Did you know that we are born with only two innate fears?

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Written by heila

(Before you skip this post, you have to see the one-minute video about an unusual friendship at the end of the post.)

Grasshopper

I nearly fell off my bike when this 15cm (6-inch) guy buzzed by me, just barely missing my face. He is handsome, don’t you think? Well, chances are that you will not find anything beautiful or heartwarming about this crunchy creature.

Why is it that most of us get the creeps when we see or even just think of insects, worms, spiders, and the like? Especially considering the fact that most of those rubbery soft or hard-shelled miniature beings in segmented bodies and equipped with tentacles, antennae, horns, compound eyes, multiple eyes, two or four featherless wings, lots of hairy or toothed legs, claws, pincers, stingers etc. are not dangerous to man. Maybe it’s because they are so different from us mammals and we just do not understand them.

We humans have two inborn fears: The fear of falling and the fear caused by loud noises. All other fears are learned, most of them in the first six years of our life. We acquire fears through our own experience and from the behavior of others, our first “teacher” normally being our mother. If she lets out a horrified scream at the sight of a spider, the young child will probably internalize and adopt the aversion. Yet, if mom calmly gets hold of the leggy visitor and transfers him out into nature, the offspring is most likely to develop a benign attitude toward the crawlers.

Natural fears are necessary because they protect us from harm. Phobias on the other hand, are exaggerated, irrational fears that impair a person’s functioning and are considered mental disorders (which are easy to treat, however).

Having a real long intense look at each of the following individuals from the wonderful Micro Monsters 3D of Sir David Attenborough (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2341567/The-fascinating-unpredictable-world-alien-creepy-crawlies-youve-seen-unveiled-Sir-David-Attenborough.html) might bring about a change in the way you perceive these mysterious and intricate creatures. There IS beauty in them.

 hey look at me, ain't i cute 4jpg hey look at me, ain't i cute hey look at me, ain't i cute 2 hey look at me, ain't i cute 3

And here is how cute – mammal-cute! – things can get when there is no fear:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ikm3o5hDks

34 Comments

  2. The characteristic human response to loud noises isn’t fear, it’s the startle reflex. Not the same thing. If humans feared loud noises, our Independence Day celebrations would be much quieter.

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  3. Pingback: Did you know that we are born with only two innate fears? – Truth Troubles: Why people hate the truths' of the real world

  4. Our neighbor recently told us that her two-year-old is suddenly developing all sorts of hesitations–not full-fledged fears, but hesitations about things that haven’t scared him in the past and that his parents aren’t exercised about. So some fears, I’d guess, we learn on our own when we notice that the world’s a dangerous place.

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  5. Bonsoir

    En cette nouvelle soirée

    Comme un oiseau de tendresse

    Je viens te chanter mon bonjour

    Comme on chante les belles histoires

    Je te peints mes pensées à l’encre de mes mots

    Comme on peint les jolis tableaux

    Je te dessine le contour de mes plus beaux sentiments

    Comme on dessine l’innocence à travers les yeux d’un enfant

    Je t’ai écris ces quelques lignes nappées de bonheur

    Comme on écrit les plus beaux souvenirs

    Je te souhaite une bonne soirée . avec des petits bisous

    AMITIE

    Bernard

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  10. Thank heavens I never learned to be afraid of creatures so spiders don’t bother me unless they jump down on me and startle me. I was started by a butterfly that flew too close to my face as well. I sometimes get centipedes in my basement and those do creep me out.

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      1. Unfortunately politicians can live without their heads for years… and make the trick pay quite well too. I’m more afraid of politicians than cockroaches.

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      1. Yeah! By the way, Miedo is the book I mentioned in your article about Narcissism. You can download it for free this weekend! 🙂

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  13. Helle Heila , thanks for your visit ! so you speak English and french as well …I’m frightened by spiders ( we have some in my mountain ) and we have also a lot of big black flies because of the sheeps ! berk 😛 Did you see the fly de Cronemberg , good fantastic movie …

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    2. Hi Juliette, my French is far from perfect, spoke it when living in Tunisia with my parents 30 something years ago….and since then on and off. I hope you don’t mind my asking, where is your mountain?? No, I didn’t see the fly… movie, haven’t seen a movie in years and hardly watch tv.
      Thanks for stopping by. 🙂

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    1. ha ha… well, I hate maggots and I take care to avoid stepping on scorpions but I don’t kill spiders in the house or other creatures that don’t harm me. 🙂

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      1. Spiders and flies I don’t mind , it is the creatures I don’t know what they are….. luckily in Britain are not many strange ones visible. yay!

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