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/sci/ - Science & Math

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1545618 No.1545618 [Reply] [Original]

Why are so many people afraid of insects and/or small animals? Where does that fear originate?

>> No.1545626

the fact that they can creep on into your penis without you noticing is the deal breaker for me.

>> No.1545631

Humans who feared small insects got bit fewer times.

Fewer bites: fewer deaths from venom.

>> No.1545636

Maybe its a survival instinct to fear anything that can be potentially lethal?

>> No.1545651

Motherfucking cockroaches... nuff said

>> No.1545652

>>1545636
Dogs can be lethal too. Water can be lethal too. Storms can be lethal too. Why insects?

>> No.1545655

It's the legs.

>> No.1545659

>>1545652
Dogs are domesticated. I bet if you saw a wild dog looking at you and drooling, you'd get the fuck away.

Your water argument is stupid and you know it.

>> No.1545666

Cuz when you're young and you get stung/bitten, the pain seems magnified. I guess you carry that with you?

>> No.1545679

Its the legs, man, the legs.

Also, probably something to do with a defensive instinct; hundreds of generations ago, some caveman learned the hard way that spiders suck ass. We tend to avoid them ever since, except those twisted individuals we call entomologists.

>> No.1545686

>>1545679
This. The ones that had the traits that made them back the fuck away from bugs are the ones that lived and spread their genes.

>> No.1545689
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1545689

Small things bite and/or sting.
Some of these bites/stings kill.

Even though it may seem silly to be afraid of spiders and such, our instincts are there to keep us from being the cocky idiots that our logic wants to make us be.

>> No.1545694 [DELETED] 
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1545694

Not all of us are.
I mean, I'm not stupid around things that can hurt me, but I'm not scared of moths like one of my friends is. I'm not fond of spiders, but I'm not really scared of them either.

>> No.1545697
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1545697

>>1545679
>DISREGARD THAT I SUCK COCKS I don't know how evolution works.

>> No.1545702

Spiders: May be poisonous
Flying things: May sting/bite/lay eggs in you (also if I threw a ball at the side of your head, you'd dodge)
House pests: They destroy things and signal filth and disease.

I have no idea why people are scared of house centipedes though. I am too, but it seems like they're helpful bugs that can't kill you like spiders.

Yet, somehow they awaken some primal fear within you. It's like they were crafted in hell itself; painted the color of a desolate wasteland, grown a pair of legs for every time a son has cursed his mother, infused with the speed of death, and stuffed with the juicy souls of the damned and forsaken.

I'm guessing there used to be 5 foot long centipedes that preyed on humans way in the ancient pre-history.

>> No.1545706
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1545706

i think fear originates in the amygdala. whatever structure it is in the brain, i know it is able to bypass normal memory formation mechanisms and write memories that are more likely to be triggered and associated with negative attributes like fear or pain.

>> No.1545760

>>1545702
Fuzzy assassins, they used to be called. No one quite knows where they came from, but they're as old as the Universe—or very nearly. And they've survived this long because they have the most perfect defense system ever evolved: they are quantum locked. They don't exist as long as they're not being observed. The moment they're seen by any living creature, they spring to life and creep them right the fuck out.

>> No.1545768

We evolved to have an irrational fear of spiders. Same goes for snakes, falling from high places (trees), darkness, and so on.

These were all things that were threats to our primitive ancestors. The ones that had fears of these things had a better chance of survival than the that don't. They're vestigial today because they've never been selected out, not being afraid of spiders, etc. has offered no advantage in survival.

We don't have irrational fear of dogs, polar bears, box jellyfish, etc. because these animals were never a threat to our primitive ancestors, so we never evolved a fear.

>> No.1545801
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1545801

>>1545768
Why are we scared of large eyes/irises like in anime?

>> No.1545817

>>1545801
Because its fucking wierd

>> No.1545821

>>1545801
no one is scared of you if you have big eyes/irises

>> No.1545824

>>1545801

You're scared of anime? What are you, like, five?

>> No.1545826 [DELETED] 
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1545826

So did anyone get a good look at this?

I live in a city and all the fucking light pollution made it impossible. Was there anything good to see?

>> No.1545831
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1545831

>>1545821
>>1545824
The first thing most people point out about anime is that they have huge irises, and they feel uncomfortable about them.

>> No.1545837

>>1545831

Most people point out larges eyes in anime because it's an obviously exaggerated feature. I don't know any fag who's scared of them, except for you.

>> No.1546068

>>1545768
irrational fear of spiders? australia has some deadly arachnids. there are black widows and brown recluse spiders in america. there is good rational reasons to be afraid of spiders. same thing for snakes.
i don't know about you, but if i was out in the wild and i saw a polar bear, i would probably shit myself. those things are fucking huge and not afraid of humans at all. shit i'd be pretty damn intimidated by a black bear in the wild. i am unsure fear functions the way you think it does.

>> No.1548195

MAGNETS

>> No.1548830

because they can bite and kill you.

>> No.1548894

>>1545618
because infestation, obviously

>> No.1548898

Insects -
*Sneaky, small, and silent
*Possess deadly venom that can cause a plethora of effects
*Non-mammalian design

All of these features evoke a deep fear, a small spider, albeit rare can inject you with a neurotoxin that has the potential to cause sever necrosis; and the worst part is, you could completely overlook the capability of the spider. With all of the deadly species of spiders around today, it seems very rational to simply avoid them all together.

As far as small animals, I'm not sure. I've always been fond of the resilient abilities of creatures, stuff that really stands out. Weeds impress me with their ability to resist a broad palette of poisons and even after frequent physical harm they can still continue growing. I feel the same with rats, ants, and other pests too.

>> No.1548908
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1548908

>>1548894
You mean like this?

>> No.1548928

>>1545652
a human can typically defend himself against a dog, unless he's weak, in which case he probably wouldn't have lived very long anyway.
humans that sought shelter against the weather survived longer than the ones that didn't, and had more children.

>> No.1550489

>>1545679
True.

Spiders scare the crap outta me (Tics too) but six-legged bugs look pretty normal and weak

>> No.1550508

I know im always paranoid things are going to fly into my mouth and get stuck in my throat.

Also, anything that can crawl on me but be light enough that i do not notice it, creeps me out.

A big spider though like a tarantula? I think they are cute :3 As long as they have the big thick legs and not the creepy long ones.

>> No.1550510

>>1545679
Basically, the more there is line noise (legs and whatnot, anything non-smooth actually), the more it scares the shit out of people.

>> No.1550527

I remember seeing something that said mice cause fear in humans because the immediate thought of killing it comes to mind, and death causes fear. IDK if it's something like that, but I hate insects too.

>> No.1550541

>Yet, somehow they awaken some primal fear within you. It's like they were crafted in hell itself; painted the color of a desolate wasteland, grown a pair of legs for every time a son has cursed his mother, infused with the speed of death, and stuffed with the juicy souls of the damned and forsaken.

Duuuuude, i feel the same way

>> No.1550552

I'm only afraid of ones that are lethal venom types.
As a kid I use to catch and put in a cage non lethal spiders and tried to figure out how to feed them.

>> No.1550564

Anything with more than 4 legs triggers a "kill now" instinct in me.

I can consciously suppress it for spiders, sometimes, but only if they're out of the way and only because they eat other insects.

It seems obvious that at some point in our history there was a heavy selection pressure put on our ancestors to be hostile to those chitinous multilegged devilspawn. The logical conclusion is that anyone allowing them to live or invade our space died. Poison? Disease? Who knows.