Why Do We Say Uncanny

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The word “uncanny” floats around in conversations about robots that look a little *too* human, or that feeling you get when you see a familiar face in an unexpected place. But why do we say uncanny? The term points to something deeply unsettling, a sense of strangeness arising from the familiar. Let’s delve into the origins and psychology behind this fascinating and often chilling concept.

The Roots of “Uncanny” and Its Meaning

The word “uncanny” finds its origins in the German word “unheimlich,” which literally translates to “un-homely” or “unfamiliar.” This hints at the core of the uncanny experience: something that should be familiar, comfortable, and safe (like home) suddenly becoming strange, alien, and unsettling. This contradiction between familiarity and strangeness is what makes the uncanny so potent. The feeling arises when the lines between what we know and what we don’t are blurred, causing a sense of cognitive dissonance.

Sigmund Freud famously explored the uncanny in his 1919 essay, “Das Unheimliche.” He argued that the uncanny arises from repressed childhood fears and anxieties that resurface in unexpected ways. These fears, often related to themes of death, castration, and the loss of control, are typically hidden from our conscious awareness. However, when triggered by certain stimuli, they can create a feeling of unease and disorientation. Freud identified several elements that commonly evoke the uncanny, including:

• Doubles: Seeing a perfect copy of oneself or another person.
• Automatons: Lifelike figures that lack genuine consciousness.
• Dismemberment: The representation of body parts separated from the whole.
• Animation of Inanimate Objects: When objects appear to come alive

Beyond Freud’s psychoanalytic interpretation, the uncanny can also be understood through a cognitive lens. According to this perspective, the uncanny arises when we encounter stimuli that violate our expectations and categorization schemas. We constantly build mental models of the world, and when something deviates significantly from these models, it can trigger a sense of unease. Consider, for example, a robot that looks almost, but not quite, human. This imperfect resemblance triggers a sense of wrongness because it falls into a gray area between “human” and “machine,” challenging our ability to categorize it effectively. Below is a table to illustrate this concept:

Want to understand even more about the concept of the uncanny and Freud’s work? Take a look at the following resource for in-depth information.