From: pwu@ai.mit.edu (Peng Wu)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.china
Subject: Why the x@!#*! do we curse so much?
Date: 6 Nov 92 14:31:54
Organization: MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory
NNTP-Posting-Host: espresso.ai.mit.edu

Not long ago I acknowledged the discovery of Chinese insult art at
Master degree level on scc.  You may still remember that I had enough
of that kind of stuff and wanted to move on to English version.  [It
is ok if you do not remember, who am I any way.  You have had enough
background knowledge to go on if you have read this far already.]

If you thought I was just joking, you were mistaken, seriously.

For an advanced degree, you not only need to learn about some skill,
but also need to form your own theory of that skill, building on other
people's work in most cases.  The skill in question here is cussing,
or cursing.  You are on the right track if you ask where on the earth
one can study that subject.  Basically, you are a pioneer and you are
on your own.  However, I am going to give your some reference to get
you started.  Just wait until the end.

A general approach to humanity study is field study plus hypothesis
formation.  For field study about cursing, you need to go no further
than SCC, The Superb Contemporary Cussing ground, provided that you
are a vegetarian, at least you do not kill.  The hypothesis formation
is a very subjective business, or an art.  But it is very easy since
the field is almost virgin, anything goes.  Hypothesis formation
should be followed by verification, but today I will be happy to stop
at hypothesis formation.  I sincerely hope I never need to verify
those hypotheses.

Here are some of the hypotheses about "Why the x@!#*! do we curse so
much?" in the working:

[A shameless plug: I have worked on them for the past few hundred
seconds and my funding is running short.  If you think it is
interesting, please, please, please send your donation to scc instead
of SCC.  Positive donation only.  In order to keep my study impartial,
no donation greater than three (3) cents is accepted.  However, you
may donate as many times as you want.  I wouldn't mind if you donate
under your dog's name.]

--- The pop culture made me do it theory
--- The dirty words as power theory
--- The stressed-out society theory
--- The retreat from formality theory
--- The dirty words as verbal shortcut theory
--- The nobody says it's wrong theory
--- The scc culture made me do it theory
--- The constitutional right theory
--- The someone else started it theory
--- The silence equals consent theory
--- The silence equals surrender theory
--- The combat poison with poison theory
--- The to tolerate evil is to abet it theory
--- The return in kind theory
--- The pressure to resolve who's wrong/right theory
--- The white/black/no-middle-ground theory
--- The unwilling/unable to dissolve difference theory
--- The miscommunication theory
--- The language barrier theory
--- The upbringing theory
--- The measure others' corn with one's own bushel theory
--- The daughter-in-law makes mother-in-law theory
--- The suppressed turns lawless theory
--- The victim turns villain theory
--- The I-am-the-law personality theory
--- The personal taste theory
--- The fun in teasing theory
--- The showing off theory
--- The vent-pipe theory
--- The you made me angry theory
--- The nobody knows me anyway theory
--- The duel personality theory
--- The Freud theory
--- The high on drug theory
--- The being sick theory
--- The immature theory
--- The wrong theory

[That's all, folks, for now at least.  For academic honesty, I must
acknowledge Nathan Cobb, Staff of the Boston Globe, for his inspiring
article on The Boston Globe, Nov 3, 1992, page 29.  The title of his
article appeared in the subject line.  The theories before the "scc
culture made me do it" theory appeared in his (or her?) article. The
rest of course are mine, still in the empty shell stage, waiting for
your support.  For those of you who plan on a career in cussing, you
may find this book interesting: "Cursing in America", Timothy Jay,
Professor of Psychology at North Adams State College.  For information
on graduate programs, you might want to try Thomas Murray, associate
professor of English at Kansas State University.]

PS: I found scc much more enjoyable these days, probably due to the
illusion created by my filters.  However, one message on somebody's
ownership of a company did break through.  I have yet to figure out
what tricks that author played on me or on my filters.
Newsgroups: soc.culture.china