Where did we go wrong?

So I guess scientists have discovered that through evolution, the fear of snakes and spiders has been ingrained into our brains during fetal development. Something that goes along the lines of "if we were still wild animals, we'd be able to instinctually recognize reptiles and spiders as a threat to our survival as some of them are lethal, and the brain's immediate response is that of fear." And I guess this development is still in play today, as their studies showed.

I guess that explains why the majority of the Earth's population sees a snake and wets their pants.

Where the heck did all of us go wrong? :P Is it a possibility that we all missed out on that part of our brain's development? Who knows, because I know for sure that I'm terrified of spiders -- but give me a spider ball python ANY day and I'm a happy girl.

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Originally Posted by MissLeMew

So I guess scientists have discovered that through evolution, the fear of snakes and spiders has been ingrained into our brains during fetal development. Something that goes along the lines of "if we were still wild animals, we'd be able to instinctually recognize reptiles and spiders as a threat to our survival as some of them are lethal, and the brain's immediate response is that of fear." And I guess this development is still in play today, as their studies showed.

I guess that explains why the majority of the Earth's population sees a snake and wets their pants.

Where the heck did all of us go wrong? :P Is it a possibility that we all missed out on that part of our brain's development? Who knows, because I know for sure that I'm terrified of spiders -- but give me a spider ball python ANY day and I'm a happy girl.

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Thats interesting. I know it may seam stupid that its in our heads right from the start to fear these animals, but honestly I can completely beleive it. I mean sure ball pythons are very nice and docile, as are many spiders/tarantulas, but there are some tarantulas and snakes that I would never even attempt to handle. lol

Yea idk why I hate spiders but there is no way I'm touching one or keeping one as a pet.

Everybody's different. I try not to believe anything a scientist tells me. Because they are always changing there minds.

Personally I hate all bugs. Infact one of the best things about getting a gecko might just be watching him hunt crickets(as long as I ain't gotta raise them).


I think we have alot of modern comforts today. Unless your someone who goes out in nature alot, venomous snakes are no threat to you in a suburban or urban area.


We have knowledge. Maybe a little bravery and stupidity to. And I think thats a plus.

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Originally Posted by PurplePython

I mean sure ball pythons are very nice and docile, as are many spiders/tarantulas, but there are some tarantulas and snakes that I would never even attempt to handle. lol

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I'm on Cape Cod, and the only spider that you'd ever have to worry about here is the once in a blue moon black widow, that gets carried onto this stupid little rock by some musty old pick-up truck.

But even so, put one of those freaky little jumping spiders in my face, and I'm on the floor having a panic attack. Put a diamond back rattle snake in my path, and I'm really excited... not that I would try to pick one up without the proper equipment, but still. :)

I'd take no legs over eight legs any day.

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Originally Posted by MissLeMew

So I guess scientists have discovered that through evolution, the fear of snakes and spiders has been ingrained into our brains during fetal development. Something that goes along the lines of "if we were still wild animals, we'd be able to instinctually recognize reptiles and spiders as a threat to our survival as some of them are lethal, and the brain's immediate response is that of fear." And I guess this development is still in play today, as their studies showed.

I guess that explains why the majority of the Earth's population sees a snake and wets their pants.

Where the heck did all of us go wrong? :P Is it a possibility that we all missed out on that part of our brain's development? Who knows, because I know for sure that I'm terrified of spiders -- but give me a spider ball python ANY day and I'm a happy girl.

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What "scientists" are these? Every time BG saw anything about this it was proven that's it's not "instinctive". A kid will go right up to a snake and pick it up until the momma goes. EWWWWWWWW....stay away. Test your kid. BG bets they'll go right up to a snake and pick it up.

Is that from the tv? I think I saw something that said the same thing, except I know it wasn't any "scientist" theory because they mentioned it went all the way back to "Adam and Eve". And all I was thinking when I watched it was "Wow, so people are scared of snakes because a talking snake lured them into doing something stupid...This makes PERFECT sense".

Even if you saw it somewhere else, I still highly doubt it. As a kid, I wasn't scared of anything. I'd catch snakes and set them free....Picked up a spider, it bit me and my arm swelled up all the way to my elbow, that's when my fear kicked in.

:snake:

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Originally Posted by MitsuMike

Yea idk why I hate spiders but there is no way I'm touching one or keeping one as a pet.

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i have a rose hair and its such a docile little thing. I think mine actually enjoys being handled, although all of them are different. I have seen a rose hair flip out on some people and I have seen some completely calm and docile and fine with being held.

Just hold a tarantula or spider one time and I am sure you will change your mind.

I used to be deathly affraid of spiders/tarantulas too. Then I held my very first one, and immediately I felt so uneducated about my fears. They are defensive just like ball pythons are. They wont strike or "bite" just for the heck of it.

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Originally Posted by Seru1

Unless your someone who goes out in nature alot, venomous snakes are no threat to you in a suburban or urban area.

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It depends on where you live. I've been in lots of places where poisonous snakes will be in peoples backyards.

I would imagine that it is instinctual to be cautious of little things that move quickly, like a rat, spider or maybe snake. That would make sense, but experience has told me that kids are only scared when a snake moves quickly. Adults on the other hand are a different story. Depending on your culture, people are taught to flee for their lives if they see a snake, and for good reason. I have some family friends from Burundi and when I took my corn snake out one day, they literally RAN out of my house! It was super funny.

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Originally Posted by Big Gunns

What "scientists" are these? Every time BG saw anything about this it was proven that's it's not "instinctive". A kid will go right up to a snake and pick it up until the momma goes. EWWWWWWWW....stay away. Test your kid. BG bets they'll go right up to a snake and pick it up.

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I was just going to say that this can't be right. My 2 year old son LOVES my snakes and the rats. No fear once so ever. I have to say that you are right once again BG:D

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Originally Posted by PurplePython

i have a rose hair and its such a docile little thing. I think mine actually enjoys being handled, although all of them are different. I have seen a rose hair flip out on some people and I have seen some completely calm and docile and fine with being held.

Just hold a tarantula or spider one time and I am sure you will change your mind.

I used to be deathly affraid of spiders/tarantulas too. Then I held my very first one, and immediately I felt so uneducated about my fears. They are defensive just like ball pythons are. They wont strike or "bite" just for the heck of it.

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Oh I'm not like afraid of them like OMG they will eat me or bite me scared. They are just creepy. If I look into it's fangs and eyes I wanna run away like a little girl. Haha that is the only thing I don't like. I can do ANYTHING else.

What's interesting is I was terrified of snakes growing up as a kid, it wasn't until a few years a go I tried it and let me tell you, it just takes some understanding. I now have 14 snakes in my collection and I love being around them, especially my carpets, and my sweet 6' Dumeril's Boa. I believe we are taught by our parents what to fear.

I'm not sure about anyone else but I have to agree to an extent. I can't say im afraid of snakes because I now own one, I was a little nervous about it at first but I have never really feared them. But spiders just creep me out, I think they are awesome when in a tank like a tarantula but anything outside of some enclosure just creeps me. I could learn to get over it I guess but for some reason, most people get like anxiety attacks whenever they see a snake or spider.

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Originally Posted by DJ_Bizarre

I'm not sure about anyone else but I have to agree to an extent. I can't say im afraid of snakes because I now own one, I was a little nervous about it at first but I have never really feared them. But spiders just creep me out, I think they are awesome when in a tank like a tarantula but anything outside of some enclosure just creeps me. I could learn to get over it I guess but for some reason, most people get like anxiety attacks whenever they see a snake or spider.

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i guess we can thank the movies anaconda and arachnaphobia for that.... lol

it probably does have a lot to do with the media and movies. after I saw jaws as a young kid, I am now terrified of going in the water.... even fresh water scares me.

Eh, I know that scientists aren't anything to bet your money on, but I thought the article was funny because I can name about 20 people off the top of my head that own or are in love with snakes, including myself.

It just made me think who are they to say what the human race can and can't be afraid of? My next thought was that if all humans develop this fear, then would there be something psychologically wrong with those who don't fear these animals? :P

And then I laughed, because no one will ever really have the answers to things like that.

People love what they love, and fear what they fear. It presumptuous to say otherwise. :) It just made me giggle, and I wanted to know how others would interpret something like that.

I still think spiders are creepy as all get out, though. :D

i think this is kinda right, i have twin brother and sister, and i had snakes since they were born [[they're 4 now]] and since they were little the girl would FREAK if she came near one of my beauties but ashton[[boy]] loves them, since he was a baby he would play with them and now even calls my normal boy "his" and named him and sneaks into my room to play with them, so i think this is partly true.... i on the other hand, have suffered from arachnophobia since i can remember, and growing in colombia i would see lots of tarantulas, and would immediately faint [[yup...like plop]]

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Originally Posted by MissLeMew

Eh, I know that scientists aren't anything to bet your money on, but I thought the article was funny because I can name about 20 people off the top of my head that own or are in love with snakes, including myself.

It just made me think who are they to say what the human race can and can't be afraid of? My next thought was that if all humans develop this fear, then would there be something psychologically wrong with those who don't fear these animals? :P

And then I laughed, because no one will ever really have the answers to things like that.

People love what they love, and fear what they fear. It presumptuous to say otherwise. :) It just made me giggle, and I wanted to know how others would interpret something like that.

I still think spiders are creepy as all get out, though. :D

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Do you have a link to this article? I find it hard to believe they'd actually have any real proof of this. It sounds more like a theory to me. From what I've seen young children are least fearful and most fascinated by snakes than any other age group.

It's not a clear cut study - obviously - but I guess t's something that they've concluded.

Here's the link:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/n...nakefears.html This is an older study, from back in 2001, but I guess there's been "break throughs" recently, as I heard a little blurb about it during the hourly news on the local radio station, and decided to look up what was going on.

If you search for it, there's other recent articles by other sources. It's interesting, and it may have some ground, but I still think it's something that's influenced by more than just instinct and such. Until they actually cut into a human brain and figure out what the heck is really going on, I'm not going to decide on it one way or another. :P

Here's one from msnbc:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35459615/

Obviously, humans aren't crickets, but stuff like this is always fun to read about, whether you agree with the scientists or not. :)

I'm cool with anything that has less than four legs... :)

I do not have a fear of ANY animal. I do, however, have a healthy respect for those that COULD do me harm. For instance, today, I was helping my friend with her horse. I do not fear horses in the slightest. In fact, I love them and wish I could have one. She needed to see if he was lame and needed someone to sit on him to add weight while he trotted. I have not been on a trotting horse since I was 7 and have no clue how to sit on a horse. So this probably was not a good idea for me to get on him while he trotted and at one point, I was afraid I was going to fall off him, but that was a fear of falling from him, not him. He's a big sweet heart!

I have a healthy respect for hots. I will never touch one or come close to one. Am I afraid of them, no. But I don't want to get bitten either, and so keep my distance. I would not call that respect, "fear", just being smart.

Spiders are actually not that bad. I held this curly hair tarantula at last year's show and it was actually pretty cool to handle. After that experience I wouldn't mind keeping one. My sister said she'd hold it if I did, and even though I was uneasy about big spiders and have never handled a spider before I was curious about handling it so I did. They are really awesome to handle so maybe some day I'd get one. I can't tell my aunt though LOL:giggle:

I guess nothing in me went wrong, I love snakes and spiders:D

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Originally Posted by GoBoilers

I'm cool with anything that has less than four legs... :)

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I'll even go four or less!

"Where did we go wrong?"

I'll tell you.

Nature vs. Nurture.

Debate it all you want, but everything determined by our genetics. It is shown over and over again, you can even predict who will be more likely to be in a car crash based on genetics. Score one for nature.

However, similar studies have shown that you can also predict just about everything that might happen to a person based on their environment that they live in. Score one for nurture.

We went wrong on the "nurture" front. Something happened in your life. Maybe it was a trip to the zoo, maybe it was the croc hunter, maybe it was growing up in the southeast and playing in swamps. Just because you don't remember how you first started liking reptiles doesn't mean there wasn't an environmental cause (or a few)

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Originally Posted by mainbutter

"Where did we go wrong?"

I'll tell you.

Nature vs. Nurture.

Debate it all you want, but everything determined by our genetics. It is shown over and over again, you can even predict who will be more likely to be in a car crash based on genetics. Score one for nature.

However, similar studies have shown that you can also predict just about everything that might happen to a person based on their environment that they live in. Score one for nurture.

We went wrong on the "nurture" front. Something happened in your life. Maybe it was a trip to the zoo, maybe it was the croc hunter, maybe it was growing up in the southeast and playing in swamps. Just because you don't remember how you first started liking reptiles doesn't mean there wasn't an environmental cause (or a few)

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BG doesn't believe it. He has two brothers that don't feel the same way about snakes as him. They don't like sports like him, they're completely different than him. So BG does not believe your theory mainbuts.:D

Then again...there can only be one Big Gunns.:D


BG will let yah all in on a leeetle secret. He hates Spiders!!!!!!!

Big Gunns tells all his fans. He can sleep like a baby if 100 snakes are loose in the house, but one Tarantula. :O:O:O Big Gunns is sleeping at a fans house.

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Originally Posted by Big Gunns

A kid will go right up to a snake and pick it up until the momma goes. EWWWWWWWW....stay away. Test your kid. BG bets they'll go right up to a snake and pick it up.

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That's a good point. The younger the kid, the less likely he/she will be afraid of snakes. It was love at first sight the first time I held a snake at around age 7. My 9yo's classmate was here a couple of weeks ago, scared at first, but then she touched our BP and then didn't even understand why she was scared at all.

But yes, there's an irrational fear amongst most people about snakes. I truly don't understand it.

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Originally Posted by MissLeMew

It's not a clear cut study - obviously - but I guess t's something that they've concluded.

Here's the link:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/n...nakefears.html This is an older study, from back in 2001, but I guess there's been "break throughs" recently, as I heard a little blurb about it during the hourly news on the local radio station, and decided to look up what was going on.

If you search for it, there's other recent articles by other sources. It's interesting, and it may have some ground, but I still think it's something that's influenced by more than just instinct and such. Until they actually cut into a human brain and figure out what the heck is really going on, I'm not going to decide on it one way or another. :P

Here's one from msnbc:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35459615/

Obviously, humans aren't crickets, but stuff like this is always fun to read about, whether you agree with the scientists or not. :)

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The fact that the test subjects were mostly psychology students tells me that most would have already been trained to be afraid of these animals for many years. Of course they would respond quicker to something "scary" than something "peaceful." It sounds a lot to me like the psychologist running it just drew the conclusions he wanted to. The only way I could see to get definitive results on this sort of experiment would be to monitor the brainwaves of infants while showing them the pictures.

I am new to the whole snake thing. I've never feared them, per se, unless I could identify them as venomous. I recently went to Space Center Houston, and they had brought in Clint "The Snake Guy" and a few of his friends. I got picked out of the audience to hold one of his snakes to allow any/every one in the audience a chance to come pet and hold it. The snake handed to me was a Ball Python named Lucky.

After 45 minutes of handling Lucky and letting everyone else do so, as well, I knew I was the lucky one.:banana: Which is why I am here learning as much as I can about BPs.

All that to say that my 2 sons were there with me. One is 4 the other is 9. The 9 year old was nervous around the snakes. My 4 year old was loving every minute of it. We even got a picture of him and my wife holding a 7 foot Boa (sorry, I forget the exact species). My boy and the snake are looking right at each other as if they're saying, "Hi! Pleased to meet you." Even though Mom and Dad obviously had no problems with any of the snakes, the older boy was nervous about them and the younger one wasn't.

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Originally Posted by PurplePython

i guess we can thank the movies anaconda and arachnaphobia for that.... lol

it probably does have a lot to do with the media and movies. after I saw jaws as a young kid, I am now terrified of going in the water.... even fresh water scares me.

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the media has always been messing with peoples minds look at all those monster movies from the 50's

http://img708.imageshack.us/img708/2585/tarantulai.jpg

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Originally Posted by 771subliminal

the media has always been messing with peoples minds look at all those monster movies from the 50's

http://img708.imageshack.us/img708/2585/tarantulai.jpg

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The only thing this needs is a few clowns, and a serial killer. OR a serial killing clown.