"ALMOST HUMAN" is a Threat: Your Brain and the UNCANNY Valley

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The Unsolved Science Files

Byte & Pieces

36 episodes

5 days ago

Every star, every cell, every thought you've ever had is just the beginning of the story. We live on a tiny, well-lit island surrounded by a vast, dark ocean of things we don't know. This is the show that dives in.

Welcome to The Unsolved Science Files, your guide to the most mind-bending questions at the absolute frontier of human knowledge. Everyday, we investigate one of science's great "known unknowns" and break it down in under 25 minutes. No fluff, no impenetrable jargon—just pure, distilled awe.

We’re not just talking about science; we're exploring the very nature of reality, consciousness, and our place in the cosmos. We tackle questions like:

What existed before the Big Bang?
Where does consciousness come from?
Are we alone in the universe? (The Fermi Paradox)
What is the mysterious Dark Matter that holds our galaxies together?

If you're endlessly curious about the mysteries of the universe and want to feel a little smarter and a lot more amazed, this is the podcast you've been searching for.Hit Subscribe, and let's get curious.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-unsolved-science-files--6716243/support.

All content for The Unsolved Science Files is the property of Byte & Pieces and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.

What existed before the Big Bang?
Where does consciousness come from?
Are we alone in the universe? (The Fermi Paradox)
What is the mysterious Dark Matter that holds our galaxies together?

Science

Society & Culture,

Documentary

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"ALMOST HUMAN" is a Threat: Your Brain and the UNCANNY Valley

The Unsolved Science Files

34 minutes

4 weeks ago

"ALMOST HUMAN" is a Threat: Your Brain and the UNCANNY Valley

Ever seen a CGI character or a robot that was so close to human it just made your skin crawl? There's a name for that chilling, gut feeling, and it's called the Uncanny Valley. This is the bizarre psychological space where "almost human" becomes more terrifying than "not human at all."

Join us as we plunge into the fascinating Uncanny Valley Hypothesis, a brilliant concept from roboticist Masahiro Mori. We’ll explore why some of the most advanced human-like robots and CGI characters become instant nightmare fuel. From the unnerving gait of the BigDog robot to the almost-too-real Na'vi from Avatar, we dissect the specific triggers that give us the creeps.

But is this just a feeling, or is there hard science behind it? We’ll reveal the surprising truth: Mori himself never actually tested his own famous hypothesis. We'll explore the cutting-edge research in robotics and computer graphics trying to solve this problem, including a wild theory that adding an interactive element could be the secret to helping us make friends with our creepy robot cousins. This is a thrilling, shareable, and deeply relatable dive into the psychology of fear and the strange glitches in our human perception.

Subscribe now to find out what our fear of creepy robots says about us, and what it will take to finally crawl out of the Uncanny Valley.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-unsolved-science-files--6716243/support.

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