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Author Topic: Rational and Irrational Fears  (Read 11907 times)

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Brentai

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Re: Rational and Irrational Fears
« Reply #60 on: March 02, 2009, 01:35:03 PM »

Actually there are some wicked poisonous ones in Japan, which is why they always trot out moths as something that may actually be intimidating.

...you're not helping. :ohshi~:

Nor was I trying to, but it helps to understand what you're afraid of.

Whereas before you were presented with images of monstrous evil moths with the notion that they were harmless but terrifying in visage, you now know that these depictions are based in fact on a mere quirk of regional physiology.  You yourself are perfectly safe from such terrors because A) you're not anywhere near Japan, B) they don't survive well outside of Japan, and C) by "wicked poisonous" I actually mean "cause especially bad rashes".  To Japanese people.

Having been the victim of extreme skin irritation from insects I've got to say that that sort of thing is perfectly survivable.
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Norondor

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Re: Rational and Irrational Fears
« Reply #61 on: March 02, 2009, 02:00:11 PM »

Each night by the campfire, playin' Monopoly and such, was party to an endless tornado of light-hungry moths, covering every open inch of brightened surface - the table, the lantern, the game board, us - but not really doing anything, just sitting there and enjoying whatever it is about the light moths love so damn much.

They don't enjoy it. It's a navigational error. They are used to being guided by the sun but can't tell the difference between the sun and any other source of light, so they'll endlessly orbit lightbulbs is sheer confusion as they fly what is to their mind a bizarre, circuitous path, flying past the sun and getting completely turned around, then having to re-orient themselves and doing it all again within a few seconds. So yeah, totally stupid little robots.
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Royal☭

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Re: Rational and Irrational Fears
« Reply #62 on: March 02, 2009, 04:48:06 PM »

Is Lee-Ham aware of the Mothman per chance?

LaserBeing

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Re: Rational and Irrational Fears
« Reply #63 on: March 02, 2009, 05:51:01 PM »

I was actually thinking about making a game called Mothman VS. Flatwoods Monster a few weeks ago, but laziness killed that idea while it was pupating.

I find butterflies much scarier than moths, probably because their ratio of wing to body is much higher. At least a moth has a fat little body and looks like something I can generally perceive as an animal, rather than just a crazy little papery living kite. Only a really huge moth will freak me out these days, but even a plain old yellow monarch fluttering around near me is enough to make me pretty uncomfortable. I'm also kind of terrified of touching a butterfly because as a kid I heard that if you so much as brush against their wings, their scales get scraped off and they DIE HORRIBLY, and somehow the potential for accidental murder made them even creepier.

There used to be a little semi-zoo-like place in town called Crystal Gardens that had various exotic little creatures like tamarinds and birds of paradise and even a darkened bat room. They also had an enclosure filled with "beautiful" tropical butterflies, you know, the fucking gigantic ones with wings the colour out of space. I think I only went in there once when I was young, but that was enough for me. I probably lasted about thirty seconds before I ran for the door.

It's just something about the innate weirdness of them. I can't really explain it, what with it being an irrational phobia and all. Maybe it's just an overactive imagination. I mean, shit, I saw Day of the Triffids when I was probably about 9 or so and for a short while I was scared of poppies, for fuck's sake. When I was really tiny I had a pop-up book about primates, and two of the pages had to be stapled together by my parents because they had a baboon with a fold-out gaping mouth that was possibly my first brush with raw animal fear.


Actually, all this reminds me: there was an episode of Star Trek: TOS that I remember vividly as being starkly terrifying, but I saw it once as a kid and I have never seen or heard of it ever again, to the point that I'm starting to wonder if it was a dream. It involved little starfish/pancake aliens that stuck to ceilings waiting for someone to pass underneath before they would glide down like something out of Metroid and latch on to the victim's back, sucking out their life force and leaving a nasty wound. Exposure to UV light caused them to burn horribly and scream. Does anyone else remember this, or am I completely out of my gourd?
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Brentai

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Re: Rational and Irrational Fears
« Reply #64 on: March 02, 2009, 05:58:10 PM »

Anything that moves erratically like that is going to trigger an attack instinct in a mammal such as yourself.  What that part of your mind that sorts your instinctual cues into emotional responses does with it varies from person to person.  Some people will think it's fun and start playing (violently) with the thing, and some people will very much want it to go the hell away.

Pretty sure the Star Trek thing you're thinking of is real, but is hard to sort from all the other stock space terrors the crew encountered.  Check the animated series if the meat-and-hairpieces version doesn't give you what you desire.  I always have to check back to make sure that, yes, I didn't completely hallucinate the catgirl.
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Kazz

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Re: Rational and Irrational Fears
« Reply #65 on: March 02, 2009, 06:05:10 PM »

Spiders are scary because they don't accelerate.  They go from totally still to RAMMING SPEED instantaneously and it is terrifying.
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LaserBeing

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Re: Rational and Irrational Fears
« Reply #66 on: March 02, 2009, 06:11:02 PM »

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Beat Bandit

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Re: Rational and Irrational Fears
« Reply #67 on: March 02, 2009, 07:02:31 PM »

I always have to check back to make sure that, yes, I didn't completely hallucinate the catgirl.
What about catgirls?
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Brentai

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Re: Rational and Irrational Fears
« Reply #68 on: March 02, 2009, 07:24:51 PM »

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Guild

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Friday

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Re: Rational and Irrational Fears
« Reply #70 on: March 04, 2009, 04:44:41 PM »

Those Spiders are fucking cool.
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Lady Duke

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Re: Rational and Irrational Fears
« Reply #71 on: March 04, 2009, 04:47:03 PM »

I remember an article about that spider with those pictures, and I showed it to Kazz and he was very angry.
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Royal☭

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Re: Rational and Irrational Fears
« Reply #72 on: March 04, 2009, 04:47:55 PM »

What is that spider?

LaserBeing

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Re: Rational and Irrational Fears
« Reply #73 on: March 04, 2009, 05:06:48 PM »

Well my first guess would be a Bird-Eating Spider.

According to the article though, it's a Golden Orb Weaver.
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Thad

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Re: Rational and Irrational Fears
« Reply #74 on: March 07, 2009, 09:54:44 AM »

At no point did any of this bug me.

Ditto.  I'm usually happy to see spiders; they eat mosquitoes and other bugs I don't like.

Had a black widow infestation at my old apartment once, though; that freaked me the fuck out.  File that one under "rational".

There was a giant fucking one at my brother's place in Maui.  I asked him if it could hurt me and when I described it he said it probably could.

The fact that they are without exception completely fucking harmless apparently has no bearing on my reaction to these aberrant little fuckers. Their shape, their motion, something about them gives me the shivers like nothing else. At least, nothing that doesn't already live at the bottom of the god damn ocean.

I assume that's evolutionary instinct.  Thinking "SPIDER!" first before trying to examine whether it's one that can actually harm you is going to raise your odds of survival.

(Can't find the link right now, but Bob Harris once posted an interesting story about being attacked by a dog and gaining an aversion so strong that he later flinched when approached by a Dachsund puppy.  Your unconscious works a lot faster than your rational brain.)
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Lottel

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Re: Rational and Irrational Fears
« Reply #75 on: March 07, 2009, 10:39:55 PM »

I am afraid that one day, I am going to bring a glass up to my mouth too fast and slam into my teeth. And my teeth will bust out of their oh-so-special places and I will be a gummy, bloody, toothless mess. And my drink will be absolutely RUINED on top of that.
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Disposable Ninja

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Re: Rational and Irrational Fears
« Reply #76 on: March 07, 2009, 10:58:35 PM »

Oh, God, teeth. Teeth teeth teeth anything that can go wrong with teeth. Needles going into your gums, getting things pulled out fuck fuck fuck fuck you lottel for making me think of this
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Bongo Bill

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Re: Rational and Irrational Fears
« Reply #77 on: March 07, 2009, 11:30:51 PM »

I can't be the only person who has thought that it would be so much more convenient to have false teeth than real ones.
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Brentai

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Re: Rational and Irrational Fears
« Reply #78 on: March 07, 2009, 11:35:18 PM »

I'll tell you what it's like in a couple of years.
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Bongo Bill

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Re: Rational and Irrational Fears
« Reply #79 on: March 07, 2009, 11:46:59 PM »

Just be careful when you're drinking from a glass.
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