Things that don't make any sense to you

[Peregrin Toker]

Here's something I don't understand:

Dogs who bark at bypassing humans, although the dogs in question are completely accustomed to humans walking by.

(Then again, I never had a dog so I don't understand these animals very well)

[Zoink]

note: I'm not a psychologist nor have I done detailed studies, so these are IMHO:

-eat

That I do... to avoid migranes.

All your questions revolve around "why are there exceptions". The general answer is that there are almost always exceptions. The human mind is not simply a black/white predictable organ.

So you lack a hunger response, and the associated pleasure response from eating certain items? It's possible, I guess. Malnutrition and lack of water can lead to headaches eventually. Most people feel hungry or thirsty before this happens however. Each generation contains mutations, some good, some bad. The lack of a hunger response sounds like an evolutionary dead end to me IMHO.

-be social
Other than places like here on sd.net - does not happen. I do not go out.

You are being social here. Why? Why not just stare at a wall? Again there are mutations that create anti-social people (autism, schizophrenia, examples). Various environmental factors can change your social perceptions too, for example if you feel that social interaction causes you harm you might avoid them.

Most people will have a wide variety of emotional responses when interacting socially, which will either encourage them to participate or avoid various social situations. The best example of this is the "crush" (leading to love) that causes otherwise rational people to have an overriding desire to seek out contact with a particular person.

-like children

I hate kids.

Most men don't desire children the same way as women. However, most people have an innate process that makes children look "cute". It has to do with a facial features and their relative proportions.

-avoid pain

Then explain Masochists.

Abnormal psychology usually. Masochists seek the endorphin (a feel good chemical in the brain) high that is associated with pain.

Most people with practice can override the pain response. Repeating the same pain over and over, its possible to become use to it. However, your brain still releases endorphins so you get a natural high. The best example of this is hot-spicy food.

This is also an evolutionary necessity, as it is often required that one inflict pain on oneself to save/heal oneself.

If you want to see how pain influences your actions, just stick your hand on a red-hot stove burner.

-get w'it the ladies (if you're a guy)

I wish. But I have no desire what-so-ever to procreate.

Which is why I said "get w'it the ladies" and not "have kids". Most men desire sex, but think little about a kid until they are much older and a kid become more of a desire to complete oneself. This is just IMHO, I don't really speak to male friends about kids.

-avoid death

What's so bad about death?

Most people avoid death. If you don't, you are probably depressed. Personally, I don't flip a coin when faced with driving off a cliff or continuing on the road.

Then why do humans do such irrational things if they're so good at reasoning?

When I said "humans" I'm implying that they are good as opposed to non-humans (ie. animals) since good/bad is a subjective term. But most people do irrational things too:

Said persons are listening to instinctive emotional feelings as apposed to their rational mind. For example, someone might try to compensate loneliness with the feel-good feeling of eating food, its not rational.

People have the *ability* to override these feelings, but it takes a conscious effort to do so. You must also acquire knowledge to make good judgements, failure to do so would also hamper you reasoning ability.

If you were to interact socially more, you would see people who act more on passion rather than reason, feeling helpless to resolve the various problems they've created for themselves. And, people acting too much on reason, wondering why they are having trouble fulfilling their emotional desires. Again its not a simply black/white situation.

[Zoink]

Here's something I don't understand:

Dogs who bark at bypassing humans, although the dogs in question are completely accustomed to humans walking by.

(Then again, I never had a dog so I don't understand these animals very well)

I think its natural response that's been bred into dogs, as people often want a dog to act as a watchdog. I think that the amount of barking depends on the breed (... not a dog expert myself, just an expert on the dogs I had).

My own childhood dog would bark at any stranger until such time I demonstrated that I considered this person a friend. The dog would do the same with wild animals, but if I demonstrated that I was protective of it (for example a baby bird that I raised) then the dog would be abnormally quiet and try to avoid it (although it did eventually let the bird sit on its head).

[Peregrin Toker]

I think that the amount of barking depends on the breed (... not a dog expert myself, just an expert on the dogs I had).

hmm... Not unlikely, since I have observed Rottweilers to be exceptionally prone to barking at strangers.

Here's another thing which PISSES ME OFF:

EVERY SINGLE TIME I tried to record a B-movie on VHS, it turned out that I only had the first half of the movie due to changes in the schedule. This is especially annoying to me, because I desperately want to be a B-Movie fan.

But - hey!! At least I have seen Reptilicus!