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Eye contact

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Welu:
I fuckin' love Up.

Carl-E:
Better than, "I love fuckin' up"

 :-D


Oh, and my middle name... is Frederick.  I used to go by Carl Fredericks on the radio years ago, because of the unweildyness of my real last name! 

Oh, and those squirrel screams?  They're warning cries to the other squirrels.  I can make the noise in my throat - it confuses the fuck out of them. 



What were we talking about, again?  OH!  Eye contact, right...

All these things - the startling we go through at noises, the ability to watch the eyes and body language of those we interact with - are survival skills, wired into our complex brains.  We are one of the only animals that have a white sclera around the iris, or even an exposed sclera.  And the only reason for this is so that others can read where our gaze is directed.  In the few other animals with exposed sclera (mainly other primates), it's colored to disguise which way the gaze is directed.  That's protective, a predator won't know if they've been spotted or not. 

So the question is, why did this develop?  Most human morphologists believe that it developed as part of our ridiculous communication system.  We can communicate and emote with our eyes, but you need to be able to discern the direction they're looking to know what's going on with the look-ee.  And communication is such an advantage that the eye whites stayed! 

But that's probably why people make such a big deal about eye contact.  It's so basic to our instinctive levels of communication.  Just think of all the communication expressions involving them;

"Look me in the eye and say that!"

"Can't trust him, he's shifty-eyed."  (would you trust someone who's always on the lookout for an attack?) 

I could tell he was/wasn't honest by looking him in the eye."

The way he looked at me just creeped me out"

Note that all of these are instinctive, emotional judgements, not having anything to do with rational communication.  Whatever it is, it's lodged deep in our psyche / brain. 

bainidhe_dub:
I am finding that fascinating to the point I just read it out loud to my husband who definitely is not as fascinated.

(To derail again for a moment: We like to voice our dog's thoughts in Dug's voice. I'm pretty sure he's figured out we're making fun of him.)

Akima:

--- Quote from: Linds on 14 Sep 2012, 09:15 ---One thing I don't miss about having a bedroom upstairs is hearing squirrels chase each other all over the roof.
--- End quote ---
Down here it is Brushtail Possums. My home, like many in Australia, is single-story with a corrugated iron roof, and when the furry little bastards jump down out of the trees and race about, it sounds like a regiment of paratroopers in hobnail boots! In the interests of thread-relevance, eye contact!:

Carl-E:
Don't shoot 'till you see the whites of it's eyes! 

Oh, wait...

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