People you meet when out for a walk (53), Why We Can't Look Away From Tragedy.

            As you creep along at a snail's pace, you can see that there are police cars up ahead. There has been an accident, and although the cars that collided are off to the side and not obstructing the road whatsoever, each car that passes by slows down to observe the damage — and you're no exception.

The science behind why death and destruction command our attention:

What happens to our brains when we see destruction? According to Dr. John Mayer, clinical psychologist at Doctor On Demand, the process is one that actually triggers our survival instincts.

"A disaster enters into our awareness — this can be from a live source such as driving by a traffic accident or from watching a news report about a hurricane, a plane crash or any disaster," he explains. "This data from our perceptual system then stimulates the amygdala (the part of the brain responsible for emotions, survival tactics and memory). The amygdala then sends signals to the regions of the frontal cortex that are involved in analyzing and interpreting data. Next, the brain evaluates whether this data (awareness of the disaster) is a threat to you, thus judgment gets involved. As a result, the 'fight or flight' response is evoked."

Ever see a car accident happen and find yourself compelled to Google what happened? Dr. Mayer says this is also our survival instincts at work. "This acts as a preventive mechanism to give us information on the dangers to avoid and to flee from," he says.

Once we go through this process and deem what we're witnessing a non-threat, psychiatrist Dr. David Henderson says that we continue to stare as a way to face our fears without risking immediate harm.

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Taken in: UK / England / Taunton Deane District / Taunton (show map)

Taken on: October 23, 2020

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Sets appears in: • People you meet when out for a walk. • Street more » • Britain • Taunton • Faces • Black & White « less

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Camera: Olympus E-M5MarkII, f/4.0, 1/400 sec, 14mm (=28mm), ISO 640 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Olympus E-M5MarkII
Lens:	OLYMPUS M.12-200mm F3.5-6.3
Aperture:	f/4.0
Exposure Time:	0.003 sec (1/400)
Focal Length:	14mm (35mm equivalent: 28mm)
ISO:	640
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Shutter speed priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Spot
White Balance:	Auto
Gain Control:	High gain up
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3.6 (Windows)
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