{"version": "1.0", "type": "rich", "title": "You know that post that\u2019s going around about how sometimes it doesn\u2019t seem like housecats know they\u2019re small?\n I strongly...", "author_name": "kontextmaschine", "author_url": "https://kontextmaschine.com", "provider_name": "kontextmaschine", "provider_url": "https://kontextmaschine.com", "url": "https://kontextmaschine.com/post/626715629266911232/", "html": "

prokopetz:

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toastedtoadstool:

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prokopetz:

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prokopetz:

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You know that post that\u2019s going around about how sometimes it doesn\u2019t seem like housecats know they\u2019re small?

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I strongly suspect that a lot of the weirder impulses people get are at least partly attributable to the fact that the dumb monkey part of our brains doesn\u2019t realise that humans are big.

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Impulses of this type include:

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  • The impulse to enter and explore vents, drains, and other apertures a human clearly cannot fit into
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  • The impulse to climb on objects and surfaces that will not support a human\u2019s weight
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  • The impulse to leap from high places in a manner that would be perfectly survivable if you were a ten-pound arboreal primate, but as it stands, not so much!
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What, so the voice telling me to jump off that tall thing if I get too close to the edge isn\u2019t suicidal intrusive thoughts, it\u2019s just monkey mind massively miscalculation our capabilities?

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Weirdly, yes. In cognitive science that\u2019s known \u2013 somewhat unimaginatively \u2013 as the \u201chigh place phenomenon\u201d, and though it\u2019s popularly miscategorised as a symptom of intrusive thoughts, some studies estimate that up to 50% of all people experience it, most of whom have no particular tendency toward suicidal ideation, nor toward intrusive thoughts of any other type.

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