Why Gossip and Fashion really are Matters of Life and Death.

[vonellekv]

Argh! I have read the posts out of order and completely embarrassed myself.

I would insert an icon expressing chagrin but alas -- I do not know how.

[Overdog]

Hey, nothing to be embarrased about...I've done the same thing myself.

Anyway, here's an artical I found you might be interested in...

Psychology Today: The new word on GOSSIP

It says there are three essential functions of gossip: networking, influence and social alliances.

What do you think?

[vonellekv]

Well, I read it and I am unimpressed. I would be interested in finding out all kinds of stuff about gossip - I suppose such information would be hard to come by.

Stop reading here if you have other stuff to do.

I would be interested to know if gossipers are more successful in certain businesses and which ones they might be. I can make some assumptions on my own, but I would be curious to learn that information.

I would be interested to know how much time people devote to gossiping. Do avid gossipers underestimate the time they spend gossiping? Do people who claim to never gossip do so but justify it?

I would be interested in what the average person considers gossip. Is it gossip if it sharing good news? Is it gossip to mention something that is a known fact, such as, "John is going on vacation next week,"?

And how much of gossip is really about people's own distrust of their perceptions? How much is more "I see this, think this, feel this... do you? Am I making correct interpretations?" Well, probably all of it.

It has been interesting to consider this but I have a feeling it is one of those subjects where the only opinion that feels right is your own. I still believe that we are hunters and/or gatherers.

[Overdog]

I am interested in all aspects of human behavior, and to me gossip is just one of them. My interest stems from my interest in artificial intelligence. I wonder what it would take to create an artificial intelligence that could match human intelligence.

Would it gossip? Is gossip an essential part of our human intelligence or is it a byproduct?

Could you ever hope to create an artificial intelligence on the order of human intelligence that would not be prone to gossip?

You are right, such information is hard to come by, and much of what you find is speculation. Cognitive science is still in it's infancy.

[vonellekv]

I had to think about that for awhile. The answer would come down to what you define as gossip (I think). I think you would want AI's to share information, so that would mean drawing a line somewhere.

As far as emulating human behavior --- well, humans are prone to fear and making judgments before considering facts. Toss those into some AI's and something's gonna happen.

[adriaanb]

I guess the term gossip covers more than I mean to say. The instinct for a gatherer is to signal you have the social information network that makes you the right person to trust with your 'secrets'. That is what gets you food because you look like you will be able to return the favour.

Just like status information among men, it isn't about the quantity of information but the quality. You know when some guy just happens to mention he got a raise of a bigger company car. It can be just a remark among a lot of chitchat. But it is one remark that may put pressure on others. Make them feel like they are falling behind. Signals have to be a bit subtle.

Like a status concious guy may 'feel' a remark about status, so does a female feel it when she finds out she was the last to hear something..

[Buffy]

Originally Posted by adriaanb

Just like status information among men, it isn't about the quantity of information but the quality.

"Dude!"

Is it possible that we got so wasted last night that we bought a lifetime supply of pudding and then totally forgot about it?
Buffy