Julian Bond - 2014-05-27 15:09:05+0000 - Updated: 2014-05-27 15:10:49+0000
The TL;DR. version. Humans on the veldt tended to die out if they only saw wind in the grass instead of a tiger even if there was no tiger there. Which means we're hard wired to treat surveillance as a threat. This is easily seen in gorillas and chimps (and even dogs) where looking straight at them is almost always seen as a threat.
So where does that leave our relationship with the local Alpha Males and Predators in our society (the local security apparatus) that are quite happy to watch everything we do. But equally don't like being observed and tend to turn very nasty when the spotlight is turned back on them.
Peter Watts has caught onto a cute trick of viewing the world through biology and neuroscience. It often leads to some interesting insights.
So where does that leave our relationship with the local Alpha Males and Predators in our society (the local security apparatus) that are quite happy to watch everything we do. But equally don't like being observed and tend to turn very nasty when the spotlight is turned back on them.
Peter Watts has caught onto a cute trick of viewing the world through biology and neuroscience. It often leads to some interesting insights.