The Power of Profanity
Like Duolingo, but for The Power of Profanity. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
For the part of you with thirty open tabs that never became anything.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in The Power of Profanity
- Swearing triggers a hypoalgesic effect which numbs the sensation of pain
- Profanity is processed in the limbic system, which handles raw emotion
- The physical act of swearing increases the body's ability to tolerate discomfort
- Standard vocabulary is managed by the brain's higher-level language centers
- The impact of swearing on physical endurance and pain
- The brain regions responsible for different types of speech
- Cathartic swearing reduces the urge to act out physically
- Vocalizing frustration through taboo words provides an outlet for stress
- The role of swearing as a safety valve for aggression
- The physical 'rush' of swearing depends on the word being perceived as taboo
- Neutral or 'polite' words do not trigger the same emotional or physical response
- The necessity of social taboo for the physiological response
- Habituation occurs when the brain gets used to a stimulus
- Frequent use of a specific profanity strips it of its emotional and physical power
- The effect of overusing swear words
- Words only become 'bad' when a specific culture attaches a taboo to them
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives The Power of Profanity the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
When you let out a swear word, which part of your brain is primarily doing the work?
Get it right to open this lesson and 8 more in the app.
Where The Power of Profanity takes you
Discover why we swear, how 'bad' words affect our brains, and the social science behind using taboo language effectively.
- 1
The Science of Swearing
- The Swear-Word Safety Valve
- The Anatomy of a Curse
- 2
Social Impact and Context
- Reading the Room
2 sections · 3 units · 9 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
You pick the voice
The Power of Profanity is taught in the The Bestie style: your friend who just gets it. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
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Start The Power of Profanity today.
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