Notes on life, art, photography and technology, by a Danish dropout bohemian.
When you drink the water, remember the river.
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Saturday, February 05, 2011
Who a baby looks like
Listen, aren't people just full of it when they claim they can tell who a baby looks like? To me a baby looks like a baby. All their future features are hidden behind the big round blob of baby fat.
I used to think this too, until my sister had a baby. When the child was born, she unmistakably had the features of her father. It's right there to see when you compare photos of the baby to her father, but it might take a trained eye, which is why outsiders often can't see the resemblance.
The mother's relatives have a stake in believing that the baby looks like the dad (or who the mom is claiming is the dad, anyway). It is probably a subconscious drive going back thousands of millennia. The father and his relatives may also operate from the same desire- to believe the baby looks like the dad so it doesn't indicate he is "wasting his time" caring for a child that may not be his.
There are probably similar motivations for some people to believe the baby looks like the mother instead, but to me babies look like babies. Sometimes a baby can look very much like a sibling did at the same age, though.
Nah, when my sister was born, one of the first things I noticed about her was she had her father's nose. Same thing when my best friend had a baby, the kid looked just like her.
I don't remember where I saw this, but someone ran some experiments showing pictures of babies and their parents to random strangers. The strangers were not able to pair babies and mothers at better than chance levels, but were able to correctly pair babies and fathers about 3/4 of the time (as opposed to 1/2 for chance level.)
When you take pictures of a baby and the same person as bigger child or adult, the resemblance is usually obvious. So babies don't look just like babies, otherwise there would also be net much similarity whith themselves as adults.
I think you see the similarity between parent and adult when you now at least one of the parents well.
That doesn't really work, actually, because you can see it in people who are complete strangers. I remember seeing this one woman and her baby at a bus stop once years ago. The baby clearly had her eyes which were an unusual color. I wasn't the only one there who thought so, and none of us had a stake in pretending. While that's not evidence as it's anecdotal I'd be willing to bet there isn't any evidence supporting Kent's opinion. If there is, he as usual declined to mention it.
> Alrighty. I guess it could come down to my singular and amoral lack of interest in babies then. :-)
Haha. Yeah, I guess so. Or maybe you don't see friend's babies. Because it is REAlly funny when that happens.
You have some friends you know for long, they have babies, and the baby looks like them, though it is a baby. Like a small round parody of them! I guess it is not always obvious, but when you see it, it is really funny.
I used to think this too, until my sister had a baby. When the child was born, she unmistakably had the features of her father. It's right there to see when you compare photos of the baby to her father, but it might take a trained eye, which is why outsiders often can't see the resemblance.
ReplyDeleteThe mother's relatives have a stake in believing that the baby looks like the dad (or who the mom is claiming is the dad, anyway). It is probably a subconscious drive going back thousands of millennia. The father and his relatives may also operate from the same desire- to believe the baby looks like the dad so it doesn't indicate he is "wasting his time" caring for a child that may not be his.
ReplyDeleteThere are probably similar motivations for some people to believe the baby looks like the mother instead, but to me babies look like babies. Sometimes a baby can look very much like a sibling did at the same age, though.
Nah, when my sister was born, one of the first things I noticed about her was she had her father's nose. Same thing when my best friend had a baby, the kid looked just like her.
ReplyDeleteI don't remember where I saw this, but someone ran some experiments showing pictures of babies and their parents to random strangers. The strangers were not able to pair babies and mothers at better than chance levels, but were able to correctly pair babies and fathers about 3/4 of the time (as opposed to 1/2 for chance level.)
ReplyDeleteOh, man, Kent's still around?! I thought maybe he'd finally gone on that killing spree and was sitting on Death Row by now.
ReplyDeleteI suspect Kent is correct. We are hardwired to like our kids, see some of us in them, so that we don't eat them! ;O)
ReplyDeleteWhen you take pictures of a baby and the same person as bigger child or adult, the resemblance is usually obvious. So babies don't look just like babies, otherwise there would also be net much similarity whith themselves as adults.
ReplyDeleteI think you see the similarity between parent and adult when you now at least one of the parents well.
Alrighty.
ReplyDeleteI guess it could come down to my singular and amoral lack of interest in babies then. :-)
That doesn't really work, actually, because you can see it in people who are complete strangers. I remember seeing this one woman and her baby at a bus stop once years ago. The baby clearly had her eyes which were an unusual color. I wasn't the only one there who thought so, and none of us had a stake in pretending. While that's not evidence as it's anecdotal I'd be willing to bet there isn't any evidence supporting Kent's opinion. If there is, he as usual declined to mention it.
ReplyDelete> Alrighty.
ReplyDeleteI guess it could come down to my singular and amoral lack of interest in babies then. :-)
Haha. Yeah, I guess so.
Or maybe you don't see friend's babies. Because it is REAlly funny when that happens.
You have some friends you know for long, they have babies, and the baby looks like them, though it is a baby. Like a small round parody of them! I guess it is not always obvious, but when you see it, it is really funny.
I have a chance, I just heard that my nephew just had a boy today or yesterday.
ReplyDeleteCongrats, Great Uncle Eo! :-D Now, you'll get a chance to see if there is a resemblance! :-D
ReplyDeleteI can relate. People use to tell me all the time i look exactly like my father, not knowing that he was infact my step father.
ReplyDelete