Monday, February 06, 2006

An Evolutionary Theory of Clown Phobia

I present here a tentative theory explaining the phobia of clowns. Clown phobia is surprisingly less rare than one might imagine (there is at least one case in every Genpsyc class that I have). I posit that the irrational fear of clowns might be an adaptation that can be traced to our ancestral past, much like preference for large breasts and the taste of fat. It is probable that early hominids encoutered bands of wild clowns (homo ridiculus) on the African savannah. The prehistoric humans were likely terrified by the wild clowns' savagery (e.g. they bonked each other on the head with hyena bones). Human groups that mated with the wild clown species probably died out because of stupidity, so that natural selection would favor the humans who were aversive to clowns. This clown aversion quickly proliferated among successful human groups and thus we probably all carry genes that determine clown phobia, although phenotypic expression will of course be mediated by other factors (such as exposure to modern day clown species)

Believe me, I know these things


Primitive african clown (Late Pleistocene) and Modern clown

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