Why We Gossip: Because Grooming Takes Too Long


	Why We Gossip: Because Grooming Takes Too Long

wildcat

1-5-2008 6:01 AM

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tags:

gossip, grooming, evolution

wildcat says:

Gossiping might be part of human nature, but we are not born gossiping

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<div style="margin: 12px 0px; font-family: arial; color: #333333; background: #ffffff; border: solid 4px #e5e5e5; width: 100%; clear: left;"><div class="CM_CTB_Content_Wrap" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;background-color: #ffffff;"><div style="border-bottom: solid 1px #dcdcdc; white-space: nowrap; margin-bottom: 8px; background-color: #eeeeee ;background-image: url(http://clipmarks.com/images/source-bg.gif); background-repeat: repeat-x; height: 24px; line-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle; padding-bottom: 4px; color: #666666; font-size: 10px;" ><a href="http://clipmarks.com/clip-to-blog/" title="see clips that are hot right now"><img src="http://content.clipmarks.com/blog_embed/efab2293-55eb-4b07-9335-2c4e0a824c12/D5A99E55-F469-4779-93CD-4C395519857D/" alt="" width="19" height="19" border="0" style="vertical-align: middle; margin: 0px 4px; display: inline; border: none; float:none;" /></a>clipped from <a title="http://www.livescience.com/history/080104-hn-secrets.html" href="http://www.livescience.com/history/080104-hn-secrets.html" style="font-size: 11px;">www.livescience.com</a></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.livescience.com/history/080104-hn-secrets.html"><DIV>
My niece and I have a favorite pastime. We buy a stack of the trashiest celebrity gossip magazines, sprawl out on the floor with some chocolate close at hand and discuss each photograph, headline and story. We have very strong opinions about these stars, people we don’t even know, and never will.</DIV></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.livescience.com/history/080104-hn-secrets.html"><DIV>
Why is this such a satisfying way to spend a Friday night?</DIV></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.livescience.com/history/080104-hn-secrets.html"><DIV>
Because we might just be evolutionarily designed to judge and <A href="http://www.livescience.com/strangenews/060731_rumor_mill.html">talk about others</A>.</DIV></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.livescience.com/history/080104-hn-secrets.html"><DIV>
There are a million ways to categorize conversation among people. We greet each other and say goodbye, explain, inform, <A href="http://www.livescience.com/health/060515_why_lie.html">lie</A>, tell secrets, comfort with words and tattle tale. But mostly, we like to talk about other people.</DIV></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.livescience.com/history/080104-hn-secrets.html"><DIV>
<STRONG>Better than grooming</STRONG></DIV></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.livescience.com/history/080104-hn-secrets.html"><DIV>
Such casual chat is just that until it turns malicious, unkind and secretive, a special packet of information to be passed from one person to the next with the intent to harm. And often with no basis in fact. </DIV></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.livescience.com/history/080104-hn-secrets.html"><DIV>
Gossip, or talk about each other, then replaced grooming as a <A href="http://www.livescience.com/animals/060126_monkey_cops.html">social glue</A>  among humans.</DIV></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.livescience.com/history/080104-hn-secrets.html"><STRONG>Teach your kids!</STRONG></blockquote></div><div style="margin: 0px 6px 6px 4px;"><table style="font-size: 11px;border-spacing: 0px;padding: 0px;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tr><td style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;">&nbsp;</td><td align="right" style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;width:107px" width="107"><a href="http://clipmarks.com/share/D5A99E55-F469-4779-93CD-4C395519857D/blog/" title="blog or email this clip"><img src="http://content6.clipmarks.com/images/c2b-foot.png" border="0" alt="blog it" width="107" height="17" style="border-width:0px;padding:0px;margin:0px;" /></a></td></tr></table></div></div>

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