Monday, April 23, 2007

Back in cavemen times

I thought the BBC would never reach the bottom of its barrel of sociobiologists. But it has, clearly, and now it has turned to hypnotherapists to provide me with spluttering-into-my-tea moments.
But the public's general dislike of pigeons also comes down to an inherited survival instinct. Our bodies are programmed to play it safe when it comes to some species, says Felix Economakis, psychologist and hypnotherapist in BBC Three's Panic Room.

"A dislike of any bird is an evolutionary survival instinct that has been passed down through our DNA. Back in cavemen times birds were bigger and posed a real danger.

"Our system still plays it safe, it generalises and paints all possible dangers with the same brush. Our brains are telling us not to take a chance. It's the same with snakes and spiders."


Read the whole sorry article here.

I must stop posting such reactive, grumpy posts. But honestly....

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Also, plus, back in cavemen times, Rocs 'n Thunderbirds would often scoop up people - thus accounting for people's fear of air travel!!!

Why can't I find a job like that - just say whatever pops into my head, and get paid for it? Of course, I'd need extra money to compensate for the embarassment; I have a feeling Mr. Ekonomakis feels no such emotion...

Steve Bodio said...

Of course there are always Darren's Eevil Bastard Killer Eagles...

Anonymous said...

Test

Anonymous said...

No, no, surely? Is not this Felix Economakis, with his hilarious comedy name, as fictional as his theories?
Do they still have pre-GCSE work-experience kids at the BBC? J'accuse!

Pluvialis said...

I heard they sent all the pre-GCSE work experience kids to the World Service, but times may have changed. I fear they're sent to the interweb section instead.

Pluvialis said...

And BBC Three, I meant to say.

Anonymous said...

you like birds, i.e. your'e not human. simple as that. DNA-proven.

Neil said...

Yeah? Well, we'll see who's laughing when the giant snakes and spiders learn out how to time travel.

Anonymous said...

It is obviously a left-over from the days when pigeons ruled the Earth.

Pluvialis said...

What a fantastic photo! And...Reading! How many happy days I spent there in my childhood. Reading museum...the strange antique market near the cinema...the cool record shop near the car-park, now transformed into The Orif.. I mean, the Oracle...

Anonymous said...

"A dislike of any bird is an evolutionary survival instinct..." Okaaaaay...so by this standard, ANY dislike of birds, or just one bird in general is considered a "survival instinct" from...exacly HOW many years ago?!? Please, use logic people! ANY type of dislike? Mild, moderate, intense, severe, life crippling? How intense does the dislike have to be?

So, a person just has mild dislike for say...cliff swallows, that HAS to be a survival instinct? WTF? That just does not make ANY sense, at all!

By this view, I'm out with some friends bird watching. They point out a brightly colored humming bird and say "Oh look at that! Isn't it beutiful?" and I say "Not really." they ask me "Don't you think it's pretty?" and I comment with: "Oh, I just don't like humming birds. I've just never been fond of them." By me saying that, it MUST mean that I am reactiing to a survival instinct...for just having a slight dislike? How sad for them to be publishing this and passing it off as true.

No really! That IS really is sad! ANY amount of dislike, whether big, small, meduim or severe means the person must be tapping into some sort of "survival" instinct? Seriously...I feel utterly ashamed as to how these people can bare to post that stuff on the internet and expect people to believe it!