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August 20, 2005
Gossip is good for you
Okay, I said that I don't like gossip or water cooler discussions. But may be gossip serves a purpose.
"There has been a tendency to denigrate gossip as sloppy and unreliable" and unworthy of serious study, said David Sloan Wilson, a professor of biology and anthropology at the State University of New York at Binghamton and the author of "Darwin's Cathedral," a book on evolution and group behavior. "But gossip appears to be a very sophisticated, multifunctional interaction which is important in policing behaviors in a group and defining group membership."(From the New York Times)When two or more people huddle to share inside information about another person who is absent, they are often spreading important news, and enacting a mutually protective ritual that may have evolved from early grooming behaviors, some biologists argue."
Sneaking, lying and cheating among friends or acquaintances make for the most savory material, of course, and most people pass on their best nuggets to at least two other people. This grapevine branches out through almost every social group and it functions, in part, to keep people from straying too far outside the group's rules, written and unwritten.
After all, we are just social animals, aren't we? So keep on spreading rumors, gossiping, through all channels, from blogs, to SMS, to face-to-face.
But then, I still believe that gossiping is not the way to go, and just because others are doing it, I don't need to follow. and who would trust me if I gossip, cheat and ly?
Posted by Andreas at August 20, 2005 12:46 PM
Comments
it's a form of communication. :)
Posted by: lynnee at August 23, 2005 10:46 AM
Ermm.. something else to think about.. Machiavelli once said, "a man who wishes to make a profession of goodness in everything must *necessarily* come to grief among so many who are not good."
In other words: for every one of *you*, there's probably dozens of *them*! Ya don't hafta follow, but a trick-or-two up your sleeve doesn't hurt... hehe
Posted by: Solbi-wan Kenobi at August 21, 2005 11:17 PM
hmm ...hey there, it's been awhile since i last visited
Posted by: Leo Goh at August 21, 2005 04:09 PM
hmm..... thinking....
Posted by: carryn at August 21, 2005 01:40 PM