> Then you cropped out everything but the eyes and showed the films to a group of volunteer subjects. Could the volunteers distinguish the skeptics from the believers just by their eyes?
Tangentially related -
There was a study done some time ago when they took a black and white photograph of an old man, sort of looking off camera and smoking a cigarette. Then, they told to different study groups that the person was (1) a mass murderer (2) a scientist (3) a farmer (4) a blind person and many things else, and asked what gave him away. The answer - invariably - was "his eyes".
So while I see what Scott Adams is saying and it makes sense, I still doubt it'd be possible to tell the skeptics from the believers the way he suggests.
Probably depends on how far the believers drift from "normal" mental state.
While working for long periods with poly sleep schedule, and getting into that hypomanic idea-spewing region, I'll scare myself by looking in the mirror: my eyes are WIDE, with eyelids not touching iris. Is that how I really look to everyone? Yep. But my eyes feel normal at the time, if a bit cold. If I force them to look like a normal person's eyes, they feel warm and half-closed as if I'm sleepy. That's it! In high creativity "flow" mode, I'm really really awake and I'm paying attention to my entire visual field. Perhaps it's akin to looking frightened. In order to see possible approaching dangers, you pull your eyelids back so they don't block peripheral vision as much. You don't necessarily roll your eyes, but when your eyelids are so wide open, any glancing to the side exposes the whites of your eyes. Very noticeable to onlookers. (So then when I go out in public, I have to make sure to squint and pretend to look sleepy!)
Sheer speculation: ancient tribes might survive better if their members evolved to display certain unconscious instinctual facial expressions. The look of feverish sickness says "stay away, infection danger." But the wide-eyed crazed/fearful expression also gives the community warning to back off and avoid unexpected behavior. When I've put myself into an extreme creative state, I'll notice that my eyes feel cold w/wide open lids exposing more surface. I think to myself "Yep, automatic craziness-warning system been triggered."
Imagine what might happen if heavily-armed and mentally unstable tribe members DIDN'T display any signs that they'd consumed alkaloid plants or mushrooms or alcohol ...or had just gone without sleep for two weeks!
Tangentially related -
There was a study done some time ago when they took a black and white photograph of an old man, sort of looking off camera and smoking a cigarette. Then, they told to different study groups that the person was (1) a mass murderer (2) a scientist (3) a farmer (4) a blind person and many things else, and asked what gave him away. The answer - invariably - was "his eyes".
So while I see what Scott Adams is saying and it makes sense, I still doubt it'd be possible to tell the skeptics from the believers the way he suggests.