The Culture of Rudeness

It’s flu season. I’ve noticed – and maybe you have too – how people’s behavior changes when they’re afraid of getting sick. They shake fewer hands. No hugs. They keep their distance. It makes sense. After all, we’ve survived as a species to avoid disease. Think of the Black Plague, which killed 30 to 60 percent of Europe’s population in the 14th century, or the fictional Motaba virus of the 1995 action thriller Outbreak.

A group of biologists see our germ-o-phobia as a key to understanding cultural differences, including why some cultures are ruder than others, even why religious diversity fluorishes in places more prone to disease. To break the theory down for us is Corey Fincher, biologist at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, and one of the authors of several high-profile papers on how disease shapes who we are and how we behave.

Smithsonian: The Culture of Being Rude

The Daily Mail: Religion 'may have helped halt spread of disease', says controversial scientific report

(Photo by pinkangelbabe via Flickr/Creative Commons)