What Are Filler Words?

Learn about the harmful effects of the “mass hysteria” label; why you say “like”; and the link between beauty and moral worth.

Additional resources from neurologist Suzanne O'Sullivan and further reading about the 2011 "mass hysteria" at LeRoy Junior-Senior High School:

• Pick up "The Sleeping Beauties And Other Stories of Mystery Illness" here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/606597/the-sleeping-beauties-by-suzanne-osullivan/
• NHS page: https://www.uclh.nhs.uk/our-services/find-consultant/dr-suzanne-osullivan
• Follow @Suz_OSullivan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Suz_OSullivan

Neale Gulley. (2012, June 23). School’s end clears up New York students’ mystery twitching. U.S. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-students-twitcnew-york-h/schools-end-clears-up-new-york-students-mystery-twitching-idUSBRE85M0DF20120623

Verbal tics and filler words by Ashley Hamer (Listener question from Kitty in San Francisco)

• So, Um, How Do You, Like, Stop Using Filler Words? (Published 2017). (2021). The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/24/us/verbal-ticks-like-um.html
• Enfield, N. (2018, January 9). A linguist explains why it’s okay to say “um” and “uh.” Quartz; Quartz. https://qz.com/work/1175505/a-linguist-explains-why-its-okay-to-say-um-and-uh/
• Liberman, M. (2014). Language Log» More on UM and UH. Upenn.edu. https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=13713
• Dr. Jena Barchas-Lichtenstein. (2017, March). A linguistic anthropologist explains why Christopher Mele’s New York Times article on filler words is wrong and banning phrases like “like” and “um” could be sexist. Quartz; Quartz. https://qz.com/921004/lets-stop-demonizing-filler-words/

We see beautiful things as having more moral worth by Cameron Duke

• Moral standing | ethics | Britannica. (2021). In Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/moral-standing
• Klebl, C., Luo, Y., & Bastian, B. (2021). Beyond Aesthetic Judgment: Beauty Increases Moral Standing Through Perceptions of Purity. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 014616722110236. https://doi.org/10.1177/01461672211023648
• Williams, P. H., Burgess, N. D., & Rahbek, C. (2000). Flagship species, ecological complementarity and conserving the diversity of mammals and birds in sub-Saharan Africa. Animal Conservation, 3(3), 249–260. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-1795.2000.tb00110.x
• Young, E. (2021, August 11). Here’s Why We Believe That Beautiful Animals Are More Deserving Of Our Protection. Research Digest. https://digest.bps.org.uk/2021/08/11/heres-why-we-believe-that-beautiful-animals-are-more-deserving-of-our-protection/
• Episode about funny memes to protect ugly species: https://www.curiositydaily.com/rub-some-dirt-on-it-to-heal-wounds-funny-memes-can-save-endangered-species-and-space-changes-the-shape-of-astronauts-hearts/

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Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/mass-hysteria-why-you-say-like-beautys-moral-value

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