1 00:00:00,400 --> 00:00:03,199 Speaker 1: Hey, everybody, chuck here. You ever been in a public 2 00:00:03,240 --> 00:00:07,080 Speaker 1: place and you notice somebody's staring at you? Or have 3 00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:09,639 Speaker 1: you ever been in a public place and stared at somebody? 4 00:00:10,240 --> 00:00:12,319 Speaker 1: People say it's rude. You're supposed to tell your kids 5 00:00:12,440 --> 00:00:16,080 Speaker 1: don't stare. That's rude. But what's the deal with staring? 6 00:00:16,880 --> 00:00:20,959 Speaker 1: Turns out we have a podcast episode from November called 7 00:00:21,440 --> 00:00:23,919 Speaker 1: What's the deal with Staring? We're gonna answer that for 8 00:00:23,960 --> 00:00:29,800 Speaker 1: you right now. Please enjoy. Welcome to Stuff you should Know, 9 00:00:30,120 --> 00:00:38,920 Speaker 1: a production of I Heart Radio. Hey, and welcome to 10 00:00:38,960 --> 00:00:43,040 Speaker 1: the podcast. I'm Josh Clark, there's Charles w Chuck Bryant, 11 00:00:43,320 --> 00:00:45,919 Speaker 1: and guest producer Role is actually staying in here. I 12 00:00:45,960 --> 00:00:49,240 Speaker 1: believe he's staring at us as funny as we speak. 13 00:00:49,479 --> 00:00:53,320 Speaker 1: It's making my cheek blush just the one though, Yeah, 14 00:00:53,720 --> 00:00:58,320 Speaker 1: which is weird to tease? Is what that is? Anything? 15 00:00:58,360 --> 00:01:04,840 Speaker 1: I'm a big tease? Uh spoiler alert? Okay, now that 16 00:01:04,959 --> 00:01:07,759 Speaker 1: was it? That your cheek is hot? It's a post 17 00:01:07,760 --> 00:01:10,600 Speaker 1: spoiler alert post. I don't know if those work count. 18 00:01:10,800 --> 00:01:12,880 Speaker 1: I think you can set the internet off into a 19 00:01:12,920 --> 00:01:14,959 Speaker 1: frenzy if you do it the wrong way. Oh yes, 20 00:01:15,080 --> 00:01:18,360 Speaker 1: we've done that before. Oh, Yeah, that's right, say spoiler 21 00:01:18,400 --> 00:01:21,560 Speaker 1: alert beforehand. Apparently, Yeah, I thought you just spoiled it, 22 00:01:21,600 --> 00:01:25,240 Speaker 1: and then said spoiler alert as a tag. It's not 23 00:01:25,280 --> 00:01:29,440 Speaker 1: how it works, Uh chuck. Yes, have you ever been 24 00:01:29,520 --> 00:01:34,080 Speaker 1: to the grocery store? Uh? Yeah, I was there yesterday. 25 00:01:34,200 --> 00:01:37,200 Speaker 1: Were you did you go down this? Do you buy cereal? Now? 26 00:01:37,600 --> 00:01:42,160 Speaker 1: I don't really buy cereal much either. I I um cereal, 27 00:01:42,240 --> 00:01:43,959 Speaker 1: you know, I'm just glad it's still around, but I 28 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:46,560 Speaker 1: just don't buy it myself. Every once while go down 29 00:01:46,560 --> 00:01:49,000 Speaker 1: the cereal, it's just almost to like visit old friends. 30 00:01:49,880 --> 00:01:54,480 Speaker 1: Like there's the Count Chocola, there's Fred Flintstone, or what 31 00:01:54,560 --> 00:01:56,840 Speaker 1: the heck happened to Lucky the Leopard con He doesn't 32 00:01:56,840 --> 00:01:58,840 Speaker 1: look anything like you did when we were kids, you know, 33 00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:02,480 Speaker 1: look at Tony Tiger. Yes, while while I'm walking down 34 00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:05,560 Speaker 1: the cereal, I noticed like they don't like hold my 35 00:02:05,560 --> 00:02:10,120 Speaker 1: my gaze like they used to. Actually, because you're not seven. No. Actually, 36 00:02:10,160 --> 00:02:14,320 Speaker 1: there's this study that found and I think to the 37 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:16,760 Speaker 1: last couple of years at Cornell University, they have like 38 00:02:16,760 --> 00:02:20,040 Speaker 1: a whole food psychology program, you know, I love that stuff. Um, 39 00:02:20,120 --> 00:02:22,480 Speaker 1: And they did a study of like I think sixty 40 00:02:22,480 --> 00:02:27,359 Speaker 1: five different cereals and found that, um, the average gaze 41 00:02:27,760 --> 00:02:31,480 Speaker 1: downward gaze is about a nine point six degree gays 42 00:02:32,240 --> 00:02:36,960 Speaker 1: right of just your normal human walking in the serial. 43 00:02:37,280 --> 00:02:39,120 Speaker 1: So like if you were looking at Tony the Tiger 44 00:02:39,160 --> 00:02:41,959 Speaker 1: and you were you were me in our normal adult height, 45 00:02:42,280 --> 00:02:44,720 Speaker 1: he wouldn't be locking eyes with us, But if we 46 00:02:44,720 --> 00:02:47,600 Speaker 1: were little kids, he'd be looking right into our eyes. 47 00:02:47,960 --> 00:02:52,119 Speaker 1: To Can Sam, To Can Sam, Lucky, Captain Crunch, which 48 00:02:52,160 --> 00:02:55,960 Speaker 1: we talked about, Yeah, the Honey Combs Maniac, Yeah, the 49 00:02:56,040 --> 00:03:00,639 Speaker 1: Goalen Fiber Stick. Sure, Um, all of those guy they 50 00:03:00,720 --> 00:03:03,079 Speaker 1: look into little kid's eyes. And the whole reason why 51 00:03:03,240 --> 00:03:07,200 Speaker 1: is because, um, it builds brand trust and brand loyalty 52 00:03:07,680 --> 00:03:11,040 Speaker 1: among um cereal boxes where the character is looking right 53 00:03:11,040 --> 00:03:13,800 Speaker 1: into your kid's eyes on the cereal aisle, there's like 54 00:03:14,919 --> 00:03:19,200 Speaker 1: brand loyalty compared to like among boxes that don't have 55 00:03:19,360 --> 00:03:22,560 Speaker 1: little characters looking into your kid's eyes. And it all 56 00:03:22,639 --> 00:03:26,680 Speaker 1: just kind of goes to show you, like the stare 57 00:03:26,919 --> 00:03:33,200 Speaker 1: even being stared at by a lifeless cardboard cartoon character 58 00:03:34,400 --> 00:03:37,720 Speaker 1: is that powerful that it can It can make you say, 59 00:03:38,120 --> 00:03:41,600 Speaker 1: I want to eat what's inside of you? You know, 60 00:03:43,160 --> 00:03:45,880 Speaker 1: so the gays it's powerful or like the old days 61 00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:48,000 Speaker 1: when I was single and I would go into a 62 00:03:48,040 --> 00:03:51,280 Speaker 1: bar and just like go right up beside a lady 63 00:03:51,320 --> 00:03:53,880 Speaker 1: and just stare at her face until she looked at me. 64 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:56,080 Speaker 1: Make your eyes as wide as you possibly could. They 65 00:03:56,080 --> 00:03:59,880 Speaker 1: love that stuff. Very powerful. It shows what a pain 66 00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:03,800 Speaker 1: there you are. A creep, is what that would be? Sure? Yeah, 67 00:04:03,840 --> 00:04:05,840 Speaker 1: and I mean that's a that's a really great point. 68 00:04:05,880 --> 00:04:08,880 Speaker 1: Like if it's a leprechn on a cereal box, you're 69 00:04:08,920 --> 00:04:11,120 Speaker 1: not threatened or intimidated by it, but there's still some 70 00:04:11,160 --> 00:04:14,360 Speaker 1: sort of power to its gaze. Right, if you're another 71 00:04:14,440 --> 00:04:18,159 Speaker 1: human being that is so powerful it has to be 72 00:04:18,240 --> 00:04:22,720 Speaker 1: wielded very delicately, because people don't like to be stared at, 73 00:04:23,120 --> 00:04:26,440 Speaker 1: as as this this House to Works article points out, 74 00:04:26,680 --> 00:04:29,720 Speaker 1: it's simply rude to stare. Yeah, it can be. I mean, 75 00:04:29,760 --> 00:04:31,719 Speaker 1: depending on what culture you live in, it can be 76 00:04:31,800 --> 00:04:37,600 Speaker 1: everything from intimidation tactic to a to an affront to 77 00:04:37,839 --> 00:04:41,600 Speaker 1: like something that's very aggressive. Um yeah, it means a 78 00:04:41,640 --> 00:04:43,360 Speaker 1: lot of things around the world. But I didn't find 79 00:04:43,400 --> 00:04:46,480 Speaker 1: a lot of cultures where it was super nice. No, 80 00:04:46,640 --> 00:04:49,880 Speaker 1: the closest thing I can find was Argentina being called out. 81 00:04:50,279 --> 00:04:53,760 Speaker 1: Um as it being socially acceptable for men to stare 82 00:04:53,800 --> 00:04:59,279 Speaker 1: at women. That doesn't mean that it's welcomed, right, it's 83 00:04:59,279 --> 00:05:03,200 Speaker 1: not welcomed necessarily or wanted, but it's not like what 84 00:05:03,240 --> 00:05:06,080 Speaker 1: are you doing kind of thing. But I couldn't find 85 00:05:06,080 --> 00:05:09,039 Speaker 1: any culture around the world we're just outright staring is 86 00:05:09,080 --> 00:05:13,760 Speaker 1: just normal and fine. It seems to be like universally 87 00:05:13,920 --> 00:05:17,440 Speaker 1: it makes people uncomfortable. It seems like, yeah, well this article, uh, 88 00:05:17,600 --> 00:05:19,600 Speaker 1: we're gonna draw from a few but one from our 89 00:05:19,600 --> 00:05:22,400 Speaker 1: own website. Why is it rude to stare? Which it 90 00:05:22,520 --> 00:05:25,240 Speaker 1: never really answers Actually no, it doesn't. Just sort of 91 00:05:25,240 --> 00:05:27,839 Speaker 1: give some reasons dance around it. But um, I did 92 00:05:27,839 --> 00:05:30,080 Speaker 1: think they made a good point whoever wrote this early 93 00:05:30,160 --> 00:05:36,559 Speaker 1: on in the article, that humans are constantly categorizing things 94 00:05:36,720 --> 00:05:41,960 Speaker 1: when we look around at anything, uh, from inanimate objects, 95 00:05:42,279 --> 00:05:45,640 Speaker 1: you know, that desk looks comfortable, or that chair looks nice, 96 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:52,400 Speaker 1: or that car is cool, or that person is h white, Uh, 97 00:05:52,440 --> 00:05:55,760 Speaker 1: that person is a woman, that person is attractive, that 98 00:05:55,839 --> 00:05:59,680 Speaker 1: person isn't. Like We're always scanning and dropping things into 99 00:05:59,720 --> 00:06:04,320 Speaker 1: different mental boxes. And uh so they make a pretty 100 00:06:04,360 --> 00:06:08,719 Speaker 1: good point. I think whenever something is just slightly off, um, 101 00:06:08,760 --> 00:06:13,240 Speaker 1: like that person has one leg it just the brain 102 00:06:13,480 --> 00:06:17,680 Speaker 1: has an instinct to to stay stay on that gay 103 00:06:17,760 --> 00:06:20,719 Speaker 1: is a little longer because it just disrupts the normal, 104 00:06:20,800 --> 00:06:22,720 Speaker 1: like that's a thing, that's the thing, that's a thing, 105 00:06:22,960 --> 00:06:24,279 Speaker 1: and that's a difference. So let me look at that 106 00:06:24,320 --> 00:06:26,520 Speaker 1: for a minute, right, And the the whole idea behind 107 00:06:26,839 --> 00:06:30,880 Speaker 1: us walking around constantly scanning our environment is this idea 108 00:06:30,920 --> 00:06:34,880 Speaker 1: that we've evolved to at first, I guess probably hunt 109 00:06:34,920 --> 00:06:38,560 Speaker 1: for predators. Remember in like the gun control episode, we 110 00:06:38,600 --> 00:06:41,840 Speaker 1: talked about how humans can recognize a gun in the 111 00:06:41,920 --> 00:06:45,599 Speaker 1: environment as readily as recognizing snakes or spiders. So we're 112 00:06:45,640 --> 00:06:49,039 Speaker 1: training to to pluck stuff out of our environment that 113 00:06:49,160 --> 00:06:51,240 Speaker 1: may or may not be a threat. Yeah, as we've 114 00:06:51,320 --> 00:06:55,960 Speaker 1: kind of moved away from the possibility of, um, you know, 115 00:06:56,120 --> 00:07:00,360 Speaker 1: a bear eating you. Typically it still happens in free quently, 116 00:07:00,400 --> 00:07:04,440 Speaker 1: but for the most part, we're not threatened by bears. Right. Um, 117 00:07:04,640 --> 00:07:07,719 Speaker 1: we've we've that that same ability has kind of moved 118 00:07:07,760 --> 00:07:10,880 Speaker 1: into this social realm where that whole in group out 119 00:07:10,880 --> 00:07:14,400 Speaker 1: group categorization that we've talked about two really kind of 120 00:07:14,440 --> 00:07:17,920 Speaker 1: comes up. And so we're walking around saying you're okay, 121 00:07:18,160 --> 00:07:20,600 Speaker 1: you're all right, you maybe a threat. So I'm gonna 122 00:07:20,640 --> 00:07:22,240 Speaker 1: move over here on the other side of the street. 123 00:07:22,720 --> 00:07:25,960 Speaker 1: I don't necessarily recognize you, but we can do all 124 00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:29,320 Speaker 1: this like pretty quickly. Right. But it's like you were saying, 125 00:07:29,480 --> 00:07:33,080 Speaker 1: if you see somebody with missing a face, for example, 126 00:07:33,240 --> 00:07:35,200 Speaker 1: is a good is a good one? Um? And I 127 00:07:35,240 --> 00:07:37,920 Speaker 1: read this Wired article that sited a woman who basically 128 00:07:38,040 --> 00:07:40,239 Speaker 1: was like she her husband shot her in the face, 129 00:07:40,280 --> 00:07:43,960 Speaker 1: and she walked around before a face transplant, like missing 130 00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:46,840 Speaker 1: a significant section in the middle of her face, and 131 00:07:46,960 --> 00:07:49,240 Speaker 1: she just was stared at all the time. She said 132 00:07:49,240 --> 00:07:52,120 Speaker 1: she had to get used to it. Um. This article 133 00:07:52,200 --> 00:07:56,360 Speaker 1: points out that all you're doing necessarily is taking in 134 00:07:56,440 --> 00:08:00,800 Speaker 1: more information than you're used to, and we we do 135 00:08:00,880 --> 00:08:03,560 Speaker 1: that by staring. It's a result of saying, there's more 136 00:08:03,600 --> 00:08:06,640 Speaker 1: info than I can just get through with a quick plants. 137 00:08:07,280 --> 00:08:10,200 Speaker 1: I need to look at you a little while longer, right. Uh. 138 00:08:10,240 --> 00:08:12,840 Speaker 1: And then there was a study at usc AS in 139 00:08:12,880 --> 00:08:16,240 Speaker 1: southern California. This one makes a lot of sense to 140 00:08:16,280 --> 00:08:18,640 Speaker 1: me because I think what you're doing is you're satisfying 141 00:08:19,160 --> 00:08:24,600 Speaker 1: a curiosity like, Um, I guess Oscar's historious is a 142 00:08:24,640 --> 00:08:28,720 Speaker 1: weird example. Now that he's gone through that thing. But 143 00:08:28,840 --> 00:08:32,200 Speaker 1: let's say pre that, uh, pre that incident, you would 144 00:08:32,200 --> 00:08:36,360 Speaker 1: see someone like Oscar Oscar Pistorius and say, wow, I 145 00:08:36,400 --> 00:08:40,360 Speaker 1: want to see how this guy runs without legs. So 146 00:08:40,480 --> 00:08:43,280 Speaker 1: I'm gonna look at him put on those blades and 147 00:08:43,280 --> 00:08:45,480 Speaker 1: and run and of course he's a you know, it's 148 00:08:45,520 --> 00:08:51,360 Speaker 1: a spectator sport anyway, But I mean it happened any day, like, uh, 149 00:08:51,440 --> 00:08:54,240 Speaker 1: someone who's handicapped, Like, I wonder how they drive a 150 00:08:54,240 --> 00:08:58,319 Speaker 1: car with no legs, So it's very interesting. So I'm 151 00:08:58,320 --> 00:09:00,400 Speaker 1: gonna look at that and watch the get in the 152 00:09:00,400 --> 00:09:04,280 Speaker 1: car and have a specially outfitted car with hand operations. 153 00:09:05,400 --> 00:09:09,160 Speaker 1: So it's it's it's weird because it's in that case. 154 00:09:09,160 --> 00:09:12,000 Speaker 1: I don't think it's rude, but you're walking a fine line, 155 00:09:12,120 --> 00:09:15,760 Speaker 1: but it is still very rude. Another UM non murderous example, 156 00:09:15,800 --> 00:09:18,720 Speaker 1: like the second one you gave is um uh. There 157 00:09:18,800 --> 00:09:21,760 Speaker 1: was in this study at USC they used um women 158 00:09:21,960 --> 00:09:26,160 Speaker 1: with a novel biological effectors, meaning in this case that 159 00:09:26,200 --> 00:09:30,400 Speaker 1: their arms hadn't fully developed, but they were performing functions 160 00:09:30,760 --> 00:09:33,800 Speaker 1: that people would normally use their hands for with their 161 00:09:33,559 --> 00:09:36,720 Speaker 1: residual limbs. Right, So someone might be like, wow, how 162 00:09:36,800 --> 00:09:40,120 Speaker 1: is she painting exactly cooking her dinner exactly. But at 163 00:09:40,120 --> 00:09:42,240 Speaker 1: the same time, you're right, you're walking that fine line, 164 00:09:42,280 --> 00:09:45,480 Speaker 1: so you're staring, but maybe you look away, but then 165 00:09:45,480 --> 00:09:47,960 Speaker 1: you look back and you kind of have to take 166 00:09:48,000 --> 00:09:51,000 Speaker 1: it in in pieces, because we are in this weird 167 00:09:51,080 --> 00:09:54,559 Speaker 1: position where we want to take in but we're also 168 00:09:54,640 --> 00:09:58,960 Speaker 1: socialized to not stare as well, it's rude. Well. What 169 00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:01,000 Speaker 1: they determined in the study, though, which sort of backs 170 00:10:01,080 --> 00:10:03,480 Speaker 1: up the idea that it is satisfying the curiosity, is 171 00:10:04,040 --> 00:10:07,720 Speaker 1: they looked at the brains of people like staring at uh, 172 00:10:07,880 --> 00:10:11,920 Speaker 1: let's say the lady without the formed limbs, and after 173 00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:14,560 Speaker 1: they looked for a little while, the brain lit up 174 00:10:14,600 --> 00:10:16,559 Speaker 1: at first like oh my gosh, what am I seeing? 175 00:10:16,559 --> 00:10:19,240 Speaker 1: This is super interesting, and then the brain normalized. I 176 00:10:19,320 --> 00:10:21,680 Speaker 1: was like, oh, okay, well that's how she cooks her dinner. 177 00:10:21,760 --> 00:10:24,679 Speaker 1: That's really neat exactly, and then they were able to 178 00:10:24,720 --> 00:10:28,440 Speaker 1: interact normally after that point. So it's almost like, as 179 00:10:28,480 --> 00:10:33,880 Speaker 1: long as your brain hasn't gotten enough information to its satisfaction, 180 00:10:34,360 --> 00:10:36,960 Speaker 1: you're not gonna feel comfortable. There's gonna be something weird 181 00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:40,480 Speaker 1: and different around. And if you interact with somebody before 182 00:10:40,520 --> 00:10:43,599 Speaker 1: you've sat your you've satisfied your brains and need to 183 00:10:43,679 --> 00:10:46,960 Speaker 1: understand what the heck is going on there. Um, then 184 00:10:47,200 --> 00:10:49,199 Speaker 1: you might not interact with him as comfortably as you 185 00:10:49,240 --> 00:10:51,520 Speaker 1: would if you were able to sit there and take 186 00:10:51,520 --> 00:10:54,480 Speaker 1: it back. And they did this by having people watch 187 00:10:54,840 --> 00:10:57,679 Speaker 1: other people through like a one way mirror I think, 188 00:10:58,120 --> 00:11:00,480 Speaker 1: and watched them for a few minutes the brains, I 189 00:11:00,480 --> 00:11:02,880 Speaker 1: guess became satisfied or figure it out, you know what 190 00:11:02,960 --> 00:11:05,440 Speaker 1: the process was. And then after that they interacted with 191 00:11:05,480 --> 00:11:08,480 Speaker 1: the people much more normally than they did before they 192 00:11:08,520 --> 00:11:11,800 Speaker 1: were able to fully satisfy their brains curiosity. Yeah, it's like, 193 00:11:12,320 --> 00:11:14,320 Speaker 1: this might be a pretty lame example, but it's like 194 00:11:14,360 --> 00:11:16,640 Speaker 1: if you have a huge ZiT on the end of 195 00:11:16,679 --> 00:11:20,080 Speaker 1: your nose and you walk into a group of friends 196 00:11:20,120 --> 00:11:23,679 Speaker 1: for a meeting, you might say, just get over with 197 00:11:23,800 --> 00:11:26,199 Speaker 1: I got this huge ZiT on my nose, like Fred 198 00:11:26,280 --> 00:11:30,680 Speaker 1: Savage and Austin Powers the Mole, like acknowledging it, Hey, 199 00:11:30,800 --> 00:11:33,280 Speaker 1: I got this huge thing. Instead of being weird about it, 200 00:11:33,320 --> 00:11:35,480 Speaker 1: just go ahead and take a good gander. Isn't it amazing? 201 00:11:35,880 --> 00:11:37,960 Speaker 1: And now let's just act normal. And then nine times 202 00:11:37,960 --> 00:11:40,000 Speaker 1: out of ten people are like, yeah, great, I just 203 00:11:40,040 --> 00:11:41,839 Speaker 1: put my hand in front of my face and pretend 204 00:11:41,920 --> 00:11:46,040 Speaker 1: that nothing's different. Is the makeup not working right? But 205 00:11:46,120 --> 00:11:49,880 Speaker 1: the thing is, it's you know, a ZiT. You know, 206 00:11:49,960 --> 00:11:54,920 Speaker 1: you people have zits themselves, fairly well understood and it's transient, 207 00:11:55,000 --> 00:11:57,439 Speaker 1: you know what I mean. So there is definitely looking 208 00:11:57,480 --> 00:12:00,760 Speaker 1: at somebody who is differently abled or um, just different 209 00:12:00,800 --> 00:12:04,160 Speaker 1: in any way. It can be considered rude, especially if 210 00:12:04,160 --> 00:12:06,480 Speaker 1: that person has to put up with it again and again. 211 00:12:07,679 --> 00:12:10,319 Speaker 1: But I think there's just not that understanding of what 212 00:12:10,480 --> 00:12:12,360 Speaker 1: is the basis of it. And of course kids are 213 00:12:12,360 --> 00:12:15,240 Speaker 1: going to do that, and his parents you are probably 214 00:12:15,240 --> 00:12:18,000 Speaker 1: a Johnny on the spot by saying, don't stare at 215 00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:20,800 Speaker 1: that person, that lady without a face, she you know, 216 00:12:20,840 --> 00:12:23,880 Speaker 1: it's not nice. Uh, Whereas the kids just thinking like 217 00:12:23,920 --> 00:12:26,400 Speaker 1: I've never seen someone without a face, right, and the 218 00:12:26,440 --> 00:12:28,200 Speaker 1: parent you know, I was thinking that same thing, but 219 00:12:28,240 --> 00:12:32,439 Speaker 1: they're just having to do the parental thing and you know, 220 00:12:32,640 --> 00:12:34,920 Speaker 1: like steal a quick glance and then tell the kid 221 00:12:34,960 --> 00:12:37,480 Speaker 1: not to stare because it's been socialized out of them. Yeah, 222 00:12:37,520 --> 00:12:39,440 Speaker 1: it's super interesting to me, but it seems to be 223 00:12:39,480 --> 00:12:42,120 Speaker 1: innate because kids do it and then they have to 224 00:12:42,160 --> 00:12:44,680 Speaker 1: be taught not to do it, right, Yeah, So I 225 00:12:44,760 --> 00:12:48,199 Speaker 1: wonder almost if it's then in that in that circumstance, 226 00:12:48,200 --> 00:12:51,720 Speaker 1: if it's like a vestigial trait. Uh, you know, like 227 00:12:51,760 --> 00:12:54,040 Speaker 1: it's an innate thing that, like the kid is responding 228 00:12:54,040 --> 00:12:58,600 Speaker 1: to the kids evolutionary history, but it hasn't been socialized 229 00:12:58,679 --> 00:13:01,079 Speaker 1: to not do that yet. So there's like this social 230 00:13:01,200 --> 00:13:04,040 Speaker 1: layer that's being put on top of an evolutionary trait. 231 00:13:05,400 --> 00:13:09,440 Speaker 1: So staring seems pretty straightforward so far, right. Actually it 232 00:13:09,480 --> 00:13:13,200 Speaker 1: gets way way more complex and we will dig into 233 00:13:13,240 --> 00:13:36,800 Speaker 1: that right after this. So we're back and we're talking 234 00:13:36,840 --> 00:13:38,840 Speaker 1: about being stared at, which, by the way, I didn't 235 00:13:38,840 --> 00:13:40,880 Speaker 1: get a chance to listen to it, but um, Robert 236 00:13:40,920 --> 00:13:43,920 Speaker 1: and Julie at stuff to blow your mind, did this 237 00:13:44,360 --> 00:13:50,920 Speaker 1: did a staring episode a few years back? I would 238 00:13:50,920 --> 00:13:54,760 Speaker 1: guess yeah, yeah, Um again, I don't know. I'm sure 239 00:13:54,800 --> 00:13:58,600 Speaker 1: they did, though, now that you mentioned so, um, Chuck, 240 00:13:58,640 --> 00:14:02,120 Speaker 1: we're talking about staring, and you know, maybe the evolutionary 241 00:14:02,240 --> 00:14:07,080 Speaker 1: adaptations to it. Um, And there's a further idea that 242 00:14:07,800 --> 00:14:13,400 Speaker 1: we've actually evolved, our eyes have evolved to really understand 243 00:14:13,400 --> 00:14:15,920 Speaker 1: when somebody's looking at us. Right, I think it's pretty 244 00:14:15,960 --> 00:14:19,360 Speaker 1: neat the gays detection system. Yeah, they make the point 245 00:14:19,360 --> 00:14:21,480 Speaker 1: in here which article is just from this one was 246 00:14:21,520 --> 00:14:26,120 Speaker 1: from Psychology Today. Basically, the difference, the main difference between 247 00:14:26,320 --> 00:14:29,160 Speaker 1: humans and a lot of animals is with people, you 248 00:14:29,200 --> 00:14:31,960 Speaker 1: can see a lot more whites of the eye than 249 00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:36,040 Speaker 1: you can with most animals. So the dark parts, that is, 250 00:14:36,080 --> 00:14:39,720 Speaker 1: the parts that look at you, Uh, you can really 251 00:14:39,760 --> 00:14:43,520 Speaker 1: tell when those things are moving around. You can tell 252 00:14:43,520 --> 00:14:45,560 Speaker 1: when you're being looked at a lot more easily. Yeah. So, 253 00:14:45,600 --> 00:14:47,320 Speaker 1: like if the dark parts are in the center of 254 00:14:47,320 --> 00:14:50,240 Speaker 1: the eye, roughly, you can assume that you're being looked at. 255 00:14:50,680 --> 00:14:52,760 Speaker 1: If the dark parts are to the right, the person 256 00:14:52,840 --> 00:14:54,680 Speaker 1: is looking at the right. If the dark parts are 257 00:14:54,680 --> 00:14:57,360 Speaker 1: to the left, vice versa. Right, I'm looking at Knoll 258 00:14:57,560 --> 00:14:59,920 Speaker 1: out of my I guess you would say peripheral, but 259 00:15:00,640 --> 00:15:04,520 Speaker 1: exactly so. And I can just I can relax because 260 00:15:04,520 --> 00:15:06,360 Speaker 1: you're not looking at me. You're looking at Noel, So 261 00:15:06,440 --> 00:15:11,200 Speaker 1: I can go back to knitting or starting fires whatever. Um. 262 00:15:11,240 --> 00:15:13,680 Speaker 1: But Noel needs to be on his best behavior. And 263 00:15:13,720 --> 00:15:17,160 Speaker 1: that's actually one of the two um suggestions for why 264 00:15:17,240 --> 00:15:20,600 Speaker 1: we're so responsive to being looked at. Like there's there's 265 00:15:20,600 --> 00:15:23,120 Speaker 1: a couple of things, so this gaze detection system. They've 266 00:15:23,160 --> 00:15:28,840 Speaker 1: they've determined that, um, if you are looking towards me, chuck, 267 00:15:29,800 --> 00:15:33,320 Speaker 1: but over my shoulder, and I can just kind of tell. Right, 268 00:15:33,360 --> 00:15:35,000 Speaker 1: so your head is looking at me, your eyes are 269 00:15:35,040 --> 00:15:37,040 Speaker 1: generally I mean, but you're just like a degree or 270 00:15:37,080 --> 00:15:39,360 Speaker 1: two off, like right now, is that weird? Yeah, right now, 271 00:15:39,400 --> 00:15:41,240 Speaker 1: you're say it is kind of off putting. But right 272 00:15:41,240 --> 00:15:43,480 Speaker 1: now you're setting off a different kind of neuron in 273 00:15:43,560 --> 00:15:46,640 Speaker 1: my brain than you are now that you're looking directly 274 00:15:46,680 --> 00:15:50,080 Speaker 1: at me. Now, different neurons are firing, Like specific neurons 275 00:15:50,120 --> 00:15:52,120 Speaker 1: for when someone is looking right at you fire, which 276 00:15:52,120 --> 00:15:54,720 Speaker 1: is exactly like we have basically a region of the 277 00:15:54,720 --> 00:15:57,400 Speaker 1: brain dedicated to that. And I have to say, you 278 00:15:57,440 --> 00:15:59,800 Speaker 1: and I are like staring at each other way more 279 00:16:00,160 --> 00:16:04,600 Speaker 1: than normal in this episode. Oh yeah, interesting, or maybe 280 00:16:04,640 --> 00:16:06,520 Speaker 1: we're just talking about it more than you so I'm 281 00:16:06,560 --> 00:16:10,280 Speaker 1: not sure. Uh. The other cool thing is they you 282 00:16:10,320 --> 00:16:14,600 Speaker 1: tend in your peripheral vision to notice more when uh like, 283 00:16:14,800 --> 00:16:17,200 Speaker 1: instead of someone just looking at you straight on with 284 00:16:17,240 --> 00:16:20,440 Speaker 1: her body in their face, if someone is looking from 285 00:16:20,480 --> 00:16:23,760 Speaker 1: the side and turning their head completely uh to the 286 00:16:23,840 --> 00:16:25,880 Speaker 1: right to look at you, that will stand out a 287 00:16:25,920 --> 00:16:28,240 Speaker 1: lot more in your peripheral vision than someone just standing 288 00:16:28,400 --> 00:16:30,920 Speaker 1: staring straight at you. Yeah, which is super weird. It 289 00:16:30,960 --> 00:16:33,560 Speaker 1: really is. Today, when I was driving in Um, there 290 00:16:33,640 --> 00:16:36,520 Speaker 1: was this woman walking her baby and a stroller down 291 00:16:36,560 --> 00:16:38,800 Speaker 1: the street, and I was just looking at her kid, 292 00:16:39,280 --> 00:16:42,600 Speaker 1: and I was driving parallel to her, but my head 293 00:16:42,640 --> 00:16:46,480 Speaker 1: I'm sure was turned toward them. She wasn't looking anywhere 294 00:16:46,520 --> 00:16:48,680 Speaker 1: near me. Just all of a sudden, she turns her 295 00:16:48,680 --> 00:16:52,120 Speaker 1: head and just completely like meets my gaze right like 296 00:16:52,360 --> 00:16:57,200 Speaker 1: like she saw somehow, probably in her peripheral vision, that 297 00:16:57,280 --> 00:16:59,440 Speaker 1: there was somebody in a car looking at her kid, 298 00:17:00,040 --> 00:17:01,880 Speaker 1: and she needed to check it out, so she threw 299 00:17:01,920 --> 00:17:09,040 Speaker 1: the cover over the stroller real quickly. It's like, come on, uh, yeah, 300 00:17:09,080 --> 00:17:11,399 Speaker 1: it's it's I don't know. I find all this stuff fascinating, 301 00:17:11,880 --> 00:17:14,760 Speaker 1: Like whether or not you can feel when you're being 302 00:17:14,800 --> 00:17:18,840 Speaker 1: stared at directly to your back. Let's say, well that's 303 00:17:18,880 --> 00:17:21,520 Speaker 1: something different. So like this all of sum up to 304 00:17:21,560 --> 00:17:24,679 Speaker 1: this point, uh, we've been talking about stuff that can 305 00:17:24,720 --> 00:17:28,440 Speaker 1: be explained away using like your peripheral vision, noticing other 306 00:17:28,440 --> 00:17:32,560 Speaker 1: people's body language, um, looking at where the eyes are. 307 00:17:32,960 --> 00:17:36,800 Speaker 1: Now we're getting into just some weirdness and something called 308 00:17:36,840 --> 00:17:41,639 Speaker 1: the psychic staring effect or scope astigia, or the feeling 309 00:17:41,680 --> 00:17:45,000 Speaker 1: that you're being stared at from behind, even though there's 310 00:17:45,200 --> 00:17:48,280 Speaker 1: no way using your normal senses, you should be able 311 00:17:48,320 --> 00:17:51,760 Speaker 1: to tell that someone is looking at you. Yeah, and this, uh, 312 00:17:51,760 --> 00:17:53,439 Speaker 1: there was a paper This is from the article of 313 00:17:53,440 --> 00:17:55,920 Speaker 1: the Feeling of being stared at And there's an old 314 00:17:55,920 --> 00:18:00,720 Speaker 1: paper from um from Science magazine called the Feeling of 315 00:18:00,760 --> 00:18:06,720 Speaker 1: being Stared At by Edward uh Titchener. And he said, 316 00:18:08,000 --> 00:18:09,800 Speaker 1: and this was sort of a weird feedback loop, but 317 00:18:09,840 --> 00:18:12,160 Speaker 1: he said, you go to the front of a room 318 00:18:12,240 --> 00:18:14,240 Speaker 1: and you have your back to everyone, you're gonna feel 319 00:18:14,280 --> 00:18:16,800 Speaker 1: like you're being stared at, and then you're gonna get 320 00:18:16,800 --> 00:18:19,520 Speaker 1: nervous and start fidgeting around, which will cause people to 321 00:18:19,560 --> 00:18:23,639 Speaker 1: stare at you. So that doesn't too much for me. 322 00:18:23,960 --> 00:18:27,840 Speaker 1: He also he also said, um, it's possible that it's 323 00:18:27,960 --> 00:18:32,320 Speaker 1: um when you think someone staring at you, you start 324 00:18:32,440 --> 00:18:36,080 Speaker 1: to turn around to see them, to catch somebody staring 325 00:18:36,119 --> 00:18:38,520 Speaker 1: at you or to see who it is, and they'll 326 00:18:38,560 --> 00:18:41,399 Speaker 1: then look at you. Right they notice you moving and 327 00:18:41,440 --> 00:18:43,560 Speaker 1: they start looking at you. Before you've made it all 328 00:18:43,600 --> 00:18:46,639 Speaker 1: the way around, you were looking at me, and you 329 00:18:46,680 --> 00:18:49,359 Speaker 1: say no, jerk, didn't look at you until you turn around, 330 00:18:49,359 --> 00:18:51,760 Speaker 1: looked at me right, and then it just turned into 331 00:18:51,800 --> 00:18:55,320 Speaker 1: a fist fight every time without fail. So Titchener basically 332 00:18:55,440 --> 00:18:58,920 Speaker 1: was like, it's all illusory, it's it's done. He didn't 333 00:18:58,920 --> 00:19:01,720 Speaker 1: really write necessary early about all of his methods or 334 00:19:02,280 --> 00:19:05,520 Speaker 1: study size or anything like that, but um, he he 335 00:19:05,680 --> 00:19:08,640 Speaker 1: felt like he kind of settled it. Fifteen years later 336 00:19:08,920 --> 00:19:10,760 Speaker 1: there was a guy who picked it up again. His 337 00:19:10,880 --> 00:19:13,760 Speaker 1: name was Je Couver. He wrote another paper called The 338 00:19:13,800 --> 00:19:16,720 Speaker 1: Feeling of Being Stared At and he tried a little 339 00:19:16,760 --> 00:19:20,160 Speaker 1: more scientifically to figure out what was going on, and 340 00:19:20,240 --> 00:19:22,800 Speaker 1: he had a pretty cool I thought his technique was 341 00:19:22,840 --> 00:19:25,720 Speaker 1: pretty awesome. It was okay. Um. He would sit there 342 00:19:26,680 --> 00:19:30,199 Speaker 1: and have a study participant with his back to him, 343 00:19:30,240 --> 00:19:33,320 Speaker 1: and he would roll a dice a die, and if 344 00:19:33,359 --> 00:19:36,160 Speaker 1: it came up even, he would not stare at them 345 00:19:36,400 --> 00:19:39,760 Speaker 1: for fifteen seconds. If it came up odd, he would 346 00:19:39,800 --> 00:19:42,520 Speaker 1: stare at them for fifteen seconds. And then each time 347 00:19:42,560 --> 00:19:45,480 Speaker 1: the person needed to write down what they thought whether 348 00:19:45,520 --> 00:19:47,520 Speaker 1: they were being stared at or not. Yeah, and it 349 00:19:47,600 --> 00:19:51,360 Speaker 1: was it lined up pretty consistently. Um, But what this 350 00:19:52,400 --> 00:19:53,920 Speaker 1: uh points out and what a few of the other 351 00:19:53,960 --> 00:19:56,320 Speaker 1: staring studies point out is if you know you're in 352 00:19:56,320 --> 00:20:00,320 Speaker 1: a staring study, you may be more clued in even 353 00:20:00,320 --> 00:20:03,280 Speaker 1: if you're blindfolded to think like, oh, you know, I 354 00:20:03,320 --> 00:20:06,720 Speaker 1: feel like someone staring because I'm supposed to write exactly 355 00:20:06,720 --> 00:20:10,800 Speaker 1: like you're thinking about being stared exactly. So UM. In 356 00:20:10,840 --> 00:20:16,320 Speaker 1: this Je Couver study from UM, he found that people 357 00:20:16,440 --> 00:20:19,400 Speaker 1: guessed at about fifty They were right about fifty percent 358 00:20:19,400 --> 00:20:21,920 Speaker 1: at the time, which is even with chance. Right. So 359 00:20:22,040 --> 00:20:25,880 Speaker 1: that suggests that you don't really have at any kind 360 00:20:25,920 --> 00:20:28,720 Speaker 1: of signal or sense that you're being stared at. You're 361 00:20:28,760 --> 00:20:30,720 Speaker 1: just guessing, and you're primed to be in guests and 362 00:20:30,760 --> 00:20:34,160 Speaker 1: yeah like UM. Follow up studies have shown that if 363 00:20:34,320 --> 00:20:37,960 Speaker 1: people are distracted with another task or if they don't 364 00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:40,400 Speaker 1: think the studies actually about whether or not they're being 365 00:20:40,480 --> 00:20:44,600 Speaker 1: stared at, they almost never guessed that they're being stared at. UM. 366 00:20:44,680 --> 00:20:46,640 Speaker 1: It only starts to show up in studies where you're 367 00:20:46,680 --> 00:20:49,919 Speaker 1: testing for that sense of being stared at and they're prime. 368 00:20:50,680 --> 00:20:53,480 Speaker 1: But even then they're just guessing at about the same 369 00:20:53,560 --> 00:20:58,160 Speaker 1: rate as chance. So Tishner and Couver and others later 370 00:20:58,240 --> 00:21:01,600 Speaker 1: on over the years have basically suggested that scope astigia, 371 00:21:01,720 --> 00:21:04,720 Speaker 1: or that feeling you're being stared at, is very widespread. 372 00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:07,560 Speaker 1: Most people believe that they can tell when somebody's staring 373 00:21:07,600 --> 00:21:10,280 Speaker 1: at them, but that it's actually an illusion, right. That 374 00:21:10,560 --> 00:21:13,040 Speaker 1: isn't necessarily explained in any of these but it is. 375 00:21:13,600 --> 00:21:17,159 Speaker 1: It is a widespread illusion that humans tend to suffer 376 00:21:17,240 --> 00:21:21,560 Speaker 1: from universally, well and anecdotally. You might remember the times 377 00:21:21,640 --> 00:21:24,119 Speaker 1: where I feel like someone staring at me and someone is, 378 00:21:24,800 --> 00:21:27,440 Speaker 1: but not remember the times that you feel like someone 379 00:21:27,520 --> 00:21:28,879 Speaker 1: staring at you and you look up and no one 380 00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:32,000 Speaker 1: staring like you don't catalog that. Well, that was another 381 00:21:32,040 --> 00:21:35,120 Speaker 1: thing they found too, is that there's no no one's 382 00:21:35,160 --> 00:21:38,040 Speaker 1: ever found any any idea that you can tell when 383 00:21:38,080 --> 00:21:41,880 Speaker 1: you're not being stared at. It's just it's just being 384 00:21:41,920 --> 00:21:43,800 Speaker 1: stared at that we suppose you have a sense for. 385 00:21:44,040 --> 00:21:45,639 Speaker 1: All right, well, let's take another break here and we'll 386 00:21:45,680 --> 00:21:49,280 Speaker 1: talk about a few more weird staring studies right after this. 387 00:22:10,800 --> 00:22:16,760 Speaker 1: All right, alrighty, we're back, and here's a weird staring study. Yeah, 388 00:22:16,760 --> 00:22:18,399 Speaker 1: they've done a lot of them, and this is from 389 00:22:18,440 --> 00:22:21,240 Speaker 1: an article the Many Creepy Experiments and involves staring at people. 390 00:22:22,720 --> 00:22:25,800 Speaker 1: Uh great website So this one, UM the Stairs a 391 00:22:25,840 --> 00:22:29,840 Speaker 1: Stimulus to flight and human subjects, was I thought pretty 392 00:22:29,880 --> 00:22:32,720 Speaker 1: interesting and kind of a no brainer. Basically, they would 393 00:22:32,720 --> 00:22:35,600 Speaker 1: have someone stand on a corner and then when people 394 00:22:35,600 --> 00:22:38,280 Speaker 1: would pull up in their car at the light of 395 00:22:38,320 --> 00:22:40,639 Speaker 1: the stop sign, they would just stare at them in 396 00:22:40,680 --> 00:22:43,639 Speaker 1: their car, and then they would time how long it 397 00:22:43,680 --> 00:22:45,439 Speaker 1: took them to get the heck out of there when 398 00:22:45,480 --> 00:22:49,000 Speaker 1: the light turned green. And of course, naturally they don't 399 00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:54,119 Speaker 1: even release the results. Imagine it was about the people 400 00:22:54,119 --> 00:22:56,000 Speaker 1: sped out of there when the light turned green. Yeah, 401 00:22:56,000 --> 00:22:58,879 Speaker 1: they had a control group that they specifically didn't stare 402 00:22:58,920 --> 00:23:02,760 Speaker 1: at or look at, and they definitely left that intersection 403 00:23:02,840 --> 00:23:08,199 Speaker 1: much more slowly because there's not a creep leering at you. Yeah, 404 00:23:08,400 --> 00:23:10,480 Speaker 1: that's a weird study, but I mean, I guess it 405 00:23:10,520 --> 00:23:15,640 Speaker 1: added to the scientific body on staring by um this one. 406 00:23:15,840 --> 00:23:18,400 Speaker 1: I thought this was interesting because it actually harkens back 407 00:23:18,440 --> 00:23:21,879 Speaker 1: to uh what Titchener studied too, was that there's this 408 00:23:21,960 --> 00:23:27,000 Speaker 1: weird part of the psychic staring effect where you you 409 00:23:27,240 --> 00:23:30,399 Speaker 1: physically you can feel like you're being stared at, like 410 00:23:30,480 --> 00:23:32,720 Speaker 1: the back of your neck gets hot. When I was 411 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:35,800 Speaker 1: in college, I used to like my scalp would get 412 00:23:35,800 --> 00:23:38,439 Speaker 1: hot or something, you know, like I could just I 413 00:23:38,520 --> 00:23:41,320 Speaker 1: just knew I was being stared at from behind. Um. 414 00:23:41,359 --> 00:23:44,560 Speaker 1: And this this study found that we we produced some 415 00:23:44,640 --> 00:23:48,800 Speaker 1: sort of physical effect when we're stared at. Right, so 416 00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:51,440 Speaker 1: they had this In this particular study, they had UM, 417 00:23:51,840 --> 00:23:55,720 Speaker 1: a psychologist sitting there, I guess interviewing a person, and 418 00:23:55,720 --> 00:23:59,920 Speaker 1: then another psychologist would be staring at the person while 419 00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:04,080 Speaker 1: they were forced to either read out loud or sing. Yeah. 420 00:24:04,080 --> 00:24:07,000 Speaker 1: The person being stared at would have to do those things, yeah, 421 00:24:07,480 --> 00:24:10,680 Speaker 1: thank you for specifying that. And um, the other the 422 00:24:10,720 --> 00:24:14,479 Speaker 1: second psychologists would stare like directly at their cheek, and 423 00:24:14,520 --> 00:24:17,520 Speaker 1: the person would blush all over, especially if they were 424 00:24:17,520 --> 00:24:20,600 Speaker 1: having to sing, But the cheek that was being stared 425 00:24:20,600 --> 00:24:23,359 Speaker 1: at would blush more, it would get hotter, Like physically, 426 00:24:23,400 --> 00:24:26,719 Speaker 1: they would measure this. Yeah, it wasn't just anecdotally, like 427 00:24:27,240 --> 00:24:32,160 Speaker 1: my right cheek feels hotter, and it's no one has 428 00:24:32,200 --> 00:24:34,960 Speaker 1: any idea how this happens or why this happens, but 429 00:24:35,040 --> 00:24:38,720 Speaker 1: it's almost like the self consciousness that's produced in being 430 00:24:38,800 --> 00:24:42,480 Speaker 1: stared at is directed to the specific part of the 431 00:24:42,480 --> 00:24:47,080 Speaker 1: body that's being looked at. You know. That's very bizarre 432 00:24:47,240 --> 00:24:51,280 Speaker 1: that has well because they haven't figured it out. I 433 00:24:51,400 --> 00:24:54,640 Speaker 1: know they'll probably isolate something at some point. Yeah, eventually 434 00:24:54,680 --> 00:24:56,800 Speaker 1: they will. But I mean, like, if you start to 435 00:24:57,000 --> 00:25:01,520 Speaker 1: compile like this body of knowledge on staring, you get 436 00:25:01,560 --> 00:25:04,879 Speaker 1: the idea that we have a very loose grasp on 437 00:25:05,119 --> 00:25:07,680 Speaker 1: the effects of staring and what it what it does, 438 00:25:07,720 --> 00:25:10,400 Speaker 1: and what it signifies and why it's around. You know. Yeah, 439 00:25:10,520 --> 00:25:14,400 Speaker 1: it's pretty interesting. I always loved those episodes. I do too. 440 00:25:14,440 --> 00:25:17,080 Speaker 1: There was this other study I thought was pretty interesting 441 00:25:17,160 --> 00:25:22,160 Speaker 1: called gay dar colon I Gaze as identity recognition among 442 00:25:22,240 --> 00:25:25,880 Speaker 1: gay men and lesbians, and I tried to find a copy. 443 00:25:25,920 --> 00:25:27,280 Speaker 1: I couldn't find one that I didn't have to pay 444 00:25:27,320 --> 00:25:29,840 Speaker 1: like fifty bucks for, but I did read some summaries. 445 00:25:30,280 --> 00:25:33,359 Speaker 1: It basically looks into how how gay men and women 446 00:25:34,440 --> 00:25:40,200 Speaker 1: use a stare to either assess someone's sexuality or too 447 00:25:40,760 --> 00:25:44,159 Speaker 1: broadcast their own sexuality. And it's not always just a 448 00:25:44,200 --> 00:25:47,200 Speaker 1: fixed gaze, you know, not some like creepy stare, but 449 00:25:47,280 --> 00:25:50,760 Speaker 1: it was mixed with like body language and looking away, uh, 450 00:25:50,880 --> 00:25:53,679 Speaker 1: and like a flirtation at times. But I thought it 451 00:25:53,680 --> 00:25:57,160 Speaker 1: was pretty interesting. It's definitely not just like some heterosexual 452 00:25:57,200 --> 00:26:00,879 Speaker 1: concept um and staring is not just creepy. It's not 453 00:26:00,960 --> 00:26:03,640 Speaker 1: just for flirting. They've actually found in other studies that 454 00:26:03,720 --> 00:26:07,479 Speaker 1: it's a it's a way too um to ask for 455 00:26:07,520 --> 00:26:11,239 Speaker 1: help actually, and it gets results supposedly. Yeah, this one 456 00:26:11,280 --> 00:26:13,120 Speaker 1: didn't make a ton of sense to me. So, like, 457 00:26:13,280 --> 00:26:16,520 Speaker 1: if you spilled some groceries, I think is what this 458 00:26:16,560 --> 00:26:19,480 Speaker 1: one study did. If you drop some groceries and you 459 00:26:19,600 --> 00:26:21,840 Speaker 1: bend over and picked them up, If you just like 460 00:26:21,960 --> 00:26:24,520 Speaker 1: kind of keep to yourself and like bend over your 461 00:26:24,520 --> 00:26:27,199 Speaker 1: groceries and you're looking down at I mean, you got it, 462 00:26:27,240 --> 00:26:29,800 Speaker 1: you know what I'm saying. In this study, if you 463 00:26:29,960 --> 00:26:32,080 Speaker 1: look up, though, and you're staring at a passer by 464 00:26:32,160 --> 00:26:35,399 Speaker 1: while you're doing this, they take that as an invitation, 465 00:26:35,480 --> 00:26:37,879 Speaker 1: if not a directive, to come help them pick up 466 00:26:37,880 --> 00:26:40,879 Speaker 1: the groceries. And people respond to that. It's the same thing. Like, 467 00:26:40,960 --> 00:26:44,320 Speaker 1: think about it, like if somebody is in a situation 468 00:26:44,359 --> 00:26:47,560 Speaker 1: where they could use help, but it's also ambiguous, like 469 00:26:47,680 --> 00:26:49,720 Speaker 1: they kind of got it, but did they really need help? 470 00:26:49,840 --> 00:26:53,680 Speaker 1: If they're looking at you, they're broadcasting help me. They are. 471 00:26:53,760 --> 00:26:55,520 Speaker 1: It's just kind of funny because I'm trying to think 472 00:26:55,560 --> 00:26:57,920 Speaker 1: of it just seems like a no brainer. Like if 473 00:26:58,440 --> 00:27:00,359 Speaker 1: I saw a woman in a parking lot who would 474 00:27:00,359 --> 00:27:02,800 Speaker 1: like spilled her groceries, and I was walking by, and 475 00:27:02,840 --> 00:27:04,800 Speaker 1: she looked up right at me as I was passing 476 00:27:04,800 --> 00:27:07,080 Speaker 1: and picking up, I wouldn't just so like, how you 477 00:27:07,119 --> 00:27:11,240 Speaker 1: doing and keep going, Yeah, boy, you look like you 478 00:27:11,320 --> 00:27:14,200 Speaker 1: got it under control, like I would. Of course I 479 00:27:14,200 --> 00:27:17,400 Speaker 1: would stop. But if she didn't look up, yeah, maybe 480 00:27:17,400 --> 00:27:20,560 Speaker 1: I would feel like I'm intrudingly, you know, so they 481 00:27:20,600 --> 00:27:22,720 Speaker 1: doesn't want me putting her hands on her groceries, right, 482 00:27:24,160 --> 00:27:26,680 Speaker 1: And that is like, like, that is one of the 483 00:27:26,680 --> 00:27:32,240 Speaker 1: theories behind why we're so adept at catching other people's 484 00:27:32,280 --> 00:27:35,520 Speaker 1: gazes is that it's a it's a means of communicating 485 00:27:35,560 --> 00:27:39,040 Speaker 1: non verbally, very directly. Right. So, so that woman who 486 00:27:39,119 --> 00:27:41,760 Speaker 1: dropped her groceries, or anybody who drops her groceries, if 487 00:27:41,760 --> 00:27:45,040 Speaker 1: they're handling themselves, leave them alone. If they're looking up 488 00:27:45,080 --> 00:27:48,480 Speaker 1: directly at you, they're communicating with you. They have spilled 489 00:27:48,520 --> 00:27:50,320 Speaker 1: their groceries, and what they're saying is I could do 490 00:27:50,400 --> 00:27:53,879 Speaker 1: some help with some groceries packing them up. Um. And 491 00:27:53,920 --> 00:27:56,879 Speaker 1: that's that that theory behind that, the idea that we 492 00:27:56,960 --> 00:28:01,800 Speaker 1: communicate and engage in social behavior just from looking. It's 493 00:28:01,840 --> 00:28:06,880 Speaker 1: called the cooperative eye hypothesis. And it's basically this idea 494 00:28:07,080 --> 00:28:10,119 Speaker 1: that a bad band name cooperative eye hypothesis. It's a 495 00:28:10,160 --> 00:28:12,159 Speaker 1: little worthy, but a little like I could see like 496 00:28:12,200 --> 00:28:16,720 Speaker 1: a math rock band. It's no Kathleen Turner Overdrive maybe 497 00:28:16,760 --> 00:28:20,280 Speaker 1: the best band name of all time. Um. But this, 498 00:28:20,280 --> 00:28:24,440 Speaker 1: this whole thing is that we we are able to communicate. Um, 499 00:28:24,520 --> 00:28:27,080 Speaker 1: not just that we need help, but also we tend 500 00:28:27,080 --> 00:28:29,960 Speaker 1: to follow one another's gaze. If one person is looking 501 00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:32,199 Speaker 1: off in the distance and clearly looking at something not 502 00:28:32,320 --> 00:28:35,400 Speaker 1: zoned out, people are gonna look over there. And it's 503 00:28:35,440 --> 00:28:37,480 Speaker 1: basically the same thing as like a herd of gazelle 504 00:28:37,480 --> 00:28:40,800 Speaker 1: looking over one gazelle and high alert is suddenly looking 505 00:28:40,840 --> 00:28:43,680 Speaker 1: at Yeah, you wanna you wanna have some fun, Go 506 00:28:43,760 --> 00:28:46,760 Speaker 1: to New York City or any city and just with 507 00:28:46,840 --> 00:28:50,080 Speaker 1: one other person and just go stand and both look 508 00:28:50,200 --> 00:28:53,520 Speaker 1: up and stare at something and then just sit back. Well, 509 00:28:53,560 --> 00:28:55,360 Speaker 1: you can't sit back, but have a friend sit back 510 00:28:55,400 --> 00:28:57,840 Speaker 1: and watch how many people? And in New York, of 511 00:28:57,880 --> 00:29:00,880 Speaker 1: course they won't stop and look, but everyone that passes 512 00:29:00,920 --> 00:29:03,280 Speaker 1: you by will look up and say, what in the 513 00:29:03,320 --> 00:29:05,240 Speaker 1: world are these two people looking at? What are you 514 00:29:05,280 --> 00:29:11,320 Speaker 1: looking at? What's up there? You just don't say anything, 515 00:29:12,400 --> 00:29:14,760 Speaker 1: and then a game of telephone will break out. People 516 00:29:14,760 --> 00:29:17,880 Speaker 1: will just start making up what's up there? Yeah, And 517 00:29:17,880 --> 00:29:20,600 Speaker 1: then it becomes a what do you call it when 518 00:29:20,600 --> 00:29:23,000 Speaker 1: people all get together and dance at one time? Some 519 00:29:23,120 --> 00:29:28,320 Speaker 1: flash mob? Flash mob? That's an organic flash Yeah. You 520 00:29:28,400 --> 00:29:31,000 Speaker 1: have a bunch of people staring um. It's very boring 521 00:29:31,040 --> 00:29:34,560 Speaker 1: flash mob. I got one more, all right. The idea 522 00:29:34,640 --> 00:29:39,840 Speaker 1: that UM being aware of being stared at is basically 523 00:29:39,880 --> 00:29:42,480 Speaker 1: keeps us in line. And the idea that we're being 524 00:29:42,520 --> 00:29:47,240 Speaker 1: stared at or watched, oh makes you behave Yeah. Another 525 00:29:47,440 --> 00:29:52,360 Speaker 1: socially pro social motivation UM. And I got another grocery 526 00:29:52,360 --> 00:29:55,160 Speaker 1: store example. I was at the grocery store yesterday and 527 00:29:55,560 --> 00:29:58,680 Speaker 1: I was walking in the parking lot and this woman 528 00:29:58,920 --> 00:30:02,600 Speaker 1: had her cart and I noticed her like looking around, 529 00:30:02,800 --> 00:30:04,760 Speaker 1: and she was about to leave her cart right there 530 00:30:04,920 --> 00:30:07,320 Speaker 1: and the parking lot. Next ser she saw me looking 531 00:30:07,360 --> 00:30:09,800 Speaker 1: at her, and she like just suddenly went and walked 532 00:30:09,840 --> 00:30:12,080 Speaker 1: it over the car corral. I could tell by her 533 00:30:12,080 --> 00:30:14,040 Speaker 1: movement she was not playing on going to the car 534 00:30:14,080 --> 00:30:16,600 Speaker 1: correl until she saw me watching her, and then she 535 00:30:16,640 --> 00:30:19,800 Speaker 1: took it to the car crawl and I'm like, yes, exactly. 536 00:30:20,480 --> 00:30:23,000 Speaker 1: You engage in more ethical behavior if you think you're 537 00:30:23,040 --> 00:30:26,760 Speaker 1: being watched, and that would explain why we're so. We're 538 00:30:26,800 --> 00:30:31,120 Speaker 1: such a social species and they just having that height 539 00:30:31,160 --> 00:30:35,840 Speaker 1: and awareness that you're being watched is possibly part of that. Yeah, 540 00:30:35,920 --> 00:30:39,000 Speaker 1: that's one of my couple of big rules in life 541 00:30:39,040 --> 00:30:44,400 Speaker 1: that are meaningless to most people. But always return your card, yeah, 542 00:30:44,440 --> 00:30:46,160 Speaker 1: you honest, people like, oh they pay people to go 543 00:30:46,200 --> 00:30:48,680 Speaker 1: around and get the cards. It's because they have to 544 00:30:49,160 --> 00:30:52,160 Speaker 1: write because of you. And the other thing is, uh, 545 00:30:52,400 --> 00:30:57,920 Speaker 1: always throw your movie theater popcorn and drinks away on 546 00:30:57,960 --> 00:31:00,440 Speaker 1: your way out. Oh yeah, the people that just get 547 00:31:00,520 --> 00:31:03,920 Speaker 1: up and leave the movie theater with their popcorn bag 548 00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:08,440 Speaker 1: and their drink there. Yeah, I just don't get it. 549 00:31:09,040 --> 00:31:11,480 Speaker 1: Like those are I'm just gonna go and say it. 550 00:31:11,480 --> 00:31:14,840 Speaker 1: Those are the worst people on the planet. If you 551 00:31:14,840 --> 00:31:19,440 Speaker 1: want to become canonized Chuck, not only should you return 552 00:31:19,480 --> 00:31:22,160 Speaker 1: your cart, you can do the opposite and take a 553 00:31:22,160 --> 00:31:24,640 Speaker 1: cart from somebody so they don't even have to take 554 00:31:24,680 --> 00:31:26,640 Speaker 1: it back if you're on your way in. You I 555 00:31:26,640 --> 00:31:30,760 Speaker 1: have done that. That's that's the stuff. I rarely use 556 00:31:30,920 --> 00:31:33,440 Speaker 1: the big cart though, I'm I do a lot of 557 00:31:34,040 --> 00:31:37,520 Speaker 1: daily grocery shopping. Good way to go. It's very Dutch, 558 00:31:38,120 --> 00:31:41,560 Speaker 1: is it? According to the stuff for the next article, 559 00:31:41,600 --> 00:31:43,520 Speaker 1: it is. Yeah, well I wear my wooden clogs and 560 00:31:43,640 --> 00:31:47,720 Speaker 1: ride my bicycle. It's very astute of you. Thank you. 561 00:31:48,240 --> 00:31:50,120 Speaker 1: Are you got anything else? You know what? This just 562 00:31:50,160 --> 00:31:52,360 Speaker 1: reminded me. I did have one slight more thing you've 563 00:31:52,360 --> 00:31:55,520 Speaker 1: heard of vidal I goo, um what Michael Jackson had 564 00:31:55,600 --> 00:32:00,200 Speaker 1: their skin condition? Where parts of your skinner lighter than others? Uh? Uh? 565 00:32:00,200 --> 00:32:03,360 Speaker 1: I posted on Facebook there was this uh young woman 566 00:32:03,440 --> 00:32:06,640 Speaker 1: who has viddle igo on her arms and she finally 567 00:32:06,680 --> 00:32:09,400 Speaker 1: just got a tattoo and lovely script on her forearm 568 00:32:09,440 --> 00:32:12,720 Speaker 1: that said it's called a middleago. And I posted about this, 569 00:32:12,840 --> 00:32:15,800 Speaker 1: and then she apparently listened to the show and she 570 00:32:15,880 --> 00:32:19,320 Speaker 1: posted thanks for sharing this guy. Yeah, I thought it 571 00:32:19,360 --> 00:32:21,960 Speaker 1: was kind of neat, But I'm curious to hear from 572 00:32:22,000 --> 00:32:25,120 Speaker 1: people that have I can't remember what they call them 573 00:32:25,160 --> 00:32:30,400 Speaker 1: in the studies novel novel biological effects, Right, Basically, you 574 00:32:30,440 --> 00:32:34,320 Speaker 1: know something unusual physically that people might be prone to 575 00:32:34,360 --> 00:32:36,840 Speaker 1: stare at. I want to hear from people and how 576 00:32:36,880 --> 00:32:39,280 Speaker 1: you deal with that, or if you've gotten used to it, 577 00:32:39,400 --> 00:32:42,120 Speaker 1: or if you think it is super rude, or if 578 00:32:42,160 --> 00:32:44,520 Speaker 1: you're like yeah, I would stare at me too. Yeah, 579 00:32:44,600 --> 00:32:47,760 Speaker 1: but that is a great call out. Yeah. Um, and 580 00:32:47,880 --> 00:32:49,880 Speaker 1: well let's see listener mail and then we'll hit it 581 00:32:49,960 --> 00:32:54,640 Speaker 1: up again. All right, La todos. My name is Amy 582 00:32:54,760 --> 00:32:57,560 Speaker 1: and I'm an English teacher living abroad in Malaga, Spain. 583 00:32:58,240 --> 00:33:00,200 Speaker 1: I'm a recent fan and only discovered your part casts 584 00:33:00,200 --> 00:33:02,400 Speaker 1: when I was desperate for something to listen to on 585 00:33:02,440 --> 00:33:06,880 Speaker 1: the metro rides. That's when everybody comes to the first 586 00:33:06,880 --> 00:33:09,400 Speaker 1: podcast I listened to us how Nazis invaded Florida and 587 00:33:09,440 --> 00:33:12,560 Speaker 1: I haven't stopped downloading. Now. The real reason I'm sending 588 00:33:12,560 --> 00:33:15,120 Speaker 1: the emails a little strange. I teach many adult classes. 589 00:33:15,400 --> 00:33:17,640 Speaker 1: My students are always asking how they can practice listening 590 00:33:17,920 --> 00:33:20,520 Speaker 1: to native speakers. Many people don't know that in Spain 591 00:33:20,920 --> 00:33:23,040 Speaker 1: all of the American or English TV series or movies 592 00:33:23,080 --> 00:33:25,440 Speaker 1: are dubbed. I did not know that in Spanish voice 593 00:33:25,440 --> 00:33:27,360 Speaker 1: that right didn't have any I figured like a high 594 00:33:27,400 --> 00:33:29,120 Speaker 1: percentage would be, but not all of them, you know. 595 00:33:30,440 --> 00:33:34,560 Speaker 1: Uh so there isn't aren't many options to practice listening skills. 596 00:33:35,080 --> 00:33:37,240 Speaker 1: Once I got addicted to your show, I started suggesting 597 00:33:37,680 --> 00:33:39,720 Speaker 1: that my higher level students listen to you guys as well. 598 00:33:40,000 --> 00:33:42,320 Speaker 1: Honestly didn't think many of them would actually go home 599 00:33:42,680 --> 00:33:45,960 Speaker 1: and start listening. However, I was wrong and this isn't 600 00:33:45,960 --> 00:33:48,840 Speaker 1: all caps. Every single one of them are now addicted 601 00:33:49,080 --> 00:33:54,160 Speaker 1: like me and then back to regular non all caps. Yeah, 602 00:33:54,280 --> 00:33:56,800 Speaker 1: so thanks guys. Uh, my students want me to send 603 00:33:56,800 --> 00:33:58,880 Speaker 1: an email to say thank you for speaking slow but 604 00:33:59,000 --> 00:34:03,120 Speaker 1: not too slow, and using vocabulary that makes any topic 605 00:34:03,160 --> 00:34:07,520 Speaker 1: of science, astrophysics, biology and history easy to understand. I've 606 00:34:07,560 --> 00:34:09,600 Speaker 1: noticed a big change in their listening skills and even 607 00:34:09,640 --> 00:34:13,279 Speaker 1: have the entertainment of teaching some puns and slang that 608 00:34:13,320 --> 00:34:15,359 Speaker 1: you both say on the show. It makes class much 609 00:34:15,400 --> 00:34:18,839 Speaker 1: more enjoyable. The only bad side is now they want 610 00:34:18,840 --> 00:34:20,879 Speaker 1: a tour of the UK so we can all come 611 00:34:20,880 --> 00:34:23,640 Speaker 1: to see you guys live. That's so cool. See everybody 612 00:34:23,719 --> 00:34:26,439 Speaker 1: in the United States. Oh, you guys aren't coming to St. Louis. 613 00:34:26,440 --> 00:34:28,439 Speaker 1: It can't possibly come to you. People are talking about 614 00:34:28,440 --> 00:34:32,040 Speaker 1: traveling from Spain to England to see Yes. Seriously, come on, 615 00:34:32,440 --> 00:34:38,200 Speaker 1: don't go to Milwaukee. I'm in Madison. Uh, keep on 616 00:34:38,239 --> 00:34:44,560 Speaker 1: showing out this podcast and garzias Porto Hostelwego. Amy culver Amy. 617 00:34:44,640 --> 00:34:47,080 Speaker 1: Thank you for that. I love that email. Let's email 618 00:34:47,680 --> 00:34:51,239 Speaker 1: uh asta le vista to your class. Thank you very 619 00:34:51,320 --> 00:34:55,239 Speaker 1: much for writing in UM and uh, that's wonderful. I 620 00:34:55,239 --> 00:34:57,720 Speaker 1: hope you guys keep listening. We're known for us slang, 621 00:34:57,760 --> 00:35:02,800 Speaker 1: aren't we get on the trolley? Chuck? Yeah, that old thing. Uh. 622 00:35:02,840 --> 00:35:04,680 Speaker 1: If you want to get in touch with us to 623 00:35:05,120 --> 00:35:08,719 Speaker 1: say hi in another language, that's cool. But like Chuck said, 624 00:35:08,760 --> 00:35:10,680 Speaker 1: we want to hear from you if you have a 625 00:35:10,719 --> 00:35:13,920 Speaker 1: novel biological effect or and get stared at and what 626 00:35:13,960 --> 00:35:16,760 Speaker 1: you do in dealing with that. UM. You can tweak 627 00:35:16,800 --> 00:35:19,239 Speaker 1: to us at s y s K podcast. You can 628 00:35:19,320 --> 00:35:21,840 Speaker 1: join us on Facebook dot com slash Stuff you Should Know. 629 00:35:22,120 --> 00:35:24,480 Speaker 1: You can send us an email to Stuff podcast at 630 00:35:24,480 --> 00:35:27,040 Speaker 1: how Stuff Works dot com and has always joined us 631 00:35:27,040 --> 00:35:29,000 Speaker 1: at our home on the web. Stuff you Should Know 632 00:35:29,120 --> 00:35:33,960 Speaker 1: dot Com. Stuff you Should Know is a production of 633 00:35:34,000 --> 00:35:37,320 Speaker 1: I Heart Radio. For more podcasts my Heart Radio, visit 634 00:35:37,360 --> 00:35:40,160 Speaker 1: the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 635 00:35:40,200 --> 00:35:41,520 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.