Explained: Can You Really Tell When Someone Is Staring At You?

Have you ever felt like you're being watched, turned around, and found someone staring at you? This phenomenon has intrigued scientists for over a century and has been studied in great detail by researchers in psychology and parapsychology.?

While some experts believe that the "sense of being stared at" is real and can be scientifically proven, others are more sceptical and attribute it to a mere coincidence. Let's explore the debate surrounding this intriguing phenomenon and examine the evidence supporting both sides of the argument.?

The researchers believe the effect is real?

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It's not uncommon to turn around and discover someone staring at you, almost as if you had 'felt' their gaze.The phenomenon has been studied since the beginning of scientific psychology at the turn of the 20th century.

More recently, parapsychology researchers like Rupert Sheldrake (a believer) and Richard Wiseman (a sceptic) have studied the "sense of being stared at" in great detail.

The effect is real, according to researchers like Sheldrake, and we can actually feel it when someone is staring at us. Sheldrake's volunteers were able to judge whether they were being stared at a little bit better than if they had simply chosen a guess at random in his experiments, which revealed a tiny but statistically significant effect in favour of the staring phenomenon.?

Similar studies, however, have produced contradictory findings, according to sceptics like Wiseman. Additionally, he and others have pointed out a number of issues with the research done by "believers."

For instance, problems with the trials' randomisation could have led volunteers to spot a pattern and use it as the basis for their conclusions.

Another explanation suggests it is just anticipation?

There is a less intriguing explanation for the sensation of being followed rather than rewriting everything we know about the structure of the human mind and brain. The reason for this is that while every time we turn and notice someone staring at us, we remember it, every time we turn and notice no one is staring, we don't.?

The experience of anticipating when someone will text or call you is similar; whenever you are thinking of someone and they call, it feels strange, as if you foresaw the future. However, it was probably just a coincidence, and you probably don't remember all the times you had thought of that person but they didn't get in touch.?

So, after all the research and debate, we still don't know for sure whether we can actually feel when someone is staring at us. But let's be honest, it's not like we're going to stop turning around and giving people the stink eye when we feel like they're watching us.?

It's a good thing we humans have such an impeccable sense of self-preservation. Who knows, maybe in a hundred years, we'll finally have an answer to this age-old question. One can dream, can't they?

What do you think about this? Tell us in the comments.

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