Why are greetings and farewells a thing that humans do? Even

Are you that autistic? It is part of the human social behaviour.

>>8157552
...why?

its just cultural just like many other things

monkey see monkey do

No clue and it's very universal for some reason.

Maybe it started as a way of identifying other people who were not threats.

>>8157538
They can serve purpose. Greetings get attention, or in a phone call they are a way to check and then mutually signal that the connection is stable and talking can proceed. Farewells often themselves are used to end a conversation politely. Sometimes, the specific words used can have real meaning as to when to expect to see this person again.

>>8157659
The word "hello" actually wasn't invented until the telephone, it was used by some popular person (I can't remember which). Alexander Gran bell used the word "hoy" which is what sailers used to get each other's attention.

>>8157671
notice that only europeans use "hello" or similar stuff.
Others use stuff that translates to "peace be upon you".

>>8157691
in my language it's health be upon you and it's in europe.

>>8157703
and?
I said only europeans (and americans by extension) use hello, not that europeans use only hello.

>>8157714
actually hello and variations of it (such as hallo) are mostly used in cases to answer the phone for most languages.

send start bit
recieve aknowledgment of startbit reception
exchange messages
send end bit
recieve message
continue exchanging messages
recieve end bit
confirm end bit

>>8157538
Comment va mon con ?

>>8157574
because saying hello establishes that someone is friendly to you, its a big deal in war zones, and humans arent the only ones who give greetings, also it gauges the other persons response to you, friendly or not

saying goodbye says "i am leaving on purpose, im letting you know that i will be gone, so dont assune my absence is momentary (example: going to the bathroom, or lost) and come looking for me, it will be a waste of time"

there are other reasons too, this stuff is beyond human, however usually with other animals, leaving is always temporary unless they are exiled, such as young males being kicked out of a wolf pack or lion pride

You should come to realize why this behaviour is if you have a job or a social occasion in which people need to know you are there. Some even get it from upbringing, as some learn from an early age to say hello and goodbye.
I didn't, and started with farewells just recently. The main purpose is just to let them know when you leave.
It may also be to get acknowledged. Someone who don't say hello back is someone you assume won't talk to you.

tldr,It's a social feature

It started as a threat assessment [when meeting new people] and then became necessary to detect social and physical ills when meeting people.
Eventually it evolved into a daily routine as part of cultural evolution.

>>8157703
Clearly you live in one of those stinky european countries that don't have phones

File: 1350657329933.jpg (213KB, 717x1024px) Image search: [Google]

213KB, 717x1024px

>>8157902
>It's a social feature
No shit

/sci/ truly is the smartest board

>>8157538
that's like asking why software handshakes exist. It's really important to have clear signals for data start and stop.

>>8157671
>The word "hello" actually wasn't invented until the telephone
Bull shit detector is off the charts on this one