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January 10, 2016
Our brains distinguish race insanely quickly, within tenths of a second.
an ancient brain region central to experiencing fear and anxiety. Another brain region, the fusiform, helps us recognize individuals, read their expressions and make inferences about their internal state. When we see an other-race face, there is less activation of the fusiform, and we are less accurate at reading facial expressions. How Our Brains Respond to Race - WSJ
Posted by gerardvanderleun at January 10, 2016 8:45 PM. This is an entry on the sideblog of American Digest: Check it out.
Your Say
Nurture complements Nature.
Teach your children well.
Posted by: Stug Guts ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://americandigest.org/sidelines/nav-commenters.gif)
at January 10, 2016 8:30 PM
Biblically speaking, it's a result of the Tower of Babel, right?
But then, there's that 100 million year old female ape-person in africa that sort of undermines the whole notion. Just sayin'....
Posted by: ghostsniper at January 11, 2016 7:37 AM
My dog is the sweetest pup I've ever known in my 65+ years of living but he is the same way. Around white people he is fine, loves everyone and wants to get in your lap but when he sees a black he goes on instant alert.
I was raised in the extreme deep South and I've known far more black folks than most Americans and I have always been wary of them, too.
Maybe it's more the vibe they give off than some thing in our brains.
Posted by: Jack at January 11, 2016 8:15 AM
Well as far as I know my mutt's never seen one but then she's only a year and a half old. Now that I'm thinking about it, it's been at least 6 months since I saw one, maybe longer.
Because long expanses of time elapse between sightings it's always interesting in an "alien being" sort of way, like seeing something that's never been seen before.
Remember seeing that King Kong on that 70's movie with Jeff Bridges and Jessica Lange (wowza!) and how realistic it looked? Kinda like that. LOL
Posted by: ghostsniper at January 11, 2016 2:24 PM
It might be coded in animal genes to be wary or fearful of the strange; it probably has survival value, other things being equal.
I like the presence of a Dr. Ben Carson doing brain surgery on a baby of any color, and knowing there are Medal of Honor 'winners' from races other than my own.
May be our intellect is there to educate or elevate some instincts to also improve our chance of survival and quality of life.
Posted by: Stug Guts at January 11, 2016 4:59 PM