Equals what? I guess that's your question, isn't it? (If we can multiply our intellects with profanity, that would make me fucking brilliant.) There's kind of a social line with what's conventionally acceptable in speech, and crossing it is a neo-romantic way of giving emphasis to what one says, I guess. It can indicate great emotional passion (whether positive or negative) and similar things. What's interesting to me is that an individual might say 'shit' and believe that anyone who is offended by the word is just a prude. But if somebody dares to say 'nigger' near this intentionally foul-mouthed person, then all hell breaks loose and great offense is taken. So using profanity in one's speech is often a quasi-political act. It's an attempt to move the social boundaries away from where somebody else wants them to be, but it's rarely an attempt to deny them entirely. The boundaries of propriety are simply being moved to where the second person wants them to be. Basically, that reduces to a would-be expression of subversive power, I guess, an attempt to be the one who defines the parameters of what can and can't be said. That might be why adolescents who feel estranged from the adult world are so often fond of profanity.
Baroque: Do you earnestly expect us to nonchalantly dismiss those expressions of self-announced divinity as mere gratuitous braggartry that is in no way to be taken as proof of gross immodesty and incompetence? Perversion of baroque: You whom it were better you mother never gave birth to you, do you really believe that we should shoot our brains out and shovel shit into our skulls instead, so that we can, with jaws dripping with drool, in total fucking awe, accept whatever you tell us? Really, you cretin?
I am also referring to a common notation in biology for denoting breeding or crossing. Why aren't the posters of Sciforums who are fairly intelligent and whose speech is characterized by profanity, posting here? I have invited one, but he hasn't shown up here!
Are you sure that you've got those the right way round? Actually the only Baroque I like is Baroque Music. The rest is overblown for my taste.
The term "baroque" refers to a lot more than just the historical period that started around 1600 in Europe. "Overblown" is one of synonyms for "baroque." See, even my use of the word "baroque" in this thread, is baroque.
Not quite fair. Although..... I've never greatly appreciated Mozart, not even his angelic, nonanilingual compositions. Due to my not understanding him, I'm sure. I like pleb music that tugs at the heart strings, but he is a step above that. Tchaikovsky's music, that I understand.
Sometimes I'm a bit more in the mood to pay attention to what I'm saying, what meaning I'm getting across, than how the fuck I'm saying it. Also, I'm often accused of being overly arrogant-so whether or not that's true, I'm in no rush to make my speech any more pretentious by substituting my perfectly comfortable damns for something any more. . .'cultured', or whatever the hell.
I'm pretty salty with my language in speech, but I don't write that way. I write for a living so I use everything I write as an opportunity to practice. I use profanity on SciForums, but only for a specific purpose. If you use a lot of it, then it becomes your norm and it loses its power. I generally reserve it for times when I'm talking about religion. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! I suppose I do the same thing in conversation. I'm a little more generous with the cusswords that have been rehabilitated: fart, which appears routinely in the children's section of the newspaper; pussy and dick, which can be said on TV outside of prime time, as long as you're using them as insults rather than anatomical descriptions; asshole and bullshit, which are not quite acceptable on TV but in business meetings even women use them--again, as insults rather than biological terms. I don't think use of profanity correlates with intellect. It correlates more with language skill. People with larger vocabularies and the mental continuity to craft longer sentences don't need as many four-letter words because they can express themselves more persuasively and precisely with the much larger set of regular words. And yes, I know that language skill is one of the strongest measures of intellect, so my point is not very well made. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! I remember once hearing an angry classmate say, "I'm just so fed up with all of this shitty... shit!" Someone quickly replied, "Having a little trouble with your vocabulary today?" The DJ at a club I go to somehow pissed off (another 4-letter word that is acceptable in most venues so long as it carries this meaning) one of the customers. The guy started sputtering, "Joe is a... Joe is a fucking... Joe is a fucking fuck!" That was so eloquent and expressive that everyone burst into laughter. Now at least once a night somebody starts the chant, "Joe is a fucking fuck! Joe is a fucking fuck! Joe is a fucking fuck!" and the whole place picks it up, including Joe. It's a ritual.
