My Theory on Facial Expression and Staring

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THAT FIRST CLIP IS HOLY-FVCKING-MOLEY AWESOME

TMS PERMANENTLY ALTERED HIS BRAIN

I NEVER KNEW THAT WAS POSSIBLE

WOWOW

Thank you soooo much

There's more info about it here: http://jerobison.blogspot.com/p/use-of-tms-transcranial-magnetic.html
and it is the subject of his next book, Switched On, coming out early next year. I found myself feeling a bit uneasy about the idea of subjecting my brain to something that might alter it, and was concerned about possible side effects or long-term problems. I'm like, well maybe, but I want to know more. The idea of changing a part of myself, even if it's for the better, is rather scary.

Fantastic, thanks for the link

Yes, I can tell that their reactions are automatic. There is no logic in it which is why they can do it instantly. I also think they can see expressions from afar.

The Botox experiment sounds very interesting. I'm surprised that there's a link between reading and interpreting facial expressions. That may explain why I'm not expressive in the same way as most people and I can't read their expressions either.
As for mirroring, I didn't know it had to do with a parent-child connection. I've never had a connection with my mother and don't have a connection with any human. I don't mirror people. Which reminds me, I realized one day that people mirror smiles. Like if they see someone else smiling they start to smile. I am very aware that I do not do that naturally. I can look at someone, see them smiling, and not do anything.


My first thought was "the experiment permanently altered his brain??" That sounds very scary to me as well. Especially waking up one day and everyone's faces look different. I wonder if it felt like a sudden superpower lol.

That's a bit scary. On all levels......

Humph, even if this would work on me, I still wouldn't be able to "read" people.
Why?
Because my vision is abysmal. No matter how well I can "read", I just can't see.
Sometimes I wonder if I'm just blind, ADD, socially inept, anxious and a few other things, but otherwise neurotypical.

Yeah, he mentions on his Blogspot that it improved the face reading but made other things worse. He doesn't specify what. I'd hate to become better at face reading only to make my sensory sensitivities vastly worse, for instance, or worsen my ADHD or executive functioning. I can get by without face reading, but if I got any more disorganized or indecisive at work, I'd probably be fired. I think I'll pass on the brain tinkering, thanks.

I was thinking about this as I went to sleep. It just seems scary to have anybody tinker with the brain like this. If there are ANY mistakes or problems, there ain't no 'undo' or fixing it.

Also, even with the difficulties I've had in life, I still prefer to stick with the devil I know. I don't need to learn how to understand all new things and THEN compensate for that also.

Spending time figuring all the new characteristics,"What am I feeling and is that a new 'thing'", and then have to adapt to the new changes.

Just so scary on so many levels.

Very interesting what you wrote! Facial expression as well as body language is very important in public. It is the way of letting other people judge you (I know, a bit messed up), but it is also the way to let people feel comfortable around you.

I don't think it's all that messed up. For instance, I think of it this way:

My wife is Chinese, so therefore, I've been to China. Of course we went to markets and such to buy things. Now, I'm American. So, it was a bit interesting to see the cultural differences on such a basic level as numbers.

There are many dialects in China. As my wife says "A different way of speaking every ten miles". But, they have standards of communications. Counting, or number symbols can be done by hand.

Now, everybody there understands and uses those symbols. Once I learned that, I could communicate as well with basic number systems. However forget speaking it. In speech, they actually have two number systems I can glean. There is the number 2 for basic counting. But if you want 2 of something, it goes into different words.

We are a small minority of the population. We have to learn what we can and accept certain things. We also can't pass judgement on something they do naturally and take for granted.

I do expect though that with proper diagnoses and education, the population at large will eventually, I hope, have a bit better understanding of us and how we are. I think we do make them uncomfortable because they can't read us any better than we can read them.

Just be warned, there are cultures that excel at facial reading and body language. Those are the people who you must watch out for because they can read us very well and that opens us up to being taken advantage of.

They can see all those little things that I can read about, understand, but never put into practice. Sort of like knowing how to read, but being blind.

this is why i was so shocked!

the implications and potential pos. and neg. applications are HUGE!

What if their aim was off and they perm altered the wrong part of his brain?!?!

What unknown impact has this had on him?!

Look, I have studied Neuroscience in Uni and we do NOT understand the brain well enough to tinker.

Will this be used on prisoners? dissidents?

How much change can be made to the brain?

Does it wear off?

What specifically happens to the neurons and other cells?

I could list 50 other Q's, but you get the point.

Many thanks

That's an interesting way to look at it. I don't aim to make people uncomfortable. If they are uncomfortable about my facial expression when I haven't even seen them (until they start moving awkwardly around me), then I don't think that's right. It's something I have to accept since it's human nature and not going to change.


Yup very good points. People do it so naturally that they deny that they judge others based on what their face looks like. People denying that they judge based on facial expression is definitely messed up.

I love the Hong Kong movies of the 70's through the 90s. The mugging and strong facial expressions were easier for me. Some of them are zany comedies (I mean really wacky stuff sometimes) that were so telegraphed it was very enjoyable to watch.

I have a much harder time with the more stoic Japanese movies. Although I have seen a few zany Japanese movies. One was really wacky...A time travel story using a washing machine as the time travel device.

I put fake smile on when I am facing my son. He starts crying if I don't.

I don't have good vision either, and I do think it makes socializing even more difficult. I don't have good peripheral vision, but it seems like people are capable of reading the facial expressions of people using their peripheral! A lot of socializing seems to be visual. They call it "nonverbal" cues but a more accurate term may be "visual" cues.


I think it's good to do a fake smile if you can smile on cue.