Duckworth: I did a little looking into the science of swearing. The world expert on swearing, at least from psychological science, is this guy named Timothy J. He defines swearing broadly as the use of offensive or taboo words to express our emotions and communicate our emotions to others. They have a function, these swear words. This is a tiny, tiny door into a conversation about a huge thing, which is language.
What’s the purpose of profanity? Why is cursing on the rise? And will Angela finally swear off swearing?