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I answered the email, but I didn’t inhale
Last year I wrote a column for Slate about the “Uncanny Valley” — the moment when an animated version of a human becomes so photorealistic that it’s creepy. The theory is that a highly stylized person, like an animated Charlie Brown, is so low-fi that it’s cute; our brains fill in all missing information that isn’t present in the intentionally low-resolution image. As the resolution goes up, we often find virtual humans more and more appealing … until they’re almost totally real, at which point they suddenly look horrifyingly weird. That’s because when something is 99% real, we suddenly start noticing all the 1% that isn’t quite right: We see that the eyes aren’t quite moist enough, or the skin doesn’t hang right. Suddenly, the CGI person looks like an animated corpse.
Now I’ve found the precise analog in the 3D world: These unbelievably creepy Japanese mannequins, created — I think — as training aids for nurses.
Ay-yi-yi. I can think of no more efficient way of permanently scaring someone away from a career in nursing than by dragging one of these freaktastic zombies out of whatever industrial coffin it’s shipped in. That little thing in the corner? It’s the wig. In case you want the zombie to have, you know, dark hair.
Gaaaaah.
(Boing Boing beat us here, but thanks originally to Chris Walsh for this one!)
I'm Clive Thompson, a writer on science, technology, and culture. This blog collects bits of offbeat research I'm running into, and musings thereon.
Currently, I'm a contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine and a columnist for Wired magazine. I also write for Fast Company and Wired magazine's web site, among other places. Email or AOL IM me (pomeranian99) to say hi or send in something strange!
The “Milky Way Transit Authority” map
Should automobile software be open-sourced?
My Bookforum review of Jaron Lanier’s “You Are Not A Gadget”
Molecular secrets of the “iron-plated snail”
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January 31, 2010 » 07:29 PM
V. A. To me death seems to be an evil.
M. What, to those who are already dead? or to those who must die?
A. To both.
M. It is a misery, then, because an evil?
A. Certainly.
M. Then those who have already died, and those who have still got to die, are both miserable?
A. So it appears to me.
M. Then all are miserable?
A. Every one.
January 24, 2010 » 03:22 PM
One of the more interesting trends is family, which came in at number five. Specifically, discussion about family, moms, dads, daughters, etc. jumped during 2009. With Facebook users getting older, this isn’t a big surprise. However, the fact that the mention of “kids” jumped by a factor of five this year is rather dramatic. It’s tough to know what this means, though. (via Facebook Unveils Most-Mentioned Topics of 2009
)
January 15, 2010 » 01:36 PM
BEYOND AWESOME. They are announcing a recall of the Plush Uterus “due to a potential choking hazard for children”. To apply for it, “Please send an email to the address below with the subject line, ‘UTERUS OPT OUT’”.
January 14, 2010 » 10:04 PM
“To order, please TYPE “YES” IN CHECKBOX BELOW TO AGREE YOU UNDERSTAND THIS PLUSH MUST BE KEPT AWAY FROM KIDS (it is a sex organ, after all). If it is not checked, WE WILL NOT SEND THE UTERUS.” (via @ibogost)
January 11, 2010 » 01:45 PM
I watched Space: 1999 back in the day, but I swear to god I do not remember this scene.
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