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ASMR: An idea I haven't seen discussed before

2 points by unexaminedlife ↗ HN
I just had a thought that was novel and interesting enough I thought I'd throw it up online to see if it could spark conversation.

I experience ASMR. I've heard that some people don't. When I started learning about it as a phenomenon that others experience as well it became interesting to me. It's interesting to me that it never occurred to me in the first place that others also experience ASMR, as though that didn't really matter.

Most "triggers" it seems come to people through the sound of clicks or rustling in an otherwise silent environment. Also from whispering (this is another aspect that I experience, not so much from the random sounds).

The one unique thing for me (that I don't see discussed) is I also sometimes experience ASMR when I see someone struggling through a problem they're trying to solve. Or so I thought. I just a few minutes ago started wondering whether the fact that I KNEW the answer to the problem they're trying to solve had anything to do with it. Then the rest started to gush downstream rapidly.

If the fact that I experience ASMR because I recognize that someone else doesn't know the answer to something that I do, could that be tied to some primal process for survival? I don't know if this is how others experience it but it is somewhat of a "rush". Could it be that it's a natural mechanism humans have used in order to "kickstart" the dopamine / adrenaline before they've had a chance to work up a sweat? (ie. survival).

If I'm being hunted, what do I need to be keenly aware of in an otherwise silent environment? The slightest of noises will be important hints that are meant to help me get out of what could be a dangerous situation. The experience of knowing something that someone else doesn't could be tied to strategy (hunting, etc). Once ancestors start recognizing patterns to help them survive could those become "engrained in your DNA", so to speak, to help future generations?

5 comments

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phendrenad2
Well, evolutionary psychology is generally debunked. But it's possible that it's some low-level effect that attempts to make us more social. Maybe knowing the answer, and watching someone struggle with it, comes from cavepeople teaching each other a new fire-making technique or something. Maybe it's an attempt to make us feel good about sharing knowledge?
unexaminedlife
I have come to associate it with the pleasure of sharing knowledge, but the thing that struck me was how when seen in such a light it could be seen as some ancient primal instinct that was originally meant for recognizing it as a strategic advantage. Of knowing something someone else doesn't.
zepto
> Well, evolutionary psychology is generally debunked.

Can you say more about this? Is there a good reference for the debunking?

I’m aware that a much of what is called evo-psych is ‘just so stories’ that are unscientific, but that doesn’t mean the concept itself is generally debunked.

PaulHoule
I think a cat finds it stressful to be aware of another cat but not be able to interact with it -- e.g. an apartment cat is stressed to see another cat out the Window.

If the cats do get to interact there may be some drama but eventually they will figure out where they stand socially. It is the not knowing that distresses them.

unexaminedlife
Yeah, not sure if this is what you mean, but I'm not necessarily locking myself into human <-> human. Hunting and being hunted can include other animals as well.