Tuesday, December 09, 2008

The question of the day: The first ever!


Starting today, I intend to post The Question of The Day here on Thinking The Lions, which may or may not become a daily thing, if I decide to stick with it.

Don't worry, I'll still be doing Down... To Go... and featuring the great stories that you've come to expect, but I need to keep things exciting for me and for you, so look forward to this each day.

Today's question: Is is really true that a fear of heights is not so much a fear of heights as it is a fear that one will throw themselves off that height?

As someone who has a fear of heights, I'm more than just intellectually curious about this. I read it a long time ago, and it seems crazy, doesn't it? Then again, it would explain why I'm afraid when I'm standing on the edge of, say, the Hoover Dam out in the open, but not when I'm on the 8th floor of the courthouse leaning against a window: no chance to hurl myself into space.

But, as a follow-up question: why would we evolve to have, somewhere hidden in our brains, the urge to jump off of a cliff?

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