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The Raelian Movement
for those who are not afraid of the future : http://www.rael.org
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Cheer up, we were all born to laugh: Chuckling is instinctive but crying is learned
By Fiona Macrae
Last updated at 4:03 AM on 11th November 2010
You might not believe it on a gloomy November morning, but scientists say we are born to laugh.
According to their research, chuckling at a good joke or when someone tickles us, is instinctive.
But crying when we're sad, like other 'emotional vocalisations', is something we learn to do.
We can't help it: Laughter is instinctive, as can be seen by these two babies
The fact that a baby cries at birth is more likely to be down to the shock of birth or a reflex search for oxygen than sadness.
For the study, Dutch scientists asked 16 volunteers to make the sounds behind several emotions without using words. Half the volunteers were deaf.
Avoiding confrontation: It is thought laughter and smiling evolved as a means of protection
The interpretations of sadness, terror, relief, anger, hilarity and other emotions were then played back to 25 volunteers with normal hearing, who were asked to name the emotion.
Only laughter and sighs of relief were easily identifiable on the tapes of the deaf volunteers, New Scientist reports.
All the other sounds, including cries of terror and sobs of sadness, were much easier to guess when made by volunteers without hearing problems.
As the deaf volunteers have never heard others laugh, it suggests this is something we are born knowing how to do.
But learning how to convey other emotions, such as sadness, comes with experience, an Acoustical Society of America conference will hear next week.
Researcher Disa Sauter said laughter and smiling may have evolved to diffuse confrontation. 'Even other primates laugh, if you tickled a gorilla or orangutan.'
Professor Sophie Scott, from London's Institute of Neuroscience, said: 'The finding makes sense. Laughter has been described as being more like a different way of breathing than a way of speaking.'
But Professor David Ostry, of the University of Montreal, said deaf people may simply learn to laugh by watching others do it.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1328627/Cheer-born-laugh-Chuckling-instinctive-crying-learned.html#ixzz153qulKyM~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
capacity, the label "selected by RAEL" on some articles does not mean that I
agree with their content or support it. "Selected by RAEL" means that I believe
it is important for the people of this planet to know about what people think or
do, even when what they think or do is completely stupid and against our
philosophy. When I selected articles in the past about stupid Christian
fundamentalists in America praying for rain, I am sure no Rael-Science reader
was stupid enough to believe that I was supporting praying to change the
weather. So, when I select articles which are in favor of drugs, anti-semitic,
anti-Jewish, racist, revisionist, or inciting hatred against any group or
religion, or any other stupid article, it does not mean that I support them. It
just means that it is important for all human beings to know about them. Common
sense, which is usually very good among our readers, is good enough to
understand that. When, like in the recent articles on drug decriminalization, it
is necessary to make it clearer, I add a comment, which in this case was very
clear: I support decriminalizing all drugs, as it is stupid to throw depressed
and sad people (as only depressed and sad people use drugs) in prison and ruin
their life with a criminal record. That does not mean that there is any change
to the Message which says clearly that we must not use any drug except for
medical purposes. The same applies to the freedom of expression which must be
absolute. That does not mean again of course that I agree with anti-Jews,
antisemites, racists of any kind or anti-Raelians. But by knowing your enemies
or the enemies of your values, you are better equipped to fight them. With love
and respect of course, and with the wonderful sentence of the French philosopher
Voltaire in mind: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death
your right to say it".
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"Ethics" is simply a last-gasp attempt by deist conservatives and
orthodox dogmatics to keep humanity in ignorance and obscurantism,
through the well tried fermentation of fear, the fear of science and
new technologies.
There is nothing glorious about what our ancestors call history,
it is simply a succession of mistakes, intolerances and violations.
On the contrary, let us embrace Science and the new technologies
unfettered, for it is these which will liberate mankind from the
myth of god, and free us from our age old fears, from disease,
death and the sweat of labour.
Rael
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