Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Humans Anthropomorphize Everything

A newspaper columnist suggests that humans like to make other things seem more human. She begins with a story of her Mini Cooper, which makes her my automotive sister. I also pat my car on the hood (well, maybe on the 'bonnet' since it's a Mini) and tell her what a good girl she is. Because she is a 'she,' not an it. Like my dog is a 'she' and not an 'it.'

The columnist goes on to discuss some actual science about humans trying to anthropomorphize everything. (That's just a fancy word for "make everything seem more like me.") We give our cars human voices, make robots look like people (except my Roomba, which looks more like a fat Frisbee), talk to our dogs... Oh we are so self-centered, we humans.

In the end, it's apparently perfectly normal for us to talk to our cars. Thus, when I tell Sunny she is a good car, I'm not a kook. Unless she answers.

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