Fear Assignment

Part 1

Step 1: Examine

As I thought about fear and what it meant to me, I couldn't really identify any specific fears of mine. This is not to say that I don't have any fear, though, as this is far from the case. It's just that I don't think I have many specific fears (like spiders, or heights, or anything like that), at least that I could identify. What I realized, however, was that I felt fear most when I was worried about things that were highly unlikely. For example, right about the time of this assignment, I had a somewhat large situation come up with another class. I knew rationally that this situation would almost certainly resolve itself just fine, but I was really concerned about it. That feeling of fear at that time really let me observe my own fear, and identify that it mostly seems to happen even when I know nothing will likely happen.

Step 2: Experiment

For my experiment, I chose to show a video that I had seen a long time ago. The video attempts to startle the viewers, and I thought this was a good metaphor for what I think of fear. The video tries to instill a very brief moment of fear, even though the viewers never rationally think that anything is going to happen. Furthermore, many of the "subjects" in my experiment were likely expecting the startling moment, thus making it lose its effectiveness. However, I expected that several of them would still be startled. This added another metaphorical layer, as it again showed fear happening when there was no rational concern.

Step 3: Hypothesis

As I discussed in my previous entry, I suspected that some of the subjects would be startled, and others would completely see it coming and not be affected at all.

Steps 4-6: Experiment/Reaction/Analysis

I conducted this experiment in class. One of my expected outcomes definitely happened, as at least one person had already seen the video and knew exactly what to expect. With the lights out, I couldn't tell for sure if anyone was legitimately startled, so unfortunately I don't really know how that half of the hypothesis worked out. I expected a little more noticeable reaction, and I failed to account for my inability to judge people's reactions with the lights out. Still, I am largely content with the results, as I think the experiment was fairly successful in its metaphorical goals.

Step 7: Proposed Changes

If I could change any variables in the experiment I would primarily make sure I could observe the reactions better. Perhaps I could record them. I also would perform the experiment in an environment where less people would expect it (as opposed to a room full of people specifically discussing fear). This way some people would likely see it coming, but a greater percentage might not.

Part 2


There were two presentations that most connected with me. The first was the person (I can't remember his name) who talked about asking "What's the worst that can happen?" This connected with me because of its inherent similarities to the conclusions I had drawn, specifically about fear being in a situation where there is little to no rational reason for concern. This affected my project by forcing me to think about the contrasts between his ideas and my own. He spoke of the idea as a way of sort of overcoming fear, and it made me see more strongly the disconnect in my project between rational thought and the existence of fear.

The other project that connect with me was Daniel MacLean's. It showed something so different from mine in that it showed a very specific fear, where I couldn't really come up with any. However, it largely dealt with the same idea as mine, the idea of fear without rational concern. Also, Daniel briefly discussed some of the  religious/spiritual aspects of his fear, which also resonated with me. Like Daniel, I would call myself a Christian, and the in-class discussion about the relationship between his faith and fear made me think about any possible connections between my own fears and my personal religious beliefs. I am still thinking about this, and although I haven't reached any solid conclusions, it definitely seems like a very worthwhile idea to think about.