Could You Give Me a 5?

Human relationships are very fragile. As someone who has been in and out of many friendships, the things we do to appear polite or be nice is natural. We ask for things that really don't need to be asked for just out of sheer politeness. However, as human relationships develop, a new concept comes into play: a playful "roasting" builds upon them. It's quite complex.

I first want to allude to The Office, when Kelly Kapoor enters a loving relationship with Darryll Philbin, Darryll defines his feelings exactly to Kelly, which is quite different than Pinker's claim of humans possessing a natural "vagueness." Kelly even claims that "[Darryll] is the most confusing man I've ever met," simply due to the fact that he "told her exactly what he wanted." This relationship voided the need of "negotiation" Pinker claims that all human relationships undergo.

I find that the closer you are with someone, the more demeaning you can be with them, in a good way. For example, if I were to play soccer with a friend, I can roast them on their terrible ball handling. Not a "oh yeah, you aren't bad" type of ordeal. We can degrade one another because that is what a close friend is all about. Our relationship can handle this and also doesn't require the "negotiat[ing] of that relationship." We can avoid all the euphemisms and laugh about anything.

Now if I were to just meet someone, I wouldn't want to take this approach, as I agree: I need to "negotiate the relationship." Studying with a newfound student in Chem AP and calling them dumb isn't the best approach to getting to know someone and learning.

The English language is truly amazing. But the bond between human beings is even more facinating.


Comments

  1. UnknownMarch 18, 2018 at 7:18 PM

    Great blog James! I love the Office comparison and that show is perfect for showing the way humans behave. Humans need to be more upfront about what they want.

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