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Why do humans find predators cute? (self.asklemmy)

submitted 2 days ago by ThatWeirdGuy1001 to c/asklemmy

83 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Cats, dogs, bears, owls, weasels. Most of them could seriously injure/kill an average human with minor difficulty and yet we find them adorable?

Does not compute.

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[–] [email protected] 21 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

We naturally find baby-like features cute, such as:

chubbiness
big eyes
small size (this doesn't always apply ofc)
cute noises (such as meowing in cats or babbling in babies)
last but not least, fluffiness. Modern human babies are hairless, yes, but personally I think this is some kind of 'fossil trait' (yes I just made that term up) because we evolved from animals that used to be more fluffy. Besides, fluffiness often makes an animal more round, thus adding to the chubbiness factor.

Now, let's take a look at this pomerian:

This is a predator, yes, but way too small (and docile since this pom is a domesticated anomal) to pose a threat to a human, and who could be scared of that adorable little guy?

This has everything a cute animal needs: it's small, has round black eyes, and is very fluffy, which makes it look round and be a nice cuddle buddy. So your brain goes "ooh, little baby! I must protect and cherish it!", and boom, pet.

That being said, the human brain is a complex and really weird thing, lots of things we do don't make any sense.