Capgras delusion is a psychological disorder where the sufferer will be convinced that people and objects have been replaced with identical imposters.
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Capgras delusion is a psychological disorder where the sufferer will be convinced that people and objects have been replaced with identical imposters.
The existence of such a disorder suggests that the way we recognize individuals works on multiple levels. It's thought to have a physiological cause. It looks like your mother, but some core authenticity, some deep signal is missing.
(Some of the conversations I've had about AI art have made me feel like I have this disorder.)
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Capgras delusion is a psychological disorder where the sufferer will be convinced that people and objects have been replaced with identical imposters.
The existence of such a disorder suggests that the way we recognize individuals works on multiple levels. It's thought to have a physiological cause. It looks like your mother, but some core authenticity, some deep signal is missing.
(Some of the conversations I've had about AI art have made me feel like I have this disorder.)
I sometimes wonder if everyone would show symptoms to an onset of whatever causes the Capgras delusion. It seems like people who have this problem can, sometimes, overcome it by learning how it works and understanding that the way they feel when they see people they care about has radically changed forever, but that need not mean they are seeing imposters. They can intellectualize their way out of the need to accuse people of being "fakes."
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F myrmepropagandist shared this topic
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Capgras delusion is a psychological disorder where the sufferer will be convinced that people and objects have been replaced with identical imposters.
The existence of such a disorder suggests that the way we recognize individuals works on multiple levels. It's thought to have a physiological cause. It looks like your mother, but some core authenticity, some deep signal is missing.
(Some of the conversations I've had about AI art have made me feel like I have this disorder.)
@futurebird what is a disorder in one environment can be a valuable adaptation in another environment.
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I sometimes wonder if everyone would show symptoms to an onset of whatever causes the Capgras delusion. It seems like people who have this problem can, sometimes, overcome it by learning how it works and understanding that the way they feel when they see people they care about has radically changed forever, but that need not mean they are seeing imposters. They can intellectualize their way out of the need to accuse people of being "fakes."
Is it possible to have that second layer of recognition without the first? To *feel* like you recognize something or someone in a particular way... but none of the objective physical cues match?
Is that what the kids mean when they say "this gives --- energy?"
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@futurebird what is a disorder in one environment can be a valuable adaptation in another environment.
I'm kind of fascinated by Capgras delusion because I find it hard to imagine. All evidence points to Jane being Jane. She looks like Jane, she sounds like Jane, she is doing the things Jane has generally done.
But, something is missing. (What?) It's serious enough to make people think it's not *really* her. What could that be? Most of case studies make it seem like what is missing is a kind of warm feeling? But, is that the whole story?
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I'm kind of fascinated by Capgras delusion because I find it hard to imagine. All evidence points to Jane being Jane. She looks like Jane, she sounds like Jane, she is doing the things Jane has generally done.
But, something is missing. (What?) It's serious enough to make people think it's not *really* her. What could that be? Most of case studies make it seem like what is missing is a kind of warm feeling? But, is that the whole story?
Its an historical evolutionary adaptation from the great prehistoric wars against the pod people.
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I'm kind of fascinated by Capgras delusion because I find it hard to imagine. All evidence points to Jane being Jane. She looks like Jane, she sounds like Jane, she is doing the things Jane has generally done.
But, something is missing. (What?) It's serious enough to make people think it's not *really* her. What could that be? Most of case studies make it seem like what is missing is a kind of warm feeling? But, is that the whole story?
And this relates back to a word that's been an old bugbear for me for a long time: authenticity
Few things are as impossible to define as what it is that people are talking about when they say something is, or isn't "authentic" --
In the 00s there was a lot of ink spilled in advertising about finding ways to fake authenticity. It was recognized as this keystone of consumer choice. Our sense of that is authentic is under assault. I wonder what that does to people.
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Its an historical evolutionary adaptation from the great prehistoric wars against the pod people.
This is the more fun theory but I think it's just that normally seeing people we care about makes us feel in some positive way and this is good for social bonding. And when that stops working suddenly it is disorienting to various degrees.
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I'm kind of fascinated by Capgras delusion because I find it hard to imagine. All evidence points to Jane being Jane. She looks like Jane, she sounds like Jane, she is doing the things Jane has generally done.
But, something is missing. (What?) It's serious enough to make people think it's not *really* her. What could that be? Most of case studies make it seem like what is missing is a kind of warm feeling? But, is that the whole story?
You might enjoy this (for some value of “enjoy”)
The Nearest - Reactor
When a detective, a new mother, is assigned to the case of a horrific triple murder, it appears to be a self-contained domestic tragedy--but it slowly becomes clear that something much darker may be at play.
Reactor (reactormag.com)
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Capgras delusion is a psychological disorder where the sufferer will be convinced that people and objects have been replaced with identical imposters.
The existence of such a disorder suggests that the way we recognize individuals works on multiple levels. It's thought to have a physiological cause. It looks like your mother, but some core authenticity, some deep signal is missing.
(Some of the conversations I've had about AI art have made me feel like I have this disorder.)
@futurebird
When we read about this in grad school the consensus seemed to be that what had gone missing was the connection to any emotional reaction (perhaps literally the physical connection).You see Jane. She is a friend so you should feel a little happy seeing her. But the recognition no longer triggers emotional subsystems. You know you *should* get an emotional reaction but you don't. The reason must be that it's not actually her. The part of her that is your reaction is missing.
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Is it possible to have that second layer of recognition without the first? To *feel* like you recognize something or someone in a particular way... but none of the objective physical cues match?
Is that what the kids mean when they say "this gives --- energy?"
@futurebird I think if that second layer is some sort of emotional recognition, what you're asking is similar to what I read once about a patient of Alzheimer who said to a relative "I don't know who you are, but I know I love you". It just stuck with me because I thought it was a beautiful phrase. It's the most anecdotal evidence, just one person, but since you're asking if it's possible the anecdote may be enough.
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You might enjoy this (for some value of “enjoy”)
The Nearest - Reactor
When a detective, a new mother, is assigned to the case of a horrific triple murder, it appears to be a self-contained domestic tragedy--but it slowly becomes clear that something much darker may be at play.
Reactor (reactormag.com)
@gregeganSF @futurebird @llewelly this story is, per usual, brilliant. Thank you!
