What the #*&%?

It looks like I have several friends who are near-geniuses. Let me explain. New research shows we’re wrong when we assume that someone who swears a lot has a small vocabulary and equally small brain. 

A California professor believes swearing is a window into the soul and to the greater intelligence of the swearer. Benjamin Bergen has conducted research and written a book about profanity titled, What the F: What Swearing Reveals About Our Language, Our Brains, and Ourselves. He believes swearing tells us a lot about how we use language and how we perceive it. For example, he asks why “crap” is vulgar but “poo” is childish? Yeah…why?

Bergen studied adults playing video games, driving and doing other typical activities to see whether swearing had any bearing on those pursuits. Swearers don’t drive any better but they also don’t drive more aggressively or get into more road-rage incidents. It doesn’t have an effect on their video game play. In other words, he believes using profanity is just words. And like all words, their meaning changes depending on the intent and the situation. He even found that frequent cursers tended to have bigger vocabularies than those who chose to stay out of the F lane.

This can’t be true. We’ve all sat behind those beer-soaked packs of young guys at hockey games who can’t seem to say anything at all without lobbing an F-bomb. He can’t possibly be saying those cretins have bigger vocabularies and higher intellect than their seated, quiet counterparts? Surely there are different types of swearers. And don’t f***ing call me Shirley.

3 thoughts on “What the #*&%?”

  1. I used to think swearing was just words. Now that I’m old(er) I no longer think so. I don’t like it and I don’t do it. And my IQ was measured at 139 at one time. Maybe it’s gone down. LOL

    1. I think it’s all about context. I try not to do it but once in a while something slips out! I blame the fact that I’ve worked with mostly men over the years and have been witness to some of the most creative language I’ve ever experienced. But I’m sure your IQ is as high as always. 🙂

  2. I once had a communications professor who stated that “words” don’t have meaning, “people” do. For a “word” takes on different meaning and importance based on the context under which it was used. When I’ve hit my thumb with a hammer or sliced it on the sharp edge when working on a computer, the F bomb has been spoken, but then it’s expected. Referring to your post of yesterday, on more than one occasion I’ve informed someone that their an F’n idiot. Profanity is merely another tool in the toolbox, and as everyone knows, the right tool for the right job.

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