[lit-ideas] gossip
- From: Paul Stone <pas@xxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 10 Mar 2006 00:11:00 -0500
From Michael Shermer's "The Science of Good and Evil"
The etymology of the word "gossip", in fact, is enlightening. The
root stem is "godsib," or "god' and "sib," and means "akin or
related." Its early use, as traced through the OED, included "one who
has contracted spiritual affinity with another," "a godfather or god
mother," "a sponsor," and "applied to a woman's female friends invite
to be present at birth" (where they would gossip). (in on of its
earlirst uses in 1386, for example, Chaucer wrote: "A womman may in
no lasse synne assemblen with hire godsib, than with hire owene
flesshly brother.") The word then mutated into talk surrounding those
who are akin or related to us, and eventually to "one who delights in
idle talk," as we employ it today.
Not surprisingly, we are especially interested in gossiping about the
activities of another that most affect our inclusive fitness, that
is, our reproductive success, the reproductive success of our
relatives, and the reciprocation of those around us. Normal gossip is
about relatives, close friends, and those in our immediate sphere of
influence in he community, plus members of the community or society
that are high ranking or have high social status. It is here where we
find our favorite subjects of gossip -- sex, generosity, cheating,
aggression, violence, social status and standings, birth and deaths,
political and religious commitments, physical and psychological
health, and the various nuances of human relations, particularly
friendships and alliances. Gossip is the stuff of which not only soap
operas but alls grand operas are made.
I guess you could extend this to GLOBAL interaction.
reading a.g.c. religiously
Paul
_________________
[insert pithy quote here]
Paul Stone
pas@xxxxxxxx
Leamington, ON. Canada
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