Do You Ever Have That Feeling That Someone Is Watching You

  • Thread starter Thread starter edward
  • Start date Start date
AI Thread Summary
The discussion revolves around the concept of heightened awareness, often described as a "sixth sense," experienced in two anecdotes. The first involves a hiker who senses a mountain lion watching him, illustrating instinctual awareness of danger. The second scenario features a person in the shower who feels watched, only to find their dog, Daisy, ready to play tug with a towel. This leads to a humorous reflection on the idea of "Extra Sensory Dangly-Bits Perception" (ESDBP), suggesting that what feels like a sixth sense is actually the brain processing sensory information below conscious awareness. Participants debate the nature of this perception, with some attributing it to selective memory and others acknowledging the brain's ability to filter and prioritize sensory input. The conversation highlights the balance between instinctual awareness and the cognitive processes that govern perception.
edward
Messages
62
Reaction score
167
It can be a someone or it can be a something.

The last time I had that feeling, it was a little tingle on the back of my neck, and it was a definitely a thing watching me. I was hiking in the mountains and over a period of 15 seconds or so I became wary and felt that tingle. I looked around and then I looked behind me and looked up.

There on a ledge up on the cliff behind me was a very curious mountain lion. I noticed that it was about 60 feet up and realized that I was in no danger. My sixth sense had worked.

Fast forward about ten years. This morning I took the door off of one of the bathrooms. My wife needs the extra width to get through the doorway until she no long needs to use a walker due to a broken ankle. The missing door is no big problem because the bathroom is around a corner inside of a bedroom.

I did some other chores around the house and then came in and took a shower. I stepped out of the shower and grabbed the towel and started drying my head first as usual. At some point as I was drying my head, and what hair I have left, I began to get that odd feeling that I was being watched. I also remembered that there was no door.

I slowly lowered the towel from my face and there to my surprise was my dog Daisy. This shouldn't have been a problem except that Daisy likes to grab towels and play tug. This happens a lot when we are outside and I am drying Daisy off. I finally gave up on trying to stop her and just started letting the mutt tear at one end of the towel while I dry her off with the other.

I had a bit of a problem in that bathroom, Daisy had that intense look in her eyes that she gets when she is about to grab something and the closest part of the towel to the dog was hanging over my private parts. I quickly put my hand down over my essentials as I turned sideways and yelled "Get the He! out of here dog! Daisy does obey that command.

That sixth sense had worked again :D

1qgwwl.jpg
 
  • Like
Likes lisab
Physics news on Phys.org
A clear case of ESDBP.

Extra Sensory Dangly-Bits Perception.
 
  • Like
Likes RonL and edward
lisab said:
A clear case of ESDBP.

Extra Sensory Dangly-Bits Perception.

Holy cow the headlines in tomorrows paper could have read DOG NEUTERS OWNER .
 
 
  • Like
Likes edward and lisab
gosh, I could make a fortune selling tinfoil hats ;)
 
nsaspook said:
It's not a sixth sense, it's your normal senses working below the threshold of your conscious perception.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-attentive_processing
Most of us married guys are experts in adjusting the threshold.

I had read that Wiki link before I posted. I just used the term "sixth sense" for dramatic effect. :D
 
davenn said:
gosh, I could make a fortune selling tinfoil hats ;)

How much are those things selling for now anyway? I accidently wrapped a sandwich in my old one and put it in the microwave. :D
 
  • #10
nsaspook said:
It's not a sixth sense, it's your normal senses working below the threshold of your conscious perception.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-attentive_processing
I don't even buy this. People stop and look around for many common reasons. One time out of ten, there's someone, or something, watching you. Those "hits" stand out in your memory, and the "misses" are forgotten.
 
  • #11
edward said:
How much are those things selling for now anyway?

the greater the person's paranoia, the more they are willing to pay ;) ... name you price haha
 
  • #12
zoobyshoe said:
I don't even buy this. People stop and look around for many common reasons. One time out of ten, there's someone, or something, watching you. Those "hits" stand out in your memory, and the "misses" are forgotten.

Sure sometimes but we have all had times when our attention is on something else and completely missed obvious events like changes in sounds or patterns of motion that would have been detected if we were acutely aware of our surroundings. I was joking about controlling the threshold but it's something we all do at some level. I remember learning to copy code , type and talk at the same time at radio school, after a while you learned how to focus conscious perception on one and how to background others but still buffer the information in short term memory. We even had a patch for it.
http://www.navy-radio.com/misc/norfolk-decal-02_small.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #13
davenn said:
the greater the person's paranoia, the more they are willing to pay ;) ... name you price haha
Thank you very much for the free tinfoil hat. :D
 
  • Like
Likes davenn

Similar threads

Replies
39
Views
1K
Replies
34
Views
2K
Replies
6
Views
2K
Replies
24
Views
3K
Replies
63
Views
4K
2
Replies
56
Views
4K
Back
Top