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accnr3 t1_j25vsb5 wrote

This is very interesting. Because while I agree with the observation, evolution doesn't work that fast, or that way. Natural selection works by killing off less adaptive traits, and "not noticing a camera" is unlikely to kill you. Which leads me to suspect that the instinct, if it exists, builds on pre-existing instincts, like perhaps an instinct to detect eyes. But since camera lenses and eyes don't look similar, that leads me further to believe that it's not the look of the eye that draws attention, but the "meaning" of the eye.

But now we're delving into uncommon and even mystical territory. So probably it just isn't an evolved trait, but rather a learned trait. Possibly we could study it by comparing the instinct among those who get anxious in front of cameras and those who like it (the hypothesis obvious). Quite possibly no one would notice a hidden camera in a teddy-bears eye, or something like that.

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