Things What Do Baffle Me, Like
 

This is a thread for those of you who have questions about anything from life that they've ever been seeking an explanation from. This could range from the average cost of a pint of milk, to the very meaning of existence itself.

Hopefully we can all help to answer each others questions, whilst also having our own curiosity and general bafflement resolved in the process.

I'll kick things off...

On a very related note, swear words have always baffled me, to some degree. I've always wondered, why do they actually sound worse than other words? What is it about them that triggers that response in our brain; why do we automatically label them 'offensive' upon hearing them?

This is especially confounding when you consider their definitions. 'Sh*t' means 'poo', essentially. But why is it that one is widely considered inappropriate, yet the other is entirely innocent? They're both colloquialisms for fecal matter, yet people respond to them so differently. And the word 'f*ck' means 'fornicate' - they have the same definition - yet one will make certain people gasp when used suddenly, whilst the other would only trigger mild confusion, and perhaps slight disgust, depending on the context.

Why are these certain words so offensive, whilst their synonyms leave eyelids relatively un-batted? Why have I chosen to censor these words in this post; why do I also buy into this social code without even thinking about it? I truth, I do know why: because it's what I've been told all of my life, and it's constantly re-enforced by society. But still, I do find it kind of odd to think about.

Edit: You know, if he was still a member of this forum, this thread would be an absolute haven for doodo! and his ramblings.

This only raises another question, though. Why did we name the colour after the orange? Why not the papaya, the mandarin, the kiwano, the tangelo, or the persimmon?

I actually know the answer to this one!

It's because of class and language and conquerors and vanquished. Now that I've got your attention, I'll begin.

Basically, originally in England, I'm guessing when it was under Saxon control, these words were part of everyday speech. However, when William the Conqueror came over from France and conquered England in 1066, there was a major shift in the balance of power and the vast majority of the upper class (nobility and the like) were Norman and spoke a French dialect.

This dialect mixed with the basic English-type language that was already in place and certain French words, replaced words from that language. Of course, since the upper class used the French words, these words were deemed more delicate and proper to use, while the peasants were the ones using the more "common" words. Since everyone wants to sound better than they are, there was a slow shift towards using the "more proper" French words.

In a more basic example, when we eat pig meat, we don't call it "pig" which is derived from a Saxon word. We call it pork or bacon which are derived from French. I'm assuming that much the same would go for what we consider obscenities.

Gordon Bennett.

Gordon Bennett.

Partially, thank you.

Precisely. Anyone?

Ah, thanks. That's one thing that I'm no longer baffled about in life. :)

I get confused about lady stuff.
Like clothes, undergarments, sanitary products, makeup.
So much variety! It maddening! 0_o

Well, obviously it's because a woman can never make up her mind on anything unless she has a million choices to pick from. Why should her appearance be any different? :D

(Man, I'm on a massive anti-female bent today. Must have gotten up on the wrong side of the hooker)

It's kind of amusing how confused men get nowadays when for thousands of years they were dictating what women could wear. An action that still affects what women choose to wear.

Questions:
I don't understand men.

Why do they like explosions so much? Sure, sometimes they're cool. But anytime there's a damned loud bang, every guy I know laughs at it, and if they see something blown to bits, it makes their day.

Why can't men see what's right in front of them? My son says " male vision, on!" when I ask him to get something and he can't find it, and the damn thing is an inch from his face.

Answers:
Not all of us ladies have a hard time making up our minds. But I think where men made most of the decisions back in the old days, women had fewer choices and didn't have to make as many decisions.
There has been a gradual change over time to where women are stronger and more capable in that department, but I think this is something they learn from their mothers. Strong females tend to come from strong females, and if your mom was indecisive, the daughters tend to be. Of course there are exceptions.
As far as clothes and makeup: I hate shopping, I only go when necessary, buy what I need, and get the
hell out. I've been told I'm like a man about that stuff. But most women I know are trained from birth by their mothers: shopping is fun, trying on clothes is fun, having more of everything is good, because you never know if you'll need or want it later. So more choices help to drag out this happy experience, and, of course, caters to as many different tastes as possible. The enormous amount of choices is also perpetuated by the manufacturers of clothing and makeup, so that they can make a fortune. Having more and prettier things was also a sign of wealth in olden times, and people still tend to want to show
it off if they have it, or make you think they have it if they don't. Some of it is neurosis; my sister in
law hoards makeup, because she's afraid she'll run out. She has enough for probably ten years.

Feminine hygiene products: women's periods vary widely. The products we choose are done based on containment and comfort, and sometimes religious beliefs.

We like explosions because... well, this give a few good reasons. Ignoring the rather half-hearted attempts at humour, there's some truth in that article.

Let's try it another way.

People like change, escapism and not feeling powerless. Explosions are physical manifestations of change, are closely linked with escapist films and they signify power. Ergo, people like explosions.

I generally don't under human beings, myself included. I don't discriminate between genders. We're all a bunch of freaks.

I don't like explosions. I really don't, I think that they're boring. Action films with lots of BOOMS and BANGS are easily my least favourite type of movie. I like character development and interesting circumstances when I watch a film.

I also don't like sports, much less football. I drink wine, as opposed to lager. Most of my friends are female. I sometimes wonder if I am even a man at all!

Huh! I guess I am a man after all! I do this a fair bit. It's as equally baffling to me as to why this happens from time to time.

Solid historiolinguistic answer, YES! YES!! Marry me!!

Errr, I mean,

For if a preest be foul, on whom we truste,
No wonder is a lewed man to ruste;
And shame it is, if a prest take keep,
A shiten shepherde and a clene sheep.


Chaucer still seemed to use the word quite freely at the end of the fourteenth century. But then again, the Canterbury Tales' aim at high literature is sometimes wonder- and purposefully off.

why do people find frustrating games fun and not just frustration and annoying, or more generally why do people enjoy being annoyed?

Actually, this is the thing that baffles me the most. Why can't the religious leave the non religious alone? I get so tired of being looked at like I'm an evil Martian or something when I tell people I don't go to church and don't like organized religion. When I asked one of the church nuts that kept pushing me why she was doing that, she said it was because she had such a close relationship with God, and felt she had to share it. She also believed that her religion had the only correct viewpoint, and the others were all wrong. Funny, I hear this from a lot of different religions. I told her that with all the wars started in the name of religion, that it could be argued that it's done as much harm as it has good. She wasn't too happy with me, but it shut her up, which I couldn't do any other way. Why can't people like her just ask a question about your faith and leave it at that, instead of trying to force you to believe they know best?

can you imagine going to church every week and living your life by a certain set of rules that may be all made up (its like subscription mmo's) you invest so much in something that the idea of loosing it is worse than doing it(even if it kinda sucks), and seeing other people not having to live by an unclear and contradictory set of rules is just annoying (like if WoW had a free version that was exactly the same as the paid version but in the paid one you have to log on and enter a worship hall for at least an hour each week and live by a different set of rules to keep your paid subscription) so they want you to join them so they don't feel like an idiot plus the chance it's true and they would have saved you from hell(this one can actually be hard to argue with) so in conclusion its about wanting other people to live by the rules they live by and (if they genuinely believe) also some soul saving.

Bafflement baffles me.

That's a superb analogy right there. Seriously, that's great.

Your bafflement at being baffled baffles me.