[ExI] Physics versus psychology

[Keith Henson]

I suppose this is possible.  But if so, it must not have had much
affect on survival since people vary so much in their susceptibility
to hypnosis.

It just about has to depend on brain mechanisms that are built by
genes.  Depending on which genes you get various susceptibility.

But if it has not made a difference in reproductive success since the
age of the dinosaurs, then even if all mammals (or even all animals)
started out with it, the genes for susceptibility would slowly drift
out of the gene pool.

The alternative model is that there is some advantage being
susceptible if there is a certain fraction in the population who are
not and the advantage goes down as the number who are susceptible goes
up.  Such ballanced polymorphisms are well known as ESS
(evolutionarily stable stratagies.

Your explanation may be the correct one.  It sure seems like a
complicated mechanism to be drifting but I am unable to with how
susceptibility could relate to improving reproductive success.

Keith

On Mon, Oct 25, 2010 at 1:27 PM, The Avantguardian
<avantguardian2020 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> ----- Original Message ----
>> From: Keith Henson <hkeithhenson at gmail.com>
>> To: ExI chat list <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org>
>> Sent: Sun, October 24, 2010 4:02:00 PM
>> Subject: Re: [ExI] Physics versus psychology
>>
>> But hypnosis has me baffled.  I can't come up with a reason the
>> psychological trait engaged in hypnosis has any survival or
>> reproductive advantage at all.
>
> I imagine that hypnosis is a somewhat primitive brain function evolved early on.
> My reasoning for this? Animals can enter trance-like states resembling hypnosis
> like when a deer is mesmerized by headlights or a chicken is hypnotized. It may
> be some kind of defense mechanism to keep from attracting the attention of large
> predators or something by remaining motionless. I dont know.
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMZDieZoing&feature=fvw
>
> Stuart LaForge
>
>
> “To be normal is the ideal aim of the unsuccessful.” -Carl Jung
>
>
>
>
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