The Horror

Why is Mickey Mouse so damned cute, but man with twitchy little mouse whiskers and off-kilter round ears is horrific to consider? Why is a robotic hand interesting, but a crawling human hand terrifying?

A Japanese roboticist has developed a thesis he calls, poetically, the Uncanny Valley, charting human reactions to things that look (move, act) human, and how people react to them. Based on his research, as you get toward resembling human, there’s a peak or attraction right around where people think of anthropomorphic animals, but then, as more human attributes are added, people become more disturbed, disquiet, then repelled, until there’s a deep trough of dislike — followed by a sharp incline upward as the subjects become fully human in appearance.

So Mickey Mouse, or Stuart Little, are cute, but a man with a few mouse/ratlike characteristics would be a subject of loathing.

(via BoingBoing)