weight to those who know you. If you swear all the time, it simply becomes regular speech. And if you do it very often, it becomes tedious for others.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 17 2020, @03:07PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 17 2020, @03:07PM (#944544)

    Whether or not you should or shouldn't swear is a morals or values question, not a science question. Just because swearing might enhance performance doesn't mean you should do it. I can think of lots of things that might enhance performance that shouldn't be done. I had a bad temper when I was a kid and I imagine scientific experimentation, if allowed, would be able to show that being enraged noticeably enhances strength. Should we indulge ourselves in a nice tantrum when we can't open a jar of pickles? :-)

  • (Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Friday January 17 2020, @03:11PM (4 children)

    by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Friday January 17 2020, @03:11PM (#944546) Journal

    I can swear in Spanish, French, German, Russian, Polish, Finnish, and Japanese (though there are very few proper swears in that one). It's helpful when no one around you knows what it is you just said.

    --
    I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 17 2020, @03:42PM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 17 2020, @03:42PM (#944557)

      I can swear in Spanish, French, German, Russian, Polish, Finnish, and Japanese

      And frequently English - we've noted!

      • (Score: 3, Touché) by Azuma Hazuki on Saturday January 18 2020, @03:31AM

        by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Saturday January 18 2020, @03:31AM (#944859) Journal

        Does that offend you? :) Fainting couch is right over yonder if you're havin' an attack of the vapors, snowflake. Remember: angry doesn't mean wrong!

        --
        I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 18 2020, @02:18AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 18 2020, @02:18AM (#944843)

      But can you swear in Klingon? Qu'vatlh!

    • (Score: 2) by Common Joe on Saturday January 18 2020, @10:01AM

      by Common Joe (33) <{common.joe.0101} {at} {gmail.com}> on Saturday January 18 2020, @10:01AM (#944937) Journal

      When I was back in high school, a good friend of mine in school never told me to fuck off. Instead, he said, "May you have a thousand children." It was a curse worse than any four letter word we could wield. And we'd always have a good laugh over it.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 17 2020, @04:11PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 17 2020, @04:11PM (#944574)

    Wasn’t that a feature of society in the movie, they’d swear all the time.

  • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday January 17 2020, @04:19PM (7 children)

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Friday January 17 2020, @04:19PM (#944579) Journal

    <no-sarcasm>

    I only use the seven basic curse words:
    * Fiddle
    * Foodle
    * Diddle
    * Doodle
    * Piddle
    * Foo
    * Sticks

    These can be combined together in sequence, and can be used with suffixes. I often mumble "oh, fiddle!" Or "fiddlesticks". "Diddley Doodle!" "Fiddley foodle sticks!" etc.

    Yes. Really.

    Just to add: Seriously..

    </no-sarcasm>

    --
    People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
    • (Score: 2) by gtomorrow on Friday January 17 2020, @06:08PM (3 children)

      by gtomorrow (2230) on Friday January 17 2020, @06:08PM (#944629)

      Really?

      No, really??

      In any case, I'd never heard of those pidgeon-english "basic curse words" before. Are you by chance related to Yosemite Sam?

      • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday January 17 2020, @06:42PM

        by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Friday January 17 2020, @06:42PM (#944649) Journal

        No relation that I am aware of.

        --
        People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
      • (Score: 2) by acid andy on Saturday January 18 2020, @12:46AM (1 child)

        by acid andy (1683) on Saturday January 18 2020, @12:46AM (#944819) Homepage Journal

        Ned Flanders perhaps?

        --
        If a cat has kittens, does a rat have rittens, a bat bittens and a mat mittens?
        • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday January 21 2020, @02:45PM

          by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday January 21 2020, @02:45PM (#946342) Journal

          There is one strong word that I use outside the 7 basic curse words. And that only in the last few years. That would be the word "jackass" which I think is:
          * not overly vulgar
          * does not rise to the level of most other curse words
          * nickname for an animal
          * also describes our great grand glorious orange dear leader, which is the context in which I use this word

          --
          People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
    • (Score: 2) by Common Joe on Saturday January 18 2020, @10:04AM (1 child)

      by Common Joe (33) <{common.joe.0101} {at} {gmail.com}> on Saturday January 18 2020, @10:04AM (#944938) Journal

      You have an interesting comment (because your trait is so unusual), but you never say why you limit yourself. For what purpose do you censor yourself?

      • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Monday January 20 2020, @02:18PM

        by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Monday January 20 2020, @02:18PM (#945818) Journal

        I listened to other people's choice of expletives and decided I didn't want to talk that weigh.

        --
        People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 18 2020, @01:58PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 18 2020, @01:58PM (#944963)

      * Fiddle
      * Foodle
      * Diddle
      * Doodle
      * Piddle
      * Foo
      * Sticks

      Oddly, these add up to 12 syllables which is the same as George Carlin's famous seven words you can't say on TV:
                  shit, piss, cunt, fuck, cocksucker, motherfucker, tits
      Interchangeable? Personally, I rarely get beyond shit when I'm angry...

  • (Score: 1) by VacuumTube on Friday January 17 2020, @05:11PM (1 child)

    by VacuumTube (7693) on Friday January 17 2020, @05:11PM (#944601) Journal

    In my experience curse words usually just substitute for more descriptive adjectives.

    • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday January 21 2020, @02:42PM

      by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday January 21 2020, @02:42PM (#946340) Journal

      Tech Support might tell customers to RTFM !!!

      Read The Friendly Manual

      Some support departments will substitute different F-words.

      Such as for example, Fabulous or Fantastic.

      But any of those seem sufficiently descriptive.

      --
      People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
  • (Score: 1, Flamebait) by Freeman on Friday January 17 2020, @07:04PM (3 children)

    by Freeman (732) on Friday January 17 2020, @07:04PM (#944664) Journal

    While cursing may be an efficient way to say you really don't like someone. It's more of a crutch for expressing one's emotions. While it's not as objectively bad as hitting someone, it can definitely escalate emotions and lead to actual fighting. There's a difference between effectively communicating your feelings and exercising your freedom of speech, for example. https://xkcd.com/1357/ [xkcd.com]

    Anger and Reconciliation
    (Luke 12:57-59)
    21You have heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’c 22But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brotherd will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’e will be subject to the Sanhedrin.f But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be subject to the fire of hell.g

    23Therefore if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24leave your gift there before the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.

    --
    Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
    • (Score: 1) by Ethanol-fueled on Friday January 17 2020, @11:52PM

      by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Friday January 17 2020, @11:52PM (#944799) Homepage

      Using the lord's name in vain ("God Dammit!") is probably my favorite standalone curse and every day I utter it at least 10 times, and 8 of those times will be while driving.

    • (Score: 2) by Magic Oddball on Saturday January 18 2020, @01:43AM

      by Magic Oddball (3847) on Saturday January 18 2020, @01:43AM (#944832) Journal

      Swearing might escalate someone else's emotions, but for the person exclaiming the phrase in a moment of anger or pain, it reduces the negative emotion/sensation. The positive bonding effects of swearing between people are present when the person swearing is expressing a sentiment they both share about a third party/problem; if the person is swearing at the other individual, obviously they're angry enough to want to irritate their target.

      Also, religious doctrine is irrelevant as evidence in soft or hard science discussions.

    • (Score: 3, Informative) by Azuma Hazuki on Saturday January 18 2020, @03:33AM

      by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Saturday January 18 2020, @03:33AM (#944860) Journal

      Yeah, the Big Book of Genocide doesn't get to claim the moral high ground here. You *and* your demonic God-figure can go to that Hell y'all've got such a permanent hard-on for (yes, I know you're an Annihilationist).

      --
      I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
  • (Score: 2) by Bot on Friday January 17 2020, @08:27PM (2 children)

    by Bot (3902) on Friday January 17 2020, @08:27PM (#944703) Journal

    >Scientifically speaking, a penchant for profanity doesn't seem to be such a bad thing. Studies have shown that swearing relieves stress, dulls the sensation of pain, fosters camaraderie among peers and is linked with traits like verbal fluency, openness and honesty.

    I don't doubt the scientific soundness of the research, but the scientifically sound conclusion is irrelevant.
    Let's talk about another not bad thing that relieves the body, pissing. Why don't you go piss on that nice tree when you speak with a prospective date? because you convey impulsivity, lack of self control, a too sensitive prostate, a bad drinking routine, and more.

    When the swearing is at the right moment, appropriate, funny, I do enjoy it. Most of the time I just see youngsters trying to assert their status with swearing, and then getting prisoners of it and come out as dorks. Prospective partner that swears? run. Because it will get 10x worse when you are committed.

    Again, rationally and carefully following a logical solution to an insufficiently specified problem leads to failure.

    --
    Account abandoned.
    • (Score: 2) by Bot on Friday January 17 2020, @08:38PM (1 child)

      by Bot (3902) on Friday January 17 2020, @08:38PM (#944711) Journal

      As another concrete example, the north east Italian region where I live has a tradition of swearing blasphemies against God. You go to see a soccer match, your local player misses a goal, the entire stadium goes "GOD..." and then everybody goes to his religious or blaspheme variant. But, most of the time it is felt, comes from the heart, and is not meant to scandalize peers (too ingrained).
      Another region, Tuscany, always at odds with the nearby Rome, swears in a completely different way. They are more elaborate, more intellectual, target the virgin Mary more, it is posture. Sometimes that happens here too (again, youngsters). The effect is quite different.

      --
      Account abandoned.
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 18 2020, @02:03PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 18 2020, @02:03PM (#944966)

        With all these regional differences, I think you are telling me that the Tribes of Europe live on, even in these modern and enlightened times.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 18 2020, @02:51PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 18 2020, @02:51PM (#944975)

    Learn some self-control, people. All cultures aren't as impolite or verbally violent as yours. If "researchers" tell you it is ok to fuck your neighbor's wife when the man is not around because it relieves stress, does it mean you will follow this "advice" ?

    Remember, medical and behavioral research and "psychology" was infiltrated by non-humans long ago and their purpose is to destroy human society. Use your brains and learn some self-control.

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