Overcoming the Uncanny

People are often disturbed by the idea of shrinking the human species. The confrontation with unusually small-sized adults sometimes triggers a psychosomatic sensitivity  also known as the uncanny. The uncanny is a Freudian concept of an instance where something is familiar, yet foreign at the same time. This dissonance between the known and the unknown often leads to an outright rejection of the object/subject, as one would rather reject than rationalize. According to Sigmund Freud the uncanny unconsciously reminds us of our own forbidden and repressed impulses and is perceived as a threatening force as it fears punishment for deviating from societal norms.

If Freud is right we reject the small because we actually surpress the desire to be small ourselves and are afraid to be punished for this desire. If we are to shrink the human species we need to overcome this system of subconscious self-directed heightism. Perhaps there’s a happier smaller person living inside all of us.