Why are humans so repulsed by plastic surgery and why The Uncanny Valley freaks you the hell out.

[Rick Sanchez]

I just saw some threads about one member of a rookie group that made me think about this, so here are some of my thoughts and findings. 

 

Why are humans so repulsed by plastic surgery?

One possible theory that could explain this reaction is the Uncanny Valley Effect. 

 

The Uncanny Valley Effect is a dip in emotional response that humans have been shown to have when we encounter entities that look almost human, but not quite. 

 

The "uncanny valley" phenomenon remains almost as mysterious as when Japanese roboticist Masahiro Mori first coined the term in 1970. But scientists have begun venturing deeper into the metaphorical valley to better understand why robots or virtual characters with certain human characteristics can trigger such mental uneasiness. That understanding may prove crucial as humanlike robots or virtual companions enter homes and businesses in coming years. 

 

"We still don't understand why it occurs or whether you can get used to it, and people don't necessarily agree it exists," said Ayse Saygin, a cognitive scientist at the University of California, San Diego. "This is one of those cases where we're at the very beginning of understanding it."

 

The uncanny valley metaphor suggests that a human appearance or behavior can make an artificial figure seem more familiar for viewers - but only up to a point. The sense of viewer familiarity drops sharply into the uncanny valley once the artificial figure tries but fails to mimic a realistic human.

 

"If you look humanlike but your motion is jerky or you can't make proper eye contact, those are the things that make them uncanny," Saygin told InnovationNewsDaily. "I think the key is that when you make appearances humanlike, you raise expectations for the brain. When those expectations are not met, then you have the problem in the brain."

 

The Uncanny Valley phenomenon has been used to explain why we find dolls and zombies creepy, and now, possibly plastic surgery as well.

 

Here’s a chart from Wikipedia that illustrates this: ​

 

 

Humanoids move from left to right on the graph, transitioning from less realistic to more realistic. Plastic surgery aims to shift us further towards the top and make us appear more visually appealing. However, when cosmetic surgery is overdone, it may have the effect of making a person appear less human, so we essentially approach the uncanny valley from the other direction!

 

And that's why people like Valeria Lukyanova,  Anastasiya Shpagina and now this rookie kid make some people fell a little weirded out. 

 

[IKKY]

A little procedure here and there is fine but once you're barely recognisable and not in a good way, you're just a freak imo.

[Lugoose]

yes some people look scary like michael jackson but if they want to do it then let them

it's their bodies

[Reckoner]

hm. interesting read

[RenM]

what about otaku who prefer anime girls than real girls ? 

 

the reverse of uncanny valley ?

[B612]

Those doll girls are mostly makeup

 

but like, humans are so pretty as they are, when you touch too much you end up becoming a expressionless doll 

[Grape Soda]

Not repulsed but it's just mind blowing how you can just become a completely different person

[sevendays]

what about otaku who prefer anime girls than real girls ? 

 

the reverse of uncanny valley ?

not quite. it's hard to describe. anime girls are sorta realistic (they still feel human) and isn't too offsetting. a common example is the singing robot.

[Anri Sonohara]

interesting....

[enchante]

not quite. it's hard to describe. anime girls are sorta realistic (they still feel human) and isn't too offsetting. a common example is the singing robot.

more so the uncanny valley is when something artificial feels too human, anime girls aren't offsetting because they look like cartoons.

[tide]

what about otaku who prefer anime girls than real girls ? 

 

the reverse of uncanny valley ?

 

they recognize they dont look human

 

uncanny valley applies to things that seem/look human(oid), yet our mind recognizes that they aren't, at least not fully, and we get a feeling of strangeness when viewing them.

 

that's why animators are careful with realistic cgi. one misstep and their creation can go from wonderful to terrifying and unnerving.

[Rick Sanchez]

what about otaku who prefer anime girls than real girls ? 

 

the reverse of uncanny valley ?

Just like people above have already said, it's different.

 

I don't think the two relate the way you are thinking. Otaku's preference for 'anime girls' comes from a different place completely and is not quite the same thing. For them is more of an idealistic type of thing. Here is a little excerpt from a paper about the whole culture of otakus. 

 

 

 

 

Examining the social circumstances facing the potential otaku is difficult. Young adult Japanese men, in their late teens and early twenties, face a bevy of social pressures. There is an overwhelming pressure to succeed academically, high expectations, high emphasis on competition, and the rote memorization of facts and figures for the purpose of passing entrance exams into the next tier of education in what could be termed a rigid pass-or-fail ideology, induce a high level of stress.50 And then theres also the fact that the 1990s witnessed a multiple breakdown of political, economic, and socio-cultural orders and induced a visible shift in the mood of society reflecting an end to the glorious age of Japanese economic success on the global stage.51

 

These two conditions are rather important in the analysis of the conditions that give birth to the new otaku identity. Young Japanese have extreme pressure to succeed in their education, and this pressure is perpetuated, not relieved by the youths family and society in general. Even toddlers sometimes compete through an entrance exam for the privilege of attending one of the best pre-schools.52 Failure at any point imperils the developing identity of the young man. He wonders about his place in society, what to do when it seems that he will be unable to fit cleanly into the mold that Japanese society has created for him.

 

This is only made more difficult with the changes and shifts going on in Japanese society in general. How much harder is it to define oneself within a society when societys own identity is in a period of transition? It is very easy for these disillusioned Japanese youth to lose or discard their previous attempts at fitting into this socially optimal identity and seeking a new one. This is well evidenced by the testimonial of an Aum Shinrikyo member, quoted by Iida:

 

I sometimes feel at a loss, not knowing what to do with my feelings of anxiety and emptiness, something that nobody could possibly understand when I try to explain it, sometimes even I do not understand the reason for. Aum accepted me as I was. There was nowhere else other that Aum that would have accepted me, I thought.

 

you can read the whole thing here if you want. https://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1012&context=curej

 

 

 

[RenM]

 

they recognize they dont look human

 

uncanny valley applies to things that seem/look human(oid), yet our mind recognizes that they aren't, at least not fully, and we get a feeling of strangeness when viewing them.

 

that's why animators are careful with realistic cgi. one misstep and their creation can go from wonderful to terrifying and unnerving.

 

oh that's the first time i heard that. interesting. i thought game creator goal would be to create virtual game with realistic human character.

[Rubi_Rose]

Interesting read

[Pink + White]

what rookie kid

[Pink + White]

I just saw some threads about one member of a rookie group that made me think about this, so here are some of my thoughts and findings. 

 

Why are humans so repulsed by plastic surgery?

One possible theory that could explain this reaction is the Uncanny Valley Effect. 

 

The Uncanny Valley Effect is a dip in emotional response that humans have been shown to have when we encounter entities that look almost human, but not quite. 

 

The "uncanny valley" phenomenon remains almost as mysterious as when Japanese roboticist Masahiro Mori first coined the term in 1970. But scientists have begun venturing deeper into the metaphorical valley to better understand why robots or virtual characters with certain human characteristics can trigger such mental uneasiness. That understanding may prove crucial as humanlike robots or virtual companions enter homes and businesses in coming years. 

 

"We still don't understand why it occurs or whether you can get used to it, and people don't necessarily agree it exists," said Ayse Saygin, a cognitive scientist at the University of California, San Diego. "This is one of those cases where we're at the very beginning of understanding it."

 

The uncanny valley metaphor suggests that a human appearance or behavior can make an artificial figure seem more familiar for viewers - but only up to a point. The sense of viewer familiarity drops sharply into the uncanny valley once the artificial figure tries but fails to mimic a realistic human.

 

"If you look humanlike but your motion is jerky or you can't make proper eye contact, those are the things that make them uncanny," Saygin told InnovationNewsDaily. "I think the key is that when you make appearances humanlike, you raise expectations for the brain. When those expectations are not met, then you have the problem in the brain."

 

The Uncanny Valley phenomenon has been used to explain why we find dolls and zombies creepy, and now, possibly plastic surgery as well.

 

Here’s a chart from Wikipedia that illustrates this: ​

 

 

Humanoids move from left to right on the graph, transitioning from less realistic to more realistic. Plastic surgery aims to shift us further towards the top and make us appear more visually appealing. However, when cosmetic surgery is overdone, it may have the effect of making a person appear less human, so we essentially approach the uncanny valley from the other direction!

 

And that's why people like Valeria Lukyanova,  Anastasiya Shpagina and now this rookie kid make some people fell a little weirded out. 

 

can you please tell me what's going on this the rookie kid? who are they

[Rick Sanchez]

can you please tell me what's going on this the rookie kid? who are they

 

Some threads were made about this new group, New-Ace (but they might have changed their name), and people were talking about one of the members, Jion. 

 

https://onehallyu.com/topic/628485-new-ace-jion/

https://www.allkpop.com/article/2017/09/new-boy-group-new-ace-release-fresh-sets-of-profile-photos

https://www.kpopmap.com/new-ace-kpop-profile/

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zw1N7K0jFGY