Kissing: The language of the lips

Kissing: To touch or caress with the lips as an expression of affection, greeting, respect, or amorousness.
*defined by The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

Kissing is a form of dyadic communication. It is symbolic, and represents different expressions which are subjected to the interpretation of the receiving party. Depending on the situation, kisses express different meanings. In certain cultures, kisses or pecks on the cheeks are forms of greetings. The most generally perceived expression of a kiss is affection. In western marriages, after the vows have been exchanged and the wedding pronouncement given, the groom lifts the bride’s veil and kisses her.

A game-breaking point to note is that kissing is formed by our culture, which means to say we are not born kissers – we learn it. Thus, kissing becomes a unique and complex “language”. Kisses are very commonly used around the world (about 90% of us do it). But this means about 650 million people don’t. Danish philologist Kristoffer Nyrop found that members of certain Finnish tribes bathed together completely nude, but considered kissing indecent. This disallows kissing to be a universally accepted language.

Furthermore, from the 90% of us who practice kissing as a non-verbal communication, cultural differences and beliefs further segregates and attaches different meanings in kisses. An “Eskimo kiss” involves rubbing noses, not touching lips. It is even reported that the Chinese found mouth-to-mouth kissing nearly as horrifying as we find cannibalism. The french kiss, involves romance and sexuality, in which one participant’s tongue touches the other’s tongue and usually enters his or her mouth.

Try googling “kissing” and you’ll be surprised to see guides and tips with kissing. Thus we can safely conclude that kissing is in fact a language that we are all desperately trying to understand. The big question here is, how did we all get started with kissing in the first place?

Exciting, no?

Milgram’s Test of Obedience

Last night I was reading through the first chapter of my Critical Thinking Skills book. Whats interesting was that I read about an experiment to find out if human beings will perform actions that go against their principles if instructed by an authoritative figure.

This experiment, known as the Milgram experiment, works by getting the participant (“teacher”) to zap the “learner” by controlling a powerbox connected to the “learner” through wires. Every time the learner answers a question wrongly, the “teacher” emits a zap, which increases in voltage in a progressive manner as more questions are answered wrongly. Note that the “learner” is actually an inside actor to make the participant believe he is actually administering  a shock to a real life person.

A detailed explanation on Stanley Milgram’s experiment can be found here.
Alternatively, I found a video on youtube.com that explains it relatively well and clearly and you may find it here.

At first, I found it fascinating that the subjects were willing to continue with the experiment despite the sounds that were being made by the victim after each shock. And then I started to feel not surprised at the results.

There are not many critical thinkers in the world that are able to analyze and make decisions based on pure facts. Most succumb to authority for answers. Some thrive on acceptance of their opinions as a base of confirmation. In fact, these people make up the majority of the human population, thus resulting in emergence of followers and trends. Most people can think and judge, but the question we must ask ourselves is, must our decision consist of only the ones that have been introduced? How many of us can think ‘outside the box’?

That’s certainly something we’d all like to work towards to. If one can view the world through angles nobody else can see, and analyze, and deduce a method that goes against what the general rule thinks.. One would have truly contributed to society, I would think.

From what I’ve learnt. There is no right or wrong.  I think right or wrong is all a matter of perception. So it does not matter. But if it doesn’t, then what matters? Acceptance.

You and I are not what we eat; we are what we think.

-Walter Anderson

3 Reasons why im blogging again

After 4 months into 2009, I have finally started my elective subjects in semester 2 of my foundation program in HELP University College. I must say things are getting very interesting at this moment in life. For once, the material i’m learning about now is on par with my expectations. The material i’m reading about interests me. Perhaps its new, but I hope it continues to. Classes for me used to be boring, and work was always done last minute because I had too much free time to fill myself up with. Now on the other hand, I find myself juggling between so many activities that I find interesting.

So here, I’ve come up with a few reasons why I’ve created a new blog.
*Point to note: I’ve been an inconsistent blogger since all my years of blogging.

1) The Human Communications subject i’m currently taking requires me to start a blog and write about things that relate to the subject.
2) This then chained into this whole new idea I had of creating a blog that tells the story of my college life, since it has changed so much from all my previous years.
3) I’ve always been an analytical and critical thinker. When I recently picked up Critical Thinking in Semester 2, I really immersed my whole self into the subject and I really like how it relates to how I’ve been thinking. Hence, I want to try something new and publish my findings in a blog.

So there you have it, 3 reasons why I’m blogging.

Hope you enjoy it!

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.

-Martin Luther King Jr