Hyperactive Agency Detection

I know, another wonderful entry that revolves around, dare I say it, science explaining fear. specifically in my case, a fear of Zombies. I was inspired earlier today by web comic artist Maki Naro of Sci-ence.org. Specifically his comic on "Things that go Bump in the Night". Yes Maki, I plugged you. Deal with it.

What is the Hyperactive Agency Detection? (also known as HADD in some circles) According to wikipedia and a short google search into it - it is a part of the brain that give humans the capacity (and propensity) to assume that some unknown noise or movement is a specific acting agent. Example - you see a shadow and think someone is after you. Believe it or not - it can be mathematically shown to be more valuable for our brains to keep this biological instinct than to let it go away. Case in point: ancient man assuming a Sabertooth is behind a bush and being wrong is a lot safer than not assuming a dangerous animal is there and being eaten. The guy/gal that was paranoid lives while the hopelessly-safe-feeling idiot is lunch.

Why should I include this in a blog about zombies? For this part of the brain to actually affect human behavior, it has to activate a fear inside the mind. One that will shock and terrify and really grab the attention of the poor soul having the reaction. I make it no secret to those who know me that I have very few fears - I am concerned about certain things, but real active fears are very small for me. I have been through a lot of hells - physically, emotionally - all of it. I have looked on the face of evil and have been tempered by it in some ways.

More simply put - my mind has to seek out the best way of scaring me to react and zombies happen to be it. They are a fear that circumvents all of my knowledge, personal strength, and capacity to rely on others in any form - they call into question my capacity to survive unlike anything else out there. Demons? Dragons? Robbers? Some super-villain?  I am not that concerned - I create this stuff for fun inside my mind. Sadly, my brain has created my zombie fear in order to maintain the ability to spook me into acting safer. Of course it sucks that when I am out at night I am watching for the start of the zombie horde, any staggering individual is gauged for optimum response while avoiding being scratched or bitten or breathed on. This is the price I pay, in some ways, to stay sane.

And that - is just a fascinatingly crazy fact about the human mind. Sometimes crazy helps it maintain a grip on reality.