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I wonder how the word "busybody" was chosen? A busybody implies someone who is nosey, the type of person that peeks through their curtains at what the neighbor

• prolyxis 2y ago
  It seems like it stems from a 2019 philosophy article written by Perry Zurn, titled "Busybody, Hunter, Dancer: Three Historical Modes of Curiosity." Zurn does write "At their most basic level, a busybody is someone who is curious about other people's business," but develops the concept a bit further. Zurn says "The busybody's ideational sphere, for example, is characterized by quick associations, discrete pieces of information, and loose knowledge webs. They are interested in conceptual rarities: whatever lies outside of their knowledge grids." Whereas the research article Zhou et al. (2024) states "Hunters build tight, constrained networks whereas busybodies build loose, broad networks." So it seems their conception of busybody roughly matches Zurn's description. See the methods section https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adn3268#sec-4 https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adn3268#sec-4 , for a description of how Zhou et al. (2014) aggregate graph theoretic metrics to define "busybody" and "hunter" styles of navigating Wikipedia.
• leobg 2y ago
  I also find the conclusions odd. Could it be that for the rich people, Wikipedia is just entertainment, whereas people in poorer countries actually seek to understand a topic in order to solve a problem?
• inetknght 2y ago
  > A busybody implies someone who is nosey, the type of person that peeks through their curtains at what the neighbors are doing. I disagree. You're describing a "nosey neighbor". A busybody is someone who is always busy. Being busy does not at all imply being nosey.
  • pessimizer 2y ago
    You're parsing a compound word and assuming that you can get the definition that way. A "busybody" is someone who is busy in other people's business. That's simply what the word means, not an interpretation or a value judgement. ----- > Susanna Centlivre wrote a successful play, The Busie Body, which was first performed in 1709 and has been revived repeatedly since. It is a farce in which Marplot interferes in the romantic affairs of his friends and, despite being well-meaning, frustrates them. The characterisation of Marplot as a busybody whose "chief pleasure is knowing everybody's business" was so popular that he appeared as the title character in a sequel, Marplot. The name is a pun — mar / plot — and passed into the language as an eponym or personification of this type. ----- > And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not. > — 1 Timothy 5:13 ------ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Busybody https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Busybody
    • inetknght 2y ago
      > You're parsing a compound word and assuming that you can get the definition that way. Interesting idea but that's not how I've come to know the meaning of the word.
      • tom_ 2y ago
        You might have to accept that you are the odd one out, or that you've misinterpreted it - or perhaps this is a regional distinction? Anyway, add me to the list of people that would interpret "busybody" just as the linked Wikipedia article has it, and who was also a bit bemused by this choice of word for the article.
      • CRConrad 2y ago
        However you thought you'd "come to know the meaning of the word", you hadn't. Because you didn't know it. "To know" something requires what you think you know to actually be true.