Most of us be intimate what our intuition feels like , but what get it ?
Digby Tantam , a professor of psychotherapy at the University of Sheffield , UK , thinks he has the reply and explains all in his new bookThe Interbrain .
The essential premiss of his argument is that human brains are interconnected and can communicate with one another non - verbally ( without fancy objet d’art of engineering ) through tiny micro - signals that divulge what another person is thinking . Imagine a " Wi - Fi " connecting human encephalon to one another or an outside swarm that let us to understand how another is feeling and what their need might be . Tantam call this " the betweenbrain " .
This , Tantam argues , is what creates a gut feel . It is why we “ know ” something without take a clue why we do . It is what makes laughter transmissible , why we mechanically smile when our friend smiles , or yawning when the commuter train in front of us does the same .
“ We can have sex directly about other people ’s emotions and what they are paying aid to , ” Tantam toldThe Telegraph
“ It is based on the direct link between our brains and other people ’s and between their genius and ours . I call this the diencephalon . ”
The idea that a large part of the way we communicate is through non - verbal signals is n’t young . But the diencephalon is n’t just about ocular clue ( say , a elicit eyebrow ) .
concord to Tantam , a lot of it could occur down to our mother wit of smell . He argues that tiny changes in someone ’s alchemy could emit particles that give away their emotion , whether that ’s fear , lust , or something else . Even those with the most dressed poker game cheek , so the theory go , would not be able to obscure the scent they give off .
To back up his argument , Tantam point out that the orbit associated with smelling have some of the highest level of neuronal activity in the Einstein . He also cites their placement .
“ The country of the brain that is closest to the olfactory organ is the orbitofrontal lens cortex . It might be there because so many of our most basic connection to other people are via odor , ” he toldThe Telegraph .
But this human wi - fi , or “ interbrain ” , does n’t connect to everyone . People with autism , Tantam explains , are not plugged into the system like everyone else .
“ They are often able to pick up or instruct what expressions think and yet that does n’t seem to work the problem of that lack of human connection , ” headded .
He also points out the problems consort with television calling and the Internet .
“ Emotional contagion occur at the speed of igniter , not the speed of electronic transmission . Face - to - face visual input is companion by audio , by motion , by the smell of lather , by the possibility of speck , and by a connect , ” heexplained .
For now , though , it seems more enquiry is needed to confirm or debunk his hypothesis .
[ H / T : The telegraphy ]
