Why do we applaud?

In the Bryce Jordan Center today during Joe Paterno's memorial (may he rest in peace <3), I spent a lot of time applauding the for the words of various speakers, after every touching montage video, when a trumpeter played a slow, sad version of Penn State's fight song, and every time Sue Paterno was featured on the Megatron screen.  While I was doing all of this clapping, I began to wonder where such a tradition originated.  Why do we smack our hands together audibly to show approval?  How does clapping get started in a room full of people?  How do we know when to stop?  And what does clapping mean for rhetoric and civic life?

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find out much about the history of applause other than the fact that we have evidence for clapping as early as the 3rd century B.C. in the Roman Empire.  I suppose the action just originated because it's easy to do and it's pretty loud.  I'd like to find out how many lone souls it takes to start a room full of applause and how many people have to discontinue the action for the clapping to die down.  To save myself from making an entire works cited page for this blog, however, I'm going to opt out of researching these questions tonight.  I do know, however, that an audience's applause can tell a speaker A LOT about how the congregation is receiving his/her message.

I gave a couple of speeches at the end of my senior year of high school, and I found that being interrupted by sporadic bursts of applause is the best feeling in the world.  In regards to public speaking, we clap to show that we agree with what the speaker is saying, and the energy of the applause displays the level of our approval.  If an audience gives a weak, half-hearted clap, it is clear they were disengaged or unhappy with the message delivered.  If a hearty applause at the end of a speech is heard, it is safe to say that the dialogue has been well accepted.  Sometimes, we simply go through the motions of clapping when the timing is right, and the applause means nothing at all. It is when a rhetor speaks with passion about his cause that excited clapping, screaming, whooping, and whistling interjects before the oration is over, and such applause motivates the speaker to continue with even more animation than before.

Public speaking is an excellent means of rhetoric if you want to experience the reactions of your audience firsthand.  When we hide behind text, we are spared from realizing that our message didn't get the approval we hoped for, but we also miss out on the rush of excitement when a room fills with applause at your words.

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=clapping+hands&hl=en&biw=1440&bih=838&gbv=2&tbm=isch&tbnid=McIaW7iy15VFvM:&imgrefurl=http://medicmagic.net/clapping-hand-can-increase-childs-intelligence.html&docid=gjQJ3eX4HBtzCM&imgurl=http://medicmagic.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/children-clapping-hands.jpg&w=506&h=337&ei=AzIiT4vyM8Ph0QHa4f3nCA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=414&vpy=410&dur=368&hovh=159&hovw=210&tx=176&ty=95&sig=109290321251259403933&page=2&tbnh=157&tbnw=206&start=32&ndsp=34&ved=1t:429,r:28,s:32

References


http://www.esquire.com/style/answer-fella/history-of-applause-0209

A Plea for "Green" Rhetoric.

I guess you could say that I'm a tree-hugger.  I recycle, I wash my laundry in cold water, I buy LED light bulbs... all of the things those of us who like to call ourselves "environmentally-friendly" strive to do.  After all, every contribution is important, no matter how small.  Every time I remember to turn the lights off upon leaving a room, I'm making a step towards a healthier planet.  Right?

This semester I signed up for STS 201, "Climate Change, Energy, and Biodiversity," in hopes of learning a few more tips and tricks to put on my ecofreak resume.  I wasn't expecting, however, to be told on the first day of class that riding my bike and turning down the thermostat does virtually nothing to prevent the Earth from spiraling into a CO2 heat box.  What I learned instead is that in order for the levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in our atmosphere to stabilize, the planet will need to see an 80% decrease in the emission of fossil fuels in the upcoming years.  80%!!!!!!! Every tree hugger in America can print on both sides of the paper, and we still won't even dent that 80%!

My professor explained that producing the results our planet needs will require some drastic changes in public policy, not just in Washington D.C., but in governments throughout the entire world.  It's going to take lifestyle changes for every person living in an industrialized country, changes bigger than just passing up paper towels for the hand-dryer.

Listening to him lecture, I found myself wondering how it's EVER going to be possible to help the Earth out.  How can 6 billion people be convinced to literally slash their fossil fuel emissions?  How can governments across the world be convinced to convince 6 billion people to stop these emissions?  Al Gore made an attempt at increasing public awareness of climate change with his 2006 documentary An Inconvenient Truth, but how much can one controversial film really change?

I don't know what the answer is or whether there even is an answer.  I do know, however, that it's going to take some incredible rhetoric to change the ways of skeptics and insufficient environmentalists alike.

Would it change anything to post pictures like this on gas pumps across the nation?

Is change even really possible?