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Originally Posted by NoSoup
I had watched a special about it.
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Was this recently?
I remember a couple of years ago a special on the Discovery channel (I believe...I could be blowing smoke) that fell along similiar lines. It had to do with the evolution of the brain. It kept harping on the different systems of the brain, when they showed up and what effect it had on evolution. I seem to recall one of the fellows from the show said something similar. He said that humans are instinctually afraid of the dark, the creepy-crawlies and heights because...well, back then the dark was a dangerous place, filled with dangerous animals. The safest place to be was in the trees...with the spiders, the snakes, and the ever present threat of falling to your death in your sleep.
I don't have any substantial evidence to thrust forward....just a fractured memory. I don't know why I remember that...I'm not really afraid of any of those things. /shrug
Not that I don't have instinctual fear. For the longest time, I had an irrational fear of sharks, which is kind of funny because I grew up in the south....hundreds of miles, in any direction, from the coast.
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Although I can't personally remember any instances where the instinctual fear of reptiles has come into play in my life, I do find it interesting that most society's look at the deviants (serial killers and the like) as cold blooded. Perhaps this ties in? Additionally, nearly every ancient culture had a myth regarding a reptilian monster - dragons, sea serpants, etc. Coincidence? Or our instinctual fears manifesting themselves in myths and legends?
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That's an interesting idea.... Isn't this strictly a western phenomena?
I don't know a lot about eastern philosophy/religion/whathaveyou, but I was under the impression that dragons and sea serpents were...good? (for lack of a better phrase)