As logical and scientific people, we often like to put things in nice, tidy boxes. A + B = C, right? However, when we mix in differing experiences, values, and beliefs, things get a little bit more chaotic. This is what has happened in the field of mental health and diagnosing mental disorders: it turns out, different cultures can also differ in the way they experience mental disorders. Other aspects of culture (like values and ideals) contribute to varying rates of some disorders. Anorexia and Bulimia have much higher rates of occurrence, which seems to be connected with the beauty standards of the culture.
In Language News, there is fascinating new research to show that a change in diet, as people evolved to eat more soft foods, actually allowed for new sounds in human speech. It’s thought that the softer diet allowed people to keep an overbite into adulthood, making the sounds “f” and “v” much easier to pronounce. While this idea was originally put forward in the mid 1980s but largely dismissed, a new study has breathed new life into the theory.
Here are some of the resources we used this week:
- Language News, “Softer diets Allowed Early Humans to Pronounce ‘F,’ ‘V’ Sounds”: https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/softer-diets-allowed-early-humans-to-pronounce-f–v-sounds-65595
- A great article on the way culture influences mental disorders: https://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2018/11/28/how-culture-shapes-your-mind-and-your-mental-illness/sMlhWP5LGSOvQAFd83I3qN/story.html
- Awesome information on findings related to eating disorders: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1435625/
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