# What is your problem, Chronos? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 3, 2025, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-problem-chronos/1024519 "2025-11-03T03:41:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2025, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-problem-chronos/1024519/141 "2025-11-16T04:27:19Z")
> [@Xocomil](#): > > If Tourette’s can consist of “inserting swear words into sentences that don’t need it,” well, golly, I guess this motherfucker has Tourette’s, too. Well, I didn’t say they had Tourette’s, I said they could get into a similar configuration, implying they could exhibit similar symptpms. One of the symptoms of Tourette’s is coprolalia, which this person was exhibiting. And well, one of the most famous brain injury survivors was Phineas Gage, who was described after the accident as: > [@](#): > > He is fitful, **irreverent, indulging at times in the grossest profanity (which was not pre­vi­ous­ly his custom)**… So yeah, the person certainly could have exhibited similar symptoms after a brain injury, whether or not they copulated with their mother. > **[Phineas Gage](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phineas_Gage)** > > Phineas P. Gage (1823–1860) was an American railroad construction foreman remembered for his improbable\[B1\]: 19  survival of an accident in which a large iron rod was driven completely through his head, destroying much of his brain's left frontal lobe, and for that injury's reported effects on his personality and behavior over the remaining 12 years of his life‍—‌effects sufficiently profound that friends saw him (for a time at least) as "no longer Gage". > Long known as the "American Crowbar C... ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2025, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-problem-chronos/1024519/142 "2025-11-16T04:47:28Z")
Anyone interested in the strange effects of brain injuries and the general topic of brain dysfunctions would probably very much enjoy _An Anthropologist on Mars_, an excellent book by the late British neurologist and science historian Oliver Sacks. One of the case histories he explores is that of a renowned surgeon with Tourette’s, who was absolutely nuts with seemingly uncontrollable symptoms in most circumstances, but completely calm and highly skilled when performing delicate surgery (he was a brain surgeon, IIRC). Another case study was that of a painter, famous for the vivid colours of his works, who lost all perception of colour after a freak accident. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2025, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-problem-chronos/1024519/143 "2025-11-16T18:31:37Z")
> [@Xocomil](#): > > How did you get Tourette’s from that description. Is it anything more than Tourette’s is the one condition you associate with cursing? Why does it have to be Tourette’s? You’re claiming that you know better than the person with the cursing disorder. That guy didn’t say a TBI gave him Tourette’s, he said it left him unable to control his swearing. TBIs can cause Tourette’s. If you read through the thread, the subject of Tourette’s-related swearing had come up. As I said in the thread, and again in this thread, I am not talking about a diagnosis for this specific person. I am talking about what’s _plausible._ It’s plausible for a TBI to give someone Tourette’s - it’s [actually pretty common.](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6980474/) It’s also plausible for a TBI to result in excessive swearing for other reasons. As I pointed out in that thread, with a citation, swearing seems to be a distinctly different neurological phenomenon than everyday conversing. Some people who cannot otherwise speak following a TBI can still swear. Most people can decide when to use cursing and when not to because we have good impulse control. The prefrontal cortex manages, among other things, impulse control, so it’s plausible that a TBI to this area of the brain could affect low-level impulse control and thus swearing. What I wanted to know is if Tourette’s-related coprolalia necessarily involved sudden and random interjections of curse words (as some in the thread claimed), or if it could also just include copious swearing as described in the original OP. That was me, trying to figure out the answer to that question. It’s not a very google-able question, so I asked the person I know who has spent years in a professional capacity evaluating and treating tic disorders, including Tourette’s syndrome. I’m pretty satisfied with his answer. It’s not the same as a citation, but I couldn’t find one. As I mentioned upthread, only a minority of people with Tourette’s have coprolalia and and it seems only a minority of _those_ would have coprolalia in the form described, so the research literature isn’t exactly robust. > [@wolfpup](#): > > Anyone interested in the strange effects of brain injuries and the general topic of brain dysfunctions would probably very much enjoy _An Anthropologist on Mars_, an excellent book by the late British neurologist and science historian Oliver Sacks. Awesome! I love Oliver Sacks. I’ve read _The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat._ IIRC he also has some great interviews on The Nerdist podcast. ETA: You know what, I’m going to back up a minute here. I’m not sure if a tic disorder following TBI is necessarily Tourette’s, or if Tourette’s is mainly genetic. Tic disorders are absolutely associated with traumatic brain injuries, but I need to look deeper re: whether such tic disorders following TBI can be called Tourette’s. The best I’ve found is a paper saying people with TBIs have a higher likelihood of having Tourette’s, and some evidence that severe tics can cause TBI. So I may be conflating Tourette’s with tic disorders more generally. TBC. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2025, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-problem-chronos/1024519/144 "2025-11-16T18:53:43Z")
Yup, Tourette’s is a neurodevelopmental disorder. It requires, at a minimum, [two motor and one vocal tic for diagnosis, usually beginning in childhood or adolescence.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourette_syndrome) A tic disorder is the general catch-all for motor and vocal tics that are not Tourette’s. It’s plausible that a TBI can cause two motor and one vocal tic, but it would still be a considered a tic disorder and not Tourette’s. So, to clarify, TBIs commonly cause _tic disorders_ (and there are other potential causes as well.) Tourette’s is a neurodevelopmental disorder and appears to be mostly heritable. But a tic disorder can look like Tourette’s. And so it remains plausible that a TBI can cause excessive swearing either via a vocal tic or just generally. Apologies for any confusion. Not an area I have a lot of familiarity with. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2025, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-problem-chronos/1024519/145 "2025-11-16T19:10:14Z")
Oh, and I forgot to address this directly. > [@Xocomil](#): > > That you know someone with Tourette’s is irrelevant unless they had the symptoms described in the OP. Do they? I suspect not because you would have mentioned it were it the case. My friend absolutely did exhibit his Tourette’s with coprolalia and did so until the day he died. Any time he had a tic he would possibly curse. If he was already speaking when he had a tic it became very likely. Sorry I didn’t explain that clearly enough for your liking. ---
**Author:** ![Xocomil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xocomil/32/14927_2.png) [@Xocomil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xocomil)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2025, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-problem-chronos/1024519/146 "2025-11-18T07:21:31Z")
Right. It’s just that none of that contradicts what **Stranger** said. He literally said that a “TBI can certainly cause a broad number of behavioral regulation and inhibition issues.” That’s substantially the same thing your husband said in the first part of his response. What **Stranger** called bullshit was “the notion that [brain damage] can be localized to a specific part of the brain for regulating cursing.” In other words, to contradict what **Stranger** said, Tourette’s would have to be caused by damage to the part of the brain “for regulating cursing.” And @scabpicker, I meant the motherfucker to be me. I inserted a curse word where it wasn’t necessary ergo therefore I have Tourette’s. See? It’s a joke. We’re having so much fun. > [@scabpicker](#): > > My friend absolutely did exhibit his Tourette’s with coprolalia The kind of coprolalia mentioned in the OP? Like grammatical, idiomatic, prosodical, not tic-like? ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2025, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-problem-chronos/1024519/147 "2025-11-18T16:30:14Z")
> [@Xocomil](#): > > The kind of coprolalia mentioned in the OP? Like grammatical, idiomatic, prosodical, not tic-like? There wasn’t really a division in John’s case. If he had a tic that caused him to curse while he was already speaking, it would be inserted into the sentence in a grammatically correct way. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2025, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-problem-chronos/1024519/148 "2025-11-18T21:09:14Z")
> [@Xocomil](#): > > What **Stranger** called bullshit was “the notion that [brain damage] can be localized to a specific part of the brain for regulating cursing.” In other words, to contradict what **Stranger** said, Tourette’s would have to be caused by damage to the part of the brain “for regulating cursing.” That doesn’t make sense because that wasn’t the subject under discussion. The subject under discussion was whether or not it was plausible that the OP’s employee had a problem with excessive cursing due to a TBI. The employee claimed that he did, and could back it up with documentation. That’s what **Stranger** was calling bullshit. Anyway, there’s no sense relitigating this thread here. I intended to make a broader point about how easy it is to assume expertise, particularly on this board where people make a lot of confident statements in articulate ways. We are smart, but we are also fallible, thus a bit of humility is warranted. That’s all. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2025, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-problem-chronos/1024519/149 "2025-11-18T21:18:33Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > We are smart, but we are also fallible That can’t possibli be true. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2025, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-problem-chronos/1024519/150 "2025-11-18T21:22:29Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > make a lot of confident statements in articulate ways Which is basically what AI tools do. Whatever else is true, it’s a very human quirk to attach more significance or credence to statements made in that fashion ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2025, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-problem-chronos/1024519/151 "2025-11-18T21:29:12Z")
True. Though I pretty much disregard any response that uses AI. Your post is making me think about how there is an evolutionary theory that the reason some people have such strong convictions is because you’re more likely to sway others if you genuinely believe what you’re saying. It’s not really about the truth at all, just what’s socially advantageous. I don’t put a huge amount of stock in evolutionary psychology, but it does make sense. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2025, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-problem-chronos/1024519/152 "2025-11-18T21:37:55Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > but it does make sense One of my standard lines about explanations is precisely “… it does make sense … so it’s likely wrong.” 🙂 Can someone swear inappropriately as a result of brain injury? Definitely. If the story is that that is the sole manifestation of their brain injury, no other behavioral disinhibition, no tics, though I’d be _extremely_ skeptical. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2025, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-problem-chronos/1024519/153 "2025-11-18T21:54:25Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > One of my standard lines about explanations is precisely “… it does make sense … so it’s likely wrong.” 🙂 I tells ya, it’s monkeys aaaaaaaall the way down ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2025, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-problem-chronos/1024519/154 "2025-11-18T21:54:29Z")
We really didn’t have any context. The OP may have observed that the guy has no other apparent issues, but there’s no reason to assume the OP has a full picture of the employee’s medical situation. Personally I have plenty of issues my employer doesn’t know about because it’s none of their business. I once sat on the jury for a civil trial for a man with a TBI who also had a drug addiction. Because of his TBI he required specialized substance abuse services and the insurance company assigned to his case didn’t want to pay for it. We made them pay for it. \*Michigan has no-fault insurance, which means if the driver isn’t insured, the case is randomly assigned to a state insurance agency. In this case the man was struck by a car while riding his bicycle. The driver did not have insurance. People (not just insurance companies) tend to downplay the wide-reaching effects that such injuries can have. For some reason anytime something involves your brain, as opposed to some other part of your body, people assume you’re faking it. (This is a reference to the overall tenor of that thread, and society in general, not anyone’s specific comments.) ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2025, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-problem-chronos/1024519/155 "2025-11-18T23:00:01Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > The OP may have observed that the guy has no other apparent issues, but there’s no reason to assume Yup. The “if” and other wishy washy mealy mouth qualifiers are appropriate. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2025, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-problem-chronos/1024519/156 "2025-11-19T00:42:26Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > I don’t put a huge amount of stock in evolutionary psychology, but it does make sense. It doesn’t even have to be evolutionary psychology. It’s clearly human nature and some people use that to their advantage. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2025, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-problem-chronos/1024519/157 "2025-11-19T04:01:46Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > People (not just insurance companies) tend to downplay the wide-reaching effects that such injuries can have. Truth. Needs to be repeated early and often. > [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > For some reason anytime something involves your brain, as opposed to some other part of your body, people assume you’re faking it Even more QFT, especially if you are a woman. ---
**Author:** ![Xocomil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xocomil/32/14927_2.png) [@Xocomil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xocomil)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2025, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-problem-chronos/1024519/158 "2025-11-20T07:08:43Z")
I agree that: > [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > People (not just insurance companies) tend to downplay the wide-reaching effects that such injuries can have. For some reason anytime something involves your brain, as opposed to some other part of your body, people assume you’re faking it. > [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > especially if you are a woman. I disagree that **Stranger** was calling bullshit on the very notion that a TBI can cause excessive cursing. Even if that were his assertion, cases of excessive cursing caused by TBIs would be sufficient contradiction. There was no need to go on a deep-dive on Tourette’s or tic disorders generally. As interesting as it was, it wasn’t really clarifying. Other posters brought up Tourette’s and expressed the kind of skepticism you attributed to **Stranger**. Obviously that’s immaterial to his more specific reservation. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2025, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-problem-chronos/1024519/159 "2025-11-20T13:02:43Z")
I am sad. @Stranger_On_A_Train has his room to improve as a poster, and I added my two cents here about that, but he _definitely_ is a smart and informed person who adds greatly to this board. He’d just be even better if he was able to be more conscious of the limits of his knowledge, and was more aware and appreciative of others’ expertise. And he is sensitive to criticism which can come off as prickly. The risk of Pitting someone has played out here, and @Stranger_On_A_Train got some feedback he clearly wasn’t expecting or prepared for. I’m not seeing any posts from him for two weeks now. ☹ (If I am using the function to search incorrectly and missing some please correct me.) If you’re reading and just taking a posting break @Stranger_On_A_Train please be aware that you _are_ recognized as a valuable contributor here. I, as someone who criticized your occasional overreach some in this thread, miss your participation, and pretty sure I am not alone. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2025, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-problem-chronos/1024519/160 "2025-11-20T14:29:26Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > (If I am using the function to search incorrectly and missing some please correct me.) I just tap his name and it says his last post was November 5. You don’t need an elaborate search with Discourse. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-problem-chronos/1024519.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-problem-chronos/1024519.md?page=9)