Semi-independence of the temporal lobe from the rest of the brain isolates the language function so that it doesn't interfere with the rest of the brain. Instincts that are completely submerged in normal brains surface and the linguistic brain doesn't filter out all the subtle perceptions that are required for shamanic experiences. The phantom body is akin to the false perception that anorexic people have of their own body except, in the case of the Therian, the "misperception" is actually useful, helping to establish them in the shamanic world and also giving them an extra sense of location in reality. As a bonus, add in the souped up immune system that increases healing and wards off swine flu (heh) with the significant trade off that our bodies like to self destruct occasionally. Since the brain isn't tied to the language function, it's able to develop a sharp sense of empathy that becomes a more primary language than verbal language.

Empathy as language, completely active instincts, phantom bodies, and a second existence in Dreamtime = Were/Therian.

Some people are born with tails..

http://www.dimaggio.org/Eye-Openers/tails_in_humans.htm

I've been thinking, that since people can get robotic arms and stuff that respond to brain signals and move at the person's will, why couldn't they install a robotic tail that did the same thing?

yes theirs a gene for every characteristic in a life form tail, eye color, everything just different animals have different sets of genes an i knew i say that icon from somewhere Cratys your on TFW XDDD srry off topic but y get a robotic tail ? gene splicing is a lot ezer lol to bad ppl aren't very good at it and thats not the real name for it but yea just add the gene for a tail and you grow a tail that would be a little weird and modern science is not advanced enough to be able to do that anyway XD

srry my writings not very good and confusing srry T_T

Ok, before I say anything, shouldn't this be in the Therianthropy section?  It seems like that's what it's about...

Anyway, I think it's all just random chance.  There may be genetic requirements to be met, but I think what does it in the end is in the developmental stages.  Some things just click into place somewhere along the line and after a while someone has developed all the traits of therianthropy.  Now, the factors that cause this may be life-events, they may be spiritual encounters, or they may just be like how some people develop different feelings and tastes.
In other words, I disagree with VanZandt.  I think it's mainly environmental, not just genetic.
I think his thing about heightened immunities is probably just the fact that therians behave in ways that would give them heightened immunities. (that, and he's European, which would give him a genetic predisposition to heightened immunities)

As for what he just said about the brain and all that, something like that would actually make sense to me, and does go in line with the "resurfacing neanderthal heritage" theory.  Now, it might not be the temporal lobe (whatever that was, he knows more neurology than I chose to remember), but it's likely that some sort of natural inhibition system is malfunctioning, causing us to tap into things that others don't, ("causing" as in both allowing and forcing) but possibly hindering our abilities to tap into other things.

Edit: Oh, and they have robotic tails.  Stalking Cat has one.  They COULD tap them into the neurons, like those VERY EXPENSIVE and VERY UNCOMMON prosthetics, but they're not going to as it's expensive and has alot of work involved for something that isn't that useful.

Last edited by SherlawkDragon (2010-01-10 16:35:23)

Assuming that there is a good scientific explanation for Therianthropy I would expect that it is largely the result of early mental development, especially in the first few years of life, and that most Therians should have genetic commonalities that significantly increase the tendency for the central nervous system to develop in a certain way. Also what both Sherlawk and VanZandt said would seem to fit with this more or less but that's neither here nor there.

Science aside reading Van Zandt's first post got me pondering emphatic thought, which led to a few interesting realizations about myself and those around me. Or at least helped me clarify some things I'd considered but hadn't come to any definite conclusions on yet. I realized that, while my thought is still somewhat tied to language, I am capable of, or at least tend towards, thinking much more emphatically than most people. It explains why I am so good at visualizing and understanding concepts that baffle others and why I often feel that word choice affects people's understanding more than it should.

As one might expect writing and forming the right words to say something generally takes me longer than most people. But interestingly I have a very strong grip on language itself (my English teachers and a few "writing specialists" have said that I write on a very advanced level, and not just for my age) and the issue only comes when I need to bridge the two types of thought.

From this I've come up with a theory that a closer association between language and thought will, as one might expect, allow easier communication between the two BUT will also restrict the depth to which each can be explored individually. And I know most people probably aren't going to get what I'm trying to say there so I'll probably have to reword that sentence later.

I know this isn't directly related to the topic but I felt that this was the best place to say it since it is where I got the inspiration to help me form the idea.

Therianism is a form of self-persuasion whereby magical thinking induces animal-loving people to interpret human behavior as non-human. The end result is to pursue a social identity and social group: outside feedback becomes necessary to validate self-imagined experiences; the goal is to reinforce and fulfill a personal fantasy. It's a phenomenon similar to both fetishism and religious brainwashing.

The science involved is psychology.

Last edited by Berserker (2010-01-22 09:20:54)