Comments on: As I walk through the uncanny valley

By: Riggsveda

Riggsveda — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:52:41 +0000

Melanie, I think what you describe is not uncommon for people seeing their loved ones in funeral homes for the first time after their deaths. I felt I had to touch my father’s arm in the casket, even though the sight of him was strange; the makeup gave him an “off” look, but he looked just enough like himself that (it feels strange to type this) I had to touch him, to feel his woodenness, to assure my primitive brain that he was dead and we would not be consigning a living being to premature burial.
BTW, that photo of the Jinks sculpture with the Seed article so troubled me that I had to follow the link to the gallery. What an artist.

By: MELANIE

MELANIE — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:37:16 +0000

I wanted to weigh in on this by sharing my personal experience with the ‘uncanny valley’ effect. When my grandmother passes away, everyone in the family was devastated. She was the heart and soul of our family. But seeing her in the coffin was strangely uncanny. The woman we loved so dearly seemed to be a stranger, in fact, I felt hesistant even to touch her dead body. In David Corbin’s ‘Illuminate’ model, to find resolution to any situation, you must face it, follow it and only then can you fix it…and now I realize that at the core of my hesitance was my own fear of death. Insightful.