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[Barmymoo]

I react to unexpected movements and noises - if I hear a crash or see something move suddenly I whip my head around to see what it was. It's one of the many things that I think are cat-like in me (also the ability to nap for hours at a time and the tendency to eat mice. Wait, not that last one). Sometimes I worry that it makes me seem like I'm not concentrating, but mostly I can focus as soon as I know it wasn't a horrible disaster.

[Redball]

From eye contact to ear contact: I sometimes feel too tuned to my car or my house, conscious of noises I can't immediately explain and sort of alarmed until I figure out what it is. Often, I think it's mice -- in the house, not the car.

[Welu]

I'm still getting used to the bumps of unfamiliar noises in this house and of my neighbours. A few times when I've been very tired and was sure I heard something downstairs I've thought, "I'm too sleepy. Just let them steal everything."

[nekowafer]

I do react to noises, especially unexpected ones. And I'm always noticing little things that the person I'm speaking to doesn't see/hear/whatever, so then they think I'm weird. Or, well, I think that they think that I'm weird.

[Lines]

From eye contact to ear contact: I sometimes feel too tuned to my car or my house, conscious of noises I can't immediately explain and sort of alarmed until I figure out what it is. Often, I think it's mice -- in the house, not the car.

This is a big reason I don't like being alone in the house overnight. Every little noise makes me paranoid, even though I live on a quiet, little street.

[Omega Entity]

There's an old farmhouse that I've housesat a few times before, and it's really kinda creepy. A lot of the hardware for the outside doors is really old, and doesn't seem to latch properly, so it's not like I can lock up properly while I'm there. Thankfully, there's a couple of dogs there (the reason for the housesitting) - one a rottweiler, and the other some kind of rotty mix that inform me if something's amiss. If I hear a noise and they aren't barking, I know that it's nothing to worry about.

[Abyssalin]

I've had a tic pointed out that i can actually maintain eye contact, but i start unconciously stroking my chin (Beginning of a beard)

I only noticed it when my friend went "Why are you doing that?" and i did not have a clue what he meant.

[Barmymoo]

Although Edith's dog is not a barker, so not a very useful watchdog, her response to noises is generally my cue. If she's super-excited it's probably either Edith coming home, or another dog walking past outside. If she's anxious I'd know to be on my guard but it hasn't happened yet.

One thing that took me ages to adjust to here is the noise of the squirrels and the wind throwing acorns onto the house roof. This neighbourhood is full of oak trees and it sounds like we're being bombed at times.

[Redball]

Sitting outside in this season, I hear a "thwock!" on the deck, or sometimes the splash of a large object in the pool. I look up and shout, "Missed!"

[Lines]

Hehe!

One thing I don't miss about having a bedroom upstairs is hearing squirrels chase each other all over the roof. Cape cod houses do not have a lot of insulation or soundproofing usually and it would sound like there were horses on the roof instead of squirrels. Got quite annoying in the spring when they were all twitterpated. But the bedrooms are on the main floor in the boy's house, so hey, no more waking up to squirrels!

[Carl-E]

Funny how squirrels can completely derail...

... a thread. 

[Redball]

Hehe!

One thing I don't miss about having a bedroom upstairs is hearing squirrels chase each other all over the roof. Cape cod houses do not have a lot of insulation or soundproofing usually and it would sound like there were horses on the roof instead of squirrels. Got quite annoying in the spring when they were all twitterpated. But the bedrooms are on the main floor in the boy's house, so hey, no more waking up to squirrels!

When we added on to our A-frame so we could retire to it, half the addition became a master bedroom with cathedral ceiling, with a peak about 4 feet beneath the peak of the roof. Mice fairly quickly found the crawl space attractive, although our cats probably kept them out of the rest of the house. One night I heard the sounds of something rolling down the ceiling opposite the bed. It was repeated several times. The little bastards were bowling with acorns! What else could it have been?

At the end of a dead-end road with woods on two sides, I figure I'm a sitting duck for intruders. But I've never worried about that. My sensitivity to house sounds makes me feel like the house is an extension of me. Until the next unexpected event.

[Lines]

Carl...I guess bringing it back to the thread, staring down squirrels is funny. The ones at my mom's house scream* at me now when I'm outside because I used to glare at them so much.

*I don't know what to call it. It's too squeaky to be a growl.

[Pilchard123]

Funny how you posted Up clip, Carl. Coincidence?

[Carl-E]

It's not me, I swear! 

[Welu]

I fuckin' love Up.

[Carl-E]

Better than, "I love fuckin' up"

 


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]

One thing I don't miss about having a bedroom upstairs is hearing squirrels chase each other all over the roof.

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...

[Lines]

Your possums are so much cuter than our opossums...

[jwhouk]

They probably do just as much damage to your car when you run them over, though.

[Asterus]

I do react to noises, especially unexpected ones. And I'm always noticing little things that the person I'm speaking to doesn't see/hear/whatever, so then they think I'm weird. Or, well, I think that they think that I'm weird.

On a side (and late) note, I actually try to do the opposite and remain as stoic as possible if something pops out of nowhere. Although I spend most of my time acting like I'm lost in my own world (And incidentally, I almost never make eye contact unless I feel it is absolutely necessary to make sure a point is understood), I usually end up paying attention to everything I can around me. It actually creeps some people out when they try to bring me up to speed or something only to realize I already know.
But on the original subject: I just don't feel eye contact is entirely necessary. While I get that some people appreciate the fact that eye contact is one way to ensure that they have my full and undivided attention, the fact is that usually they do not. I like to actually get stuff done, and if I've got time to talk to someone, I also have time to actually do something with my hands that requires my sight be directed at it. I know you're there, I can hear you. In addition, do you really want my full visual attention? My ears are occupied with interpreting what you're saying, my mouth may be making a reply if necessary, but what do you think my eyes are doing? After seeing what your iris color is, they'll probably move on to pick out random details about you, which pretty much negates the purpose of eye contact anyway.

[Lines]

They probably do just as much damage to your car when you run them over, though.

Wouldn't know... I've never run over an animal before. (Not even dead ones.)