The Evolution of Gossip | Otherwords (feat.

[@thelocalstumbler]

I'm not one for gossip but I heard in the grapevine that Dr. B and Otherwords won a Gold Telly Award

[@LindaC616]

Nuh uh! You heard it straight from the source! 😄 But they still deserve our congrats!

[@dirkdiggler.]

Shes not a doctor

[@starfishsoftware8197]

@@dirkdiggler. not a medical doctor per se, but it’s a title that people with PHDs are entitled to have :)

[@dirkdiggler.]

@@starfishsoftware8197 she has no such degree

[@alsonio5216]

@@dirkdiggler. and how many degrees do you have?

[@TheShowerofSlime]

The grooming thing makes sense- there's is no better place to get local gossip than hair and nail salon.

[@zhyakoxalid6892]

Ich, männlich, besuche ein Friseur die in sehr ein ländliche Ort liegt. Ich habe die Nachricht auf Deutsch geschrieben so dass meine Freunden könnten nicht es verstehen

[@ltlbuddha]

Hmmm, although I can see this as a factor in our language development, I question it being THE factor. “There buffalo” seems sufficient until you consider the reality might easily be “The buffalo are there during the first part of the spring, unless there is a drought, in which case they tend to be in the valley three days to the south. And don’t approach them if a thunderstorm is in the area, they get a bit spooked.” In other words, practical matters also benefit from nuanced communication. I see the hammer-nail approach so often, when spanners and bolts exist as well.

[@himesilva]

Yeah, plus I’m pretty sure back in hunter-gather days if someone wasn’t pulling their weight the group would just throw your ass out. Not passive-aggressively talk behind your back until something eats you lol

[@Dragrath1]

@@himesilva Also its important to note that many evolutionary traits don't seem to have evolved for one specific purpose but rather from multiple factors simultaneously. For example feathers appear to have evolved from highly modified scales for thermoregulation back within the line of archosaurs that were the ancestors of both dinosaurs and pterosaurs but became critical parts of increasingly elaborate display structures in theropods which also functioned in some dinos to assist in covering/brooding their nests in early primitive wings before they were adapted for aerodynamic purposes and in a select few lineages independently adapted for use in both gliding and flight. Each stage of that evolutionary journey involved multiple interrelated functions. A similar situation appears likely to have been involved in the evolution of fur in stem mammals and their early synapsid ancestors with at least thermoregulation and sensory response roles involved though that occurred much earlier in geologic time meaning far less fossil evidence remains for that transition. Really I can't think of any single structure which appears to have at least initially evolved for a single function and has persistent over time I wouldn't be surprised to learn behavior works the same way even if it doesn't leave the fossil record in the same way. Also on the subject the behavior and way songbirds use their social calls has extremely strong parallels to human speech in both compositional and tonal syntax and these are used for keeping track of groups territorial boundaries treats and selection of mates. It isn't just one factor and the whole idea that only male birds sing has been largely falsified as a product of research bias. In terms of complex vocalized communication only cetaceans really come close in their sound use to songbirds and humans but their living conditions in the ocean make drawing direct parallels difficult. Anyways of the 3 groups birds have been at the game for the longest by far with communication barriers having even formed boundaries to drive speciation for many tens of millions of years. In humans this trait only seems to have appeared in the last 10 million years(the exact point is unknown but H erectus appears the oldest confirmed hominid to likely have been capable of what we consider speech anatomically)

[@reddytoplay9188]

This video is misinformative. It simplifies, downsizes the importance and disregards other facts in order to make gossip into this greater thing and only thing when really it could be more than just one reason. Of course it seems they only took it from the book "Grooming, Gossip and the Evolution of Language" Which has criticisms as well. Dunbar's number has also been controversial. It has been proven that it is a concept with limited theoretical foundation lacking empirical support.

[@mattdeblassmusic]

I worked for years local news reporter, and this makes me think about how good journalism is basically just useful gossip. Things like "The city engineer said that there will be construction on Main Street between Second and Fourth avenues next week," or "Comptroller fired after allegedly embezzling funds" are just a way of talking about what the community leadership has planned, or who can't be trusted with shared resources. On a local level, in particular, knowing what "important" people are doing or saying can give you information that affects your day to day life.

[@seanrowshandel1680]

Gossip is certainly NOT what gave rise to "language", as we know it. The existence of a "court of law" implies awareness of our continual transition to a post-monarchical civilization (all the animals appear to have "a relatively ethnocentric monarchy" already, and they certainly do not ACTUALLY SPEAK to one another, so it's clear that WE wouldn't NEED to have language to have such a monarchy, AND we can be sure that neither the spoken nor the written word have ever been used to demand [the future existence of] a monarchy -- ANY monarchy at all, nor could they ever be). Language evolved as a way to conduct trials (by now, we should be able to gather evidence properly, in order to finalize a conviction. However, that may not be the case in the parts of the world which you're familiar with). Initially, these two concepts were "packaged" in a way which made them seem like they depended on each other to make sense (because they did depend on one another, and we wouldn't have had language had these two things not been understood at the same time as being dependent on one another by our ancestors).

[@hippopotamusbosch]

🤫 I heard Dr. Erica enjoys talking about gossip. 😏

[@eoincampbell1584]

Really fascinating and quite compelling theory. Much better than other explanations I've heard for human brain development like "our ancestors did LSD" or "running in heat is hard, big brain prevents heatstroke."

[@ferretappreciator]

Yeah, a lot of them don't even consider anything outside of their own theory. At least with language it's an entire system. There's actually a good video debunking the stoned ape theory by Neuro transmissions called "the stoned ape theory is bad" (I appreciate the forward titling lmao) and the other one I haven't even heard of

[@griffenspellblade3563]

I'm still found of the theory that language developed as needed for childcare and education.

[@romanski5811]

What is your opinion on the cognitive trade-off hypothesis?

[@eoincampbell1584]

@@romanski5811 That hypothesis is entirely based on studying Chimpanzees and assuming that they are just like our ancestors as opposed to the fully evolved animals they actually are. So it's not a fave of mine.

[@romanski5811]

@@eoincampbell1584 _"and assuming that they are just like our ancestors as opposed to the fully evolved animals"_ Where did you get this inference from?

[@TheRandomzcookie]

This was an incredible video. I find other words to be such a cool series so far coz we’re not just learning about like the specifics of language, but the big ideas, the broad strokes, stuff that I’d never think of without it being brought up. This episode in particular really made me think. Thank you!

[@archdemons]

my friend and I were watching this and she said the part about having to know how everyone feels about each other was so true. we then paused the episode so she could tell me about how complicated the relationships at school are. we literally paused the gossip video to gossip 💀

[@Roguefem76]

Anybody who has ever been lied about can attest that gossip is no longer about establishing who is trustworthy - if it ever was - as the least trustworthy people are often the biggest gossips, lying about others to make themselves look better.

[@thinktoomuchb4028]

When the person being talked about is not present, there is certainly an opportunity to lie about them. But lying is not inherently part of gossip, as defined here.

[@lyndsaybrown8471]

For sure. Maybe it was more difficult to get away with lying when our group sizes were smaller, though. Just because it is problematic now doesn't mean it wasn't extremely beneficial in the past. Another example would be fat storage - crucial in early human history but a huge problem for some now (some being people who suffer disease because of it, some bodies can handle a higher weight better than others).

[@maragragert7088]

Gossip isn't always negative or a lie.

[@some_random_loser]

Parasitism doesn't disprove the existence of mutualism - after all, once a particular evolutionary strategy comes into being, ways of benefiting from that strategy without contributing will come to fore, and there'll always exist arms-races between those who seek advantage over others, and those who resist seeking advantage.

[@Alexander21025]

@@thinktoomuchb4028 I think you expanded the theory. Evidently the free loader is not going to quietly become an outcast, but hit back with his own narrative. May even attack others as free loaders to get himself cover. May figure out better to work hard sometimes when specific people are looking, while slack off the rest of the time. So now, we not only need to know who is who and who likes who, but which reality is the best one for me, which leads to further human evolution.

[@sandormagyar2715]

My main problem with gossip is that it's disrespectful to the person being gossiped about. They deserve a chance to correct whatever problems you have with them. Rather than giving them that chance by saying it to their face, gossiping is a way of getting angry about the problem without trying to fix it. And because the person isn't present, there's the temptation to verbally bash them much harder than you would dare to in their presence. I would hate to be on the receiving end of this. These issues might not outweigh the positive qualities of gossip in every case, but it's something to think about.

[@cannibalbananas]

Agreed. It does have a downside. Personally, I try not to gossip about people I know if I'm not willing to tell them I said something about them. Can't keep friends if you just keep talking behind their backs.

[@thisisme2681]

There's malicious gossip and just talking about the goings on around us. It's something I've tried to teach my children. Unfortunately, the line between the two isn't distinct enough for some people.

[@himesilva]

You worded it perfectly, gossip is almost always fabricated OR used by people who don’t have the guts to say their problem to the person’s face. Can’t think of a time when gossip provided useful (or even true) information to me

[@sunnysied713]

We usually gossip about people more powerful and are afraid of consequences. It's hard to openly criticize the Chief, Mayor, or King for obvious reasons... 💀 Also, most people are horrible at conflict resolution. They're not accountable and things can quickly lead to hurt feelings, arguments and social disharmony.

[@Koozomec]

I've been on the receiving end and it destroys you. There is so much downsides and so few reliable benefits. For me is just a way people use to cope and to avoid fixing their own issues.

[@gwyndolinds-en8yt]

This isn’t much fun when you are anxiously self aware of your flaws But great video!

[@luisorozcocardenas1383]

Omg yes same. Abjection plus linguistic development just dont mesh. But the video was so fun!

[@emilyforeman2646]

I like the idea of how it's a good way to keep track of groups rather than individual people. I'm in the military and work in a career field where people work all over the US but in reality there's not a whole lot of us. Oddly enough, my career is actually quite gossip heavy and even for people within my own unit I keep track better of who is friends with who and how that particular group functions together better than each individual person. This is important information because we're often paired in groups in such a way that we get to know each other really really well for a week and then might not see each other again for months. I hear gossip on things such as who isn't a very easy person to work with or who is considered really knowledgeable or what behind the scenes conversations are happening between people in leadership positions. I have people around me who hate this gossip and think it's harmful but after doing this job for 5+ years I consider it an important way to connect with those around me and figure out what kind of challenges people are having.

[@calladricosplays]

I work in animal care, and it's a really small world in which everyone seems to know everyone and the drama can be quite intense. I'm worried that is why I can no longer break into the field (did someone start a rumor about me?). Do you have any advice for what I can do about the situation?

[@marlonmoncrieffe0728]

What is your M.O.S.? Mine is Transportation Management Coordinator (88N). P.S. I want to reclass to a military intelligence job, though.

[@nicolaiveliki1409]

gossip isn't only about detecting 'freeloaders', but also about optimising behavior of other people's behavior and plotting how to bring this optimized behavior to bear in people without them being present. I haven't seen it work yet, because plans usually fail when they meet reality, but we hold out hope for our fellow humans if we can imagine a way they could behave that benifits the group

[@otakuribo]

I've never in my life enjoyed gossip or even saw the point of it, but i have noticed that people talk mostly about people and they think you're weird or creepy if you don't. I am on the autism spectrum and have issues with interpersonal communication, so i wonder now if those are related? 🤔

[@CaraTheStrange]

I just left a comment along the same lines and am also on the spectrum, sometimes neurotypicals can really seem like aliens to us autistic people

[@alexwilliams5799]

Most situations I've been in people are frowned upon for gossiping. And I don't believe I am on the spectrum

[@angrysarcasm2229]

I feel the hell out of this. Though, I do feel like there is 'frivolous' gossip that I have no interest in, and it's usually malicious in nature, and there is useful gossip. For example, "John came in to work hungover today." "Oh, but John didn't come in drunk?" "No." "Then it is none of my business, and frankly, it's none of yours either." Then, there is useful gossip: "I have to have a meeting with my supervisor today." "Oh? Productivity meeting?" "I don't know, but he makes me really uncomfortable." "Wait, is your supervisor Mark?" "Yes?" "Oh, you need to talk to Sally. She said the same thing the other day, and if he's making both of you feel uncomfortable, you should probably get together with some of his other employees and see if he does the same thing with them. Then maybe consider reaching out to HR."

[@LindaC616]

I have never enjoyed it, either. I have even found that it gets me into trouble at work, because I don't know what's going on with this person or that person because I don't gossip. As far as I know, I'm not on the spectrum, but I am socially awkward

[@LindaC616]

@@angrysarcasm2229 I also feel the hell out of your examples. For example not knowing the gossip meant asking the boss if you couldn't hire his wife to teach more than 2 courses (i.e. More than part time) and not understanding why it was a difficult situation. Because they were going through a divorce. I just didn't know it. On the other hand, I have been rude to people that I find discussing a friend's Health situation in the hallway at work. I said "she is fine, and if she knew you were talking about her health situation in the hallway, she would be really pissed off." I have never understood people's need to discuss what is going on with someone else's health. When you get hit with something scary, one of the last things you feel like you have control over is who knows what, and I've never understood what joy it brings people to take that away from you

[@Sgtpepper1019]

This is beside the point but I love the score for this series. I don’t know who does the music, but I always enjoy the bizarre analog synthesizer/baroque classical/pop music lite soundtrack- it’s eclectic and it complements Dr. B’s style

[@rudyspective1870]

Okay I don't know if anybody noticed it but.... usually women are depicted as the gender who enjoy the activity of gossip but in this video, it's the male species who are illustrated, and it wasn't until later on that the women are represented. Overall I find this informative and funny, and I'm relieved to discover that MEN GOSSIP TOO.

[@myragroenewegen5426]

I keep hearing about this science and loving when I do. Like lying, gossip may be a maliciously used power play, but may also be a lot of other things, so it's not so much to be avoided as to be learned about. When we're truly literate in the ways of gossip, we can use it to do the things one might expect it to work against. Information in a group can't be hidden with enough healthy gossip going on. People who get a lot of different perspectives on people who don't fit in and difficult situations involving people are less likely to make snap judgements and exclude someone for a mistake or misfortune, so groups with much healthy gossip can actually accommodate troublesome human behavior and circumstances a long time, while inducting new members and learning to deal well with current ones. Of course, in a worst-case scenario, a sociopath can co-opt the gossip conversations in a group and play people against each other and situations endlessly, for their own gain. But what does that sociopath in is people gossiping in all kinds of diverse groupings they might not anticipate from what seems to be the group's natural power structure. So maybe in the best of all possible worlds, we should all be gossiping to everyone about everyone and hope that we ourselves are gossiped about. When a group stops gossiping about someone it probably mean either that they aren't in the group anymore, or that they have a stranglehold on information flow in that group - which is quite frightening.

[@MDuarte-vp7bm]

Yeah, the gossip of the group will override the gossip of the liar. People will share with each other what the liar said to them separately, it won't match up, and the question becomes: is everyone lying about the liar, or is the liar lying to everyone? Because of this, lying does not break gossip. Gossip breaks lying.

[@jannetteberends8730]

A long time ago I read about research that mathematics developed out of gossip. This was like the follow up. I also think gossip in a group can reduce irritation about other persons.

[@kevingluys3063]

I think so too. Gossip allows the stress of an offense to be offloaded.

[@Koozomec]

@@kevingluys3063 it's more venting not gossiping.

[@TheMichaelStott]

Like most things, gossip once served an important role especially with the outside dangers our ancestors faced. It kept individuals in line with the community and made sure they did their part which makes me feel that the old saying "Deeds not words" came to be. The more deeds you did, the more stories about you were told; doing a lot of good deeds made positive stories. These days gossip has become more of a "political" tool, especially at work and school. Our brain is constantly looking out for danger and loss of acceptance in a community is still a danger in our heads whether we are social creatures or introverted.

[@eileenbutterfly7856]

My dad and stepmom are some of the moralizers who think gossip is a wicked vice. They accused my telling my mom about how I felt about how my stepmom was treating me to be gossip. To be fair to them, watching this video, it was gossip, but they made it out to be that me expressing my feelings about my life to someone was hurtful and wrong. I disagree.

[@qj0n]

According to one of most recent Dunbar's book (Friends: Understanding...), grooming did not evolve to gossips, rather gossips replaced grooming. There are also other behaviors, which also took a role of grooming: laughter, singing and dancing, alcohol, storytelling or common meals

[@kneesturnedvelvet3725]

Maybe it's a false distinction, but "gossip" to me, as a word, conjures a very particular type of talking about other people. It's not just "any time you tell a story involving anyone else". Shallow and critical talk about someone who isn't present feels disrespectful and unproductive to me, and this is what I think of when I hear "gossip". But this is very separate from, say, telling a story about someone you know, or even venting about how something someone else did affected you. To me, that isn't gossip, it's just talking, telling stories, etc. Which is obviously good and important.

[@ash_17406]

Interesting. To me and I think this is culturally influenced - gossip is about sharing embarrassing or juicy information that is supposed to be secret. It establishes a certain social currency. (One of the first things I notice when I moved to NZ is how they don't guard and piece out gossip selectively but also, how people will often talk their own business.) But I agree with you, I don't think that just talking about someone who isn't there counts as gossip.

[@MDuarte-vp7bm]

Every gossip thinks they're not gossiping if it's true. The person being gossiped about will never care nor agree with the distinction you think separates you from the other gossips lol.

[@woodencoyote4372]

When I was in university roughly 15 years ago, the cause of language dvelopment was theorized as having to raise children in an increasingly complex life. Once you start having to teach multiple members of the group multiple times how to build simple tools, light a fire, follow seasonal patterns of movement, eventually visual demonstration alone isn't enough. Additionally, a parent doing those jobs isn't going to get any work done if they have to constantly drop everything to physically reprimand a youngster, while a good explaination or telling off is hands free.

[@seanrowshandel1680]

Gossip is certainly NOT what gave rise to "language", as we know it. The existence of a "court of law" implies awareness of our continual transition to a post-monarchical civilization (all the animals appear to have "a relatively ethnocentric monarchy" already, and they certainly do not ACTUALLY SPEAK to one another, so it's clear that WE wouldn't NEED to have language to have such a monarchy, AND we can be sure that neither the spoken nor the written word have ever been used to demand [the future existence of] a monarchy -- ANY monarchy at all, nor could they ever be). Language evolved as a way to conduct trials (by now, we should be able to gather evidence properly, in order to finalize a conviction. However, that may not be the case in the parts of the world which you're familiar with). Initially, these two concepts were "packaged" in a way which made them seem like they depended on each other to make sense (because they did depend on one another, and we wouldn't have had language had these two things not been understood at the same time as being dependent on one another by our ancestors).

[@andreluiz6023]

2:38 this reminds me of a lusophone saying: "one hand washes the other" - "uma mão lava a outra" Which translated less literally, means something like "two hands wash each other" or "I wash your hand (help you) and you wash mine (help me)"

[@alicialexists]

I definitely agree that gossip is an important tool that has been used for both good and evil, and I agree with others who have commented before me that gossip is prone to being full of lies and half-truths for various reasons. Take what you hear on the grapevine with a grain of salt while acknowledging the possibility that sometimes what you hear is true.

[@patrickmassey1939]

In Sylvia Federici's "Witches, Witch hunting, and Women" she discusses the role of misogyny as the source of the vilification of gossip. Interesting read, highly recommend

[@annefoley6950]

This explains why I'm having so much trouble with a book that relies on gossip as a narrative pillar. I have absolutely no practice doing it. Gossip is as indecipherable to me as math.

[@mingthan7028]

Hmmm... In our country, (or rather in Asian culture) gossip is seen as an average social behavior. I see social criticisms as positive gossip becz it's good to know other people's view point and opinion although personally I try to avoid direct vain gossip becz it sounds unchristian and hypocritical.

[@loganl3746]

It's neat, cuz in Judaism, malicious gossip (lashon hara lit. evil tongue) is among the worst sins in the Tanakh. Doesn't matter if it's true or false. My rabbi, in his sermon about it, emphasized that lashon hara can tear a community apart, especially in the ancient days when you could starve/be killed by enemies if you lost communal support. In Medieval to Modern times, when most Jews were poor folk, community was sometimes all you really had. Contemporarily, community is still just as important. Just look: we celebrate together, we mourn together.

[@loganl3746]

@@sgvincent100 oh yeah, evil eye is a Jewish thing too! Not as much in the US as far as I can tell, but I've seen concern about it all over east of the Atlantic Ocean, throughout time in my history research. Lots of cultures close to the Mediterranean Sea even use similar symbols/objects to protect against it. I've seen Jews, Italians, Muslims, Greeks, etc use the Hamsa and the Blue Eye.

[@samwill7259]

We can't stay out of each other's business even when it makes us miserable. This is why Twitter sucks the soul out of us. So many of us hate it but we can't stop, we have to know.

[@LindaC616]

That's why those of us who have never been on Twitter or FB are enjoying our peace....

[@DrBunnyMedicinal]

If your Twitter feed sucks, it's because you need to filter/curate it more. It can be a wonderful tool for reaching out, hearing about other experiences, spreading news across the planet faster than you would believe possible and finding like-minded folks. Or it can be a festering, burning hellpit of an eternal two-minute hate. Much like all social things in life, it depends on where and who you spend time with. Social media in general, and Twitter even more so than Facebook in many ways, allows people to extend their social circle far, far further than we ever could prior to the internet. The beauty and horror of the internet is people, after all.

[@some_random_loser]

7:15 oh please, as if no one's ever not met someone with a big brain but a small mind 😂😂😂

[@chickadeestevenson5440]

Even when dealing with fictional people... We gossip about them (aka shipping)

[@maisieet2401]

(other)words can't describe how much i love this show

[@pdzombie1906]

I guess gossip is great... as long is not for profit or about you!!! Great as usual!!! Thanx, Dr. B!!

[@maddy5243]

omg a crossover of two of my favorite nerdy channels!!! 🤯

[@nicanornunez9787]

Dr B. always surprise me to get more content than the other hosts even if she has a harder topic.

[@luisespineira9882]

Your bloopers at the end are really funny

[@tunesquicklee]

my favourite doc is back

[@13thravenpurple94]

Great work Thank you

[@meganchampagne1385]

Hey, can you do a video on why both “tetra” and “quad” mean four? And other weird math/science irregularities like that. Love the channel!

[@MDuarte-vp7bm]

One is Greek, one is Latin. Both are indo-european languages, so they could have been at one point from a single root or word, but maybe not. Indo-european culture did not appear from thin air, and probably conquered pre-existing languages, whose certain words may have survived and been passed on as loan words.

[@darklorddisco]

I love this series so much 😭

[@crushivintage]

An always amazing channel.

[@historybuff7491]

Putting down gossip, or even demonizing it, is attempting to keep it in control. Yes, we need the information, and yes that probably helped develop our brains. However, when gossip gets out of control, it is very little different than a riot -- usually very distructive. When gossip is bad, then most people only use it when they feel they have to, and therefore puts it in a control mode.

[@MDuarte-vp7bm]

Agreed. No one believes that gossip can be stopped. Applying shame is merely a means to remind us to be mindful, because the things we say matter and can have very real consequences.

[@animeevergreenathena]

Well...so much for my elementary school teachers saying that gossiping is bad! True, it can be used to hurt others, but without it, not even "The Epic of Gilgamesh" would exist. I wish that my linguistics professor back in college did a lesson on this. Psychology....only if it's a media-based instructor. Sorry, but I don't do well with "scientific psychology instructors." That's why I majored in English and minored in Mandarin Chinese back in the day. But just so I'm not too off topic, I hope to see more language and culture myth buster videos like these down the road! It's nice to know that human intelligence deals with more than trial and error and book reading.

[@reddytoplay9188]

Elementary school teachers say it is bad because it would if it was called good. If they say it is good then there would be overkill of gossip, remember that humans like the concept of guilty until proven innocent. Also the whole video and book which is based on undermines and ignores the complications of hunting, territory management, food and predator disntinction and more. We were nomadic tribes before so finding new foods, new prey and new predators would need new strategies, memorization of what and where, management and more. Dunbar's number is also popularly used yet has a shaky theoretical and empirical foundation. Gossip could be important yes but it is by no means the core reason why language existed.

[@maksimatic]

Her camera presence and overall communication skills are fantastic👌🏽

[@transrightsbaybee]

i think this is the best otherwords video so far

[@DrSlinkyWW]

Thanks Erica. You are the best!

[@YTantirungrotechai]

this pbs program is really excellent.

[@_rstcm]

YAY! ANOTHER OTHERWORDS VIDEO!!! 🥳

[@sundus928]

Is gossip .. good? Introverts : NO I don't even like eavesdropping. Guess I'm an alien. I don't like seeing how much negativity there is in people. And when you become basically mute , people start alienize you . Seriously "WHAT DO WANT ME TO TALK!?, I don't care what happened to a celebrity's wife or your phone fell in toilet or what happens in your friends' lives... I don't trust you because you spill tea about others . There's so much I could talk about my pain but I don't trust anyone! " I just want a cup of tea in my hand , rain and thunder ,music and books.

[@MDuarte-vp7bm]

"I don't want to engage with others, and they react by alienating me."

[@CaraTheStrange]

As an autistic person im so confused about how neurotypicals keep up 150 relationships at a time! I don’t really gossip and am terrible at keeping up with whats going on between people around me so people who can do all this social stuff seem almost alien to me!

[@loganmcgee18]

"Neurotypicals" haha what does that even mean? "Non-autist", or "as an autistic person im so confused about how those without autism", would definitely make your comment come off less like you're proud to be autistic

[@nanamiharuka3269]

Im not autistic but I also have trouble caring about gossip/gossiping, Im always the last to know things about people outside my inner circle 😅

[@CaraTheStrange]

@@loganmcgee18 Neurotypicals or NTs are commonly used within the autistic community. As autism is a neurodivergence being neurotypical means you do not have autism. And I don’t see the problem with me not understanding neurotypical people. Also i do not really understand what you mean about seeming proud to be autistic. Im certainly not ashamed of being autistic and don’t see a problem of having pride in who i am. You might just be trying to stoke up conflict but i hope you are not and this clears it up for you. Have a nice day

[@justincharvey]

To be fair, most NTs don't have that many relationships. As I understand it, 150 is a general upper limit, not an average. Unless you're in a dedicated, insular group like the examples given, it would be exhausting for anyone to try to keep up with that many people. It's incredibly impressive that some people do manage it

[@babsybrrrnz]

150 is just the rough estimated limit. You wouldn’t have 150 very close personal relationships. That 150 would be split with family, friends, peers, colleagues and aquantices!

[@Scorbffeghy]

This is the best explanation for the existence of trash tv show like maury povich, jerry springer, 90 day fiancé, etc. that i have ever heard.

[@Bmans88]

This video raised some very interesting points and gave insight into evo theory I hadn't thought abt/known before, great watch!

[@garychisholm2174]

This was fascinating, and reminded me of the old saw that to communicate acutely is to rule judiciously. But I still haven't seen the charcuterie board for Space Time folks; I'm sure it's around here... somewhere...

[@21mozzie]

In Keith Devlin's book 'The math gene: why numbers are like gossip' he argues that point, that maths etc is largely a modification of gossip. Moreover, he says that if you record mathematicians talking about maths , and show it to people without sound, people think that they are gossiping about people.

[@pandoraeeris7860]

"I guess we're all small minded" - you got that right.

[@ebbarobsarve9147]

I loved this episode! I wish you would have gone more in depth about why gossip has such a bad reputation..

[@arthurmartin4616]

Even if he wasn't the first to say it, Thumper is the cutest one to say it.

[@nedludd7622]

People in my close and enlarged circles of friends and other regular contacts have a tendency to talk about others we know in the group, which I try avoid. When I get questioned about others personal affairs I may know about, I just try to give platitudes. There is no reason to give negative information about such unimportant subjects.

[@MDuarte-vp7bm]

Gossip in this way serves the function of testing the group to identify disloyal members. You have made the right choice.

[@iRedEarth]

I saw a TV ad for a magazine that used the quote about what great/average/small minds discuss. I don't remember specifically what publication it was for, but I'm sure it wasn't People Magazine.

[@Sad_King_Billy]

So glad PBS Space Time sent me to this channel

[@b0uys3l]

Very cool video!!! Definitely thought provoking, I’m interested to hear other theories of how language developed as well

[@jonvelz4170]

This video is great. I love everything about anthropology and evolution theory. Really great work you guys keep it up !! 👍🏻

[@miles_quartz]

I was not expecting Dr.B to mention West Elm Caleb OMGGG 😭😭

[@moo422]

Much love for that Voltron in the back!

[@Bestape]

A problem I see with freeloader is humans have specialized, so what freeloading looks like to one specialization could be the work required for another specialization. Not to mention the amount of trial and error it takes to invent something truly revolutionizing might seem like freeloading until it gains enough traction, which could happen posthumously; just too many twists and turns. Economies of Global scale is also counter-intuitive to our ancestral context. . In other words, gossip is more vestigial than useful in many instances. . And of course people game it and weaponize it in myriad of ways, including as a strategy to not pull their own weight ironically.

[@maze5601]

Me using this vid to explain Why its alright that I always know the tea and drama, thanks Otherwords.

[@mathieuleader8601]

love the bloopers

[@simas6190]

I always love this videos! Keep it up!

[@raquels7148]

Gossip as means of connecting isn't healthy nor beneficial because it leads to disconnect and issues when forming any sort of relationship with others. The video didn't address this rather highlighted why its common and normal.

[@MDuarte-vp7bm]

Saying the way things aren't good solutions is never a solution, as it doesn't provide an alternative.

[@johndjarrell]

I wish this show would get popular so that we could get more content.

[@alexkitty149]

Yes

[@davidbarber3821]

WE NEED MORE!!!!!!!

[@liamwhittaker2853]

Wonderful episode, as usual!

[@tiffanymarie9750]

I'd argue that language didn't evolve to replace grooming, but to expand our socializing toolkit. We still use grooming for very personal bonding, but not necessarily for bonding with colleagues and acquaintances.

[@lovy.d7878]

In the Philippines we have a term use to classify people who gossips to much we called them Chismosas Now called in the internet as Marites Which means " mare anong latest" In English it has the same mean as spill the tea

[@mendicius_jade]

Hey, I'm not a gossip, I'm just a good listener!

[@connorletkeman3539]

Could you do a video about "tonal typos." Why do some pronunciations of words register as incorrect?

[@JohnPavlecich]

Love these! Please give us a full bloopers video!

[@rainstriderstreamflower5645]

I have the guilty pleasure of gossiping!

[@jakejuston292]

Its true that when one code switches it can shut the other off. It happens to me when I remember the word in one language but at that moment can't remember in the other language even though I know I know the word.

[@peterkelley6344]

Fascinating theory. The older I have become the more careful about what I say. I think it is safe to say is that the only thing I gossip about is my Hosta and only First Blush is turning red. !!! (Those who know hosta know the inside joke.)

[@dixztube]

Ooooh okay I get it now. This is part of the pbs network and it’s be smart I saw her on hahah youtube had me off the channel for a while. Also to why is it called storied in the name Oh and there is the be smart guy. Okay hahah we’ll I’ve subscribed here now.

[@GassedHero]

Banger

[@jadebotha8249]

Joe!!! Yah! My og science guy🤓😂

[@mh6276]

0:25 I think you should have added the fact that although there are definitely a lot of exceptions to that rule. I still don't really know what gossip is nor have I ever done it or seen it and I still don't ever want to try to do it. Just talking about people doesn't really feel like gossiping to me. If I am talking about people and their lives, it is mostly in an nerdy and intellectual manner (I am not really making any moral judgments on them and everyone that I like learning about is dead so it doesn't really apply because of the evolutionary purpose of gossip being to spread information about various different peoples allegiances, gossiping about someone who is dead doesn't really seem like a thing to me). BTW I not only have an IQ of over 140 but I am also neurodivergent I have ASD and ADHD so I think you should have mentioned the fact the autistic people usually don't enjoy gossip.1:46 Just like sex and sugar, gossip is supposedly good for you, or at least for your social interactions. My parents taught me that gossip is bad for you and everyone else and if you notice anyone doing it you must stop them.

[@atheoristspointofview7059]

Me a physicist who's always discussing ideas about physics or fun mind games with my colleagues during lunch...

[@MrEmoImo]

Interesting!

[@lancelovecraft5913]

I love gossiping but i actively try to avoid it bc i have always been under the impression that it is lowest form of conversation. Not to mention morally wrong. I wouldnt want ppl discussing me while my back is turned. Whenever i do gossip i do get a sense of satisfaction out of it like a guilty pleasure. Again i try to avoid it but even i fall victim to it sometimes

[@MDuarte-vp7bm]

I avoid it if it's harmful. If it's just roasting people it's usually fine.

[@dliessmgg]

If being fun is a requirement for gossip, then i have never heard any gossip.

[@Czerchh]

Hello, first of all I want to thank you for such valuable content you create and share with us. I’d like to know if the expression said in the minute 2:41 is correct: “Literally, you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours”. Thanks for your support 🙏🏼

[@gabor6259]

Sergio Pérez. Good name. :)

[@Czerchh]

@@gabor6259 thanks 🙏🏼

[@nicolaezenoaga9756]

Thanks.

[@moonhunter9993]

Very good video.

[@NazarTimofeyev]

W. E. Caleb, lovebomber, hijacker of hearts, never caught.

[@edgewaterz]

I was picturing more of a several hundred year old Hatfields vs McCoys type of gossip. Who's great grandparent killed the current leader's grandfather on the other side of the river and age-old blood vendettas. Which we still insist on making movies about on a daily basis.

[@tjordel]

I can confirm that astrophysicists mostly just talk about Avi Loeb in social settings these days, and it's mostly moral judgments.

[@likebot.]

Is it still gossip when schoolkids discuss a classmate right in front of them, making up lies or recounting embarrassing moments while ignoring them at the same time?

[@cat_pb]

No, that’s just cruelty

[@MDuarte-vp7bm]

​@@cat_pbthat's fightin words

[@datafoxy]

That is very fascinating to think or socal bonds grew brains. I wonder why did humans get bigger groups over others then.

[@MDuarte-vp7bm]

Bigger brains allow for bigger groups in social mammals. It's a loop.

[@chloefong3031]

so so so interesting

[@frankhooper7871]

Cool - I've frequently considered "small talk" to be the human equivalent of "social grooming". Oh, and I hadn't realised that Americans spell "judgement" without the first "e".

[@rayafoxr3]

As for the word judgEment, I think some Americans (like myself) use both. One may be more common though. Both look wrong to me, for some reason…

[@Demolitiondude]

Peak rumor mill. Ignore the creation of words, meaning words, or letters. It was totally gossip guys!