Many scientists and the general population have wondered for over 100 years if we possess a “sixth sense” that alerts us to when someone is staring at us from afar, behind, or off to the side. This presents a fear for some and a case of curiosity for others. Investigation into this question has yielded fascinating information about what environmental cues the eyes can pick up even when they are damaged such as in the case of cortical blindness. Particular parts of the brain are thought to interpret such stimuli as a threat or not, yielding a variety of responses. However, all of this information is limited to what one can perceive within their field of vision, so unfortunately there is still nothing to support that one’s presence directly causes “the hair on the back of your neck to stand up.” All sorts of subtle stimulus changes may contribute to our behavioral responses, but these are complex and not necessarily indicative of an unforeseen sense.

Links for Today:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-narcissus-in-all-us/201102/how-you-know-eyes-are-watching-you (Article about our own vanity about being watched)

https://www.thecut.com/article/the-psychology-of-feeling-like-youre-being-watched.html (psychology article on being watched)

https://www.sciencealert.com/the-science-behind-why-you-think-you-re-being-watched (The science of feeling like you re being watched)

https://bigthink.com/philip-perry/why-is-it-you-can-sense-when-someones-staring-at-you (another article describing the sense of being watched)

https://theweek.com/articles/714172/scientific-reasons-sense-when-someone-watching (More science of feeling that you’re being watched)

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2013.00872/full (Peer review on the feeling of being watched)

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23944840/

Recommendations

Shane: The Damned: Machine Gun Etiquette (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLM0QWHFvEjTabIXB3IUBKb_TXj0Whq3Zx)

Abraham: Rage Against the Machine (https://tour.ratm.com/)

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