The Human Zoo discusses living in crowded cities--think of how unrelated animals have to co-exist in a zoo. We're pack animals at heart, but living in the crowded cities we've built, makes us unable to know and relate to all of the people we meet in a day. So we have to subvert our own instincts and learn to be street-smart: walk quickly, don't look around, don't meet anyone's eye, don't bother greeting anyone. In other words, we can't be the social, pack animals that we are. No wonder big cities are often regarded as unfriendly places.
One of my favorite books by Desmond Morris is Babyhood, which looks at the first year of life as if it were a separate species. There is so much to love about this book! Let's talk about just one chapter's topic: three facts about the pupils of your eyes. 1) When you look at someone you love, your pupils expand, as if to allow your eyes to drink in the sight of your beloved. That's why when new lovers gaze at each other, their eyes get so fixed on each other's eyes. The part of our brains that is still based on instinct, registers that the other person's pupils have expanded. This person loves me! We don't realize this consciously. But our pupils will expand also, to return the love. The other person's brain makes the same realization, and their pupils expand even more. I use this in my romances, when I have a lover noticing that their lover's eyes have almost no color left, due to the larger pupils, signalling arousal.
2) It's the same reason that all newborns, the world over, are born with blue or light-colored eyes. Even babies whose eyes will darken to almost black, are born with light-colored eyes. Why? When a new mother holds her newborn to nurse it, her first instinct is to sniff its head, and her nose will find the fontanel, which not having closed yet, will be more aromatic, so the mom can memorize the smell of her baby. But then she will gaze into her baby's eyes as baby nurses. Baby's pupils will expand so much, the color isn't visible anymore. So mom's brain registers that Baby loves me! Mom's pupils will dilate also, and baby is assured that mom loves her/him back. Bonding time! If baby's eyes were dark brown or black, the pupil enlargement wouldn't be as noticeable.
3) The third thing is that when women who haven't had a child are shown pictures of newborn infants, their pupils expand a little. When mothers are shown pictures of newborn infants, their pupils dilate so much you can't tell the color of their eyes. When fathers are shown pictures of newborn infants, their pupils dilate almost as much as a mother's. But when men who have never been fathers are shown pictures of infants, their pupils pin--they get smaller, as if the man is seeking to shut out the sight of what he's looking at.
Amazing stuff, right?
To find out what other authors can speak easily about, check out: http://www.longandshortreviews.com/miscellaneous-musings/wednesday-weekly-blogging-challenge-for-april-8-2020/www.longandshortreviews.com/miscellaneous-musings/wednesday-weekly-blogging-challenge-for-april-8-2020/