Archive as of September, 10 2006
I came across a fascinating article about the usage of eye contact in every day life. The author starts off with a childhood tale about his father’s ability to sift through to detect lies using the voice of God. Soon, he realizes that his father uses his eyes to see if the child is lying or not. Actually, this isn’t very hard to do. If the person is unable to make eye contact when you ask something, they are usually not giving the complete truth. I’ve used this myself.
I think my fascination with eyes come from its amazing clarity and volumes it can speak. They come in so many shades of brown, green and blue. My eye fetish began with seeing the National Geographic’s image of the Afghan Girl. Those brilliant emerald eyes captivated an entire generation, and showed a peaceful innocence through the turmoil of the region during the Soviet occupation. Every public figure must have eyes that are clear and brilliant. People watch eyes to discern facts and what’s going on in their heads. There are people who can effectively neutralize their eyes and those are who succeed in professions requiring secrecy.
Over the years, I have learnt to make eye contact while speaking. There is a difference between eye contact and staring. Staring is indiscriminate constant eye contact with singular portion of the face. While the right kind of eye contact is one where they are fluid and moving within a small frame of the region of the eye. This is of course good in cultures where such eye contact is not deemed disrespectful. For example, in India, eye contact is never made for too long with older people as a sign of respect. Same goes for most patriarchal societies.
The way people can use their eyes to acheive their purposes is endless. Most people are intimidated by constant eye contact, and are more likely to respect you and do what you want. Women can use their eye contact to get out of practically any situation. I’m not being sexist but the female sex has a rather good hold over the male sex (most of them anyway). You can also use it to hide a lie because most people watch for shifty eyes to detect dishonesty. Good eye contact is a sign of confidence, and it shows people that you are still actively participating in the conversation. You would think that people in the teaching profession would understand this. I remember a professor at University at Maryland that never made eye contact even once during a 25 minute conversation about his research, and what I am interested in. It was surreal experience, and a very weird one. I figured he was an introverted person because I’ve seen that behavior in people who are socially awkward and shy.
To end this post, I want to say how miraculous the eye is. I still can’t believe the complexity nature has produced with evolution. It’s one of the most sophisticated body parts. Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?
