So you know how in the UK, fag is a neutral slang term for cigarette, but in the USA its a derogatory term for gay guys? You could happily chat about loving fags in some dive in rural Alabama and get the shit kicked out of you, then do the same in downtown London and then get the shit kicked out of you again for smoking in a non-smoking section. So it got me thinking. Why not create some database crammed with hundreds, thousands of popular slang terms, cross-referenced by both dozens of emotion types, and the intensities at which they occur as a function of latitude and longitude? No idea how long itd take to measure such things, but Im guessing goddamn ages. So once youve got all that lovely emotion data, you can pinpoint both where you are and what emotion mix you wish to induce in your audience. Computer! Im in Tehran and I wish to make the people I talk to feel 56% elated, 21% horny, 13% goosebump-anticipatory, 8% volatile and, oooh, lets say 4% *dangerous*. It will respond 102% emotion? Are you sure, Master? Yes! I wish to impart just that little extra bit of vim. Make it so. Working ... here they are. And it rattles off a nice list of choice words. Yeah, I know language doesnt quite work that way. But its a nice thought.
Posted on: Thu, 17 Jul 2014 10:23:25 +0000