The Power Of Magic Words

[Maine farmer]

I was making a repair a while ago, and I had to line up a pin with holes through a shaft and collar in a location barely large enough to accommodate my hands, much less see what I was doing.  And it was cold, and my hands were nearing numb.  I uttered a certain four letter word beginning in "Sh" , and , as if by magic, the pin suddenly found it's home!

 

Does it not seem that certain words may actually carry "power"?

[Turtle]

I was making a repair a while ago, and I had to line up a pin with holes through a shaft and collar in a location barely large enough to accommodate my hands, much less see what I was doing.  And it was cold, and my hands were nearing numb.  I uttered a certain four letter word beginning in "Sh" , and , as if by magic, the pin suddenly found it's home!

 

Does it not seem that certain words may actually carry "power"?

As the old saying goes, it's all in how you hold your mouth. :kiss:

 

It does make sense that all words carry power, however one person's '5h7t' is another's 'easy baby'. The words have no magic in-and-of themselves, rather the seeming magic arises as a consequence of circumstance. In other words, confirmation bias. You notice & remember when a curse works, but not when it doesn't.

[sanctus]

Wrt the confirmation bias, I tested it on myself after thinking "I always just miss the metro". So I counted during the course of a week how often I thought "just made it/this was lucky" and "f*** just missed it/why I am always so unlucky?", and indeed it was 50-50 :-). Thing is that the unlucky things have a bigger perceived effect/ consequence hence you remember them longer.

Your thing also works without words, try chopping wood and scream whatever you want (just a scream or a a curse or...) when you are chopping an extra hard one and you turn out to be stronger :-).

[Maine farmer]

Wrt the confirmation bias, I tested it on myself after thinking "I always just miss the metro". So I counted during the course of a week how often I thought "just made it/this was lucky" and "f*** just missed it/why I am always so unlucky?", and indeed it was 50-50 :-). Thing is that the unlucky things have a bigger perceived effect/ consequence hence you remember them longer.

 

Your thing also works without words, try chopping wood and scream whatever you want (just a scream or a a curse or...) when you are chopping an extra hard one and you turn out to be stronger :-).

Of course there is a psychological effect of swearing http://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/the-science-of-swearing#WHyza1MrIdU

 

We also learn at a young age that certain words have the power to shock or anger adults.  It may be the first taste of power for a powerless child.

[OceanBreeze]

I was making a repair a while ago, and I had to line up a pin with holes through a shaft and collar in a location barely large enough to accommodate my hands, much less see what I was doing.  And it was cold, and my hands were nearing numb.  I uttered a certain four letter word beginning in "Sh" , and , as if by magic, the pin suddenly found it's home!

 

Does it not seem that certain words may actually carry "power"?

 

Science has F*cking Confirmed this, peer reviewed no less!

It is called the hypoalgesic effect of swearing.

 

Not only did swearing kill the pain from the cold, but it allowed you to relax and steady your hands.

When working around the ship, I swear like a sailor, of course!

 

 

[HydrogenBond]

Swearing is considered, by many, as behavior that is beneath the dignity of civilized and educated people. If I said nothing but swears on this forum site, I would be get a warning or worse. There is a certain level of taboo, when it comes to swearing, in certain social settings. What a taboo implies, is a contract of social conformity. In this case, the contract is to do the opposite of the taboo; thou shall not swear. 

 

If you do the math, conformity means your choices are already predefined, outside you, by the group. I cannot choose to swear, freely, and also meet the needs of the social contract. I can only do one or the other. Therefore, if I swear, I break the bond of conformity, and may be exiled from the herd.  Exile, then means a need to be more self reliant. The added self reliance, means the unconscious mind will need compensate for the loss of the herd, allowing more creative unconscious output. 

 

If you are part of the group, you have a role to play. That role may not be suitable for all tasks. If you break ranks with the group, by insubordination via a swearing taboo, your role is neutralized by the group, so now there is need for adaptation. Swearing can give one the feeling of defiance, where habits of conformity, no longer apply. Like setting the pin, a new adaptation appears. 

Edited January 26, 2017 by HydrogenBond