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D&D Monster Study Proves Eyes Have It
sciencehabit writes with this excerpt from Science: "The dungeon is pitch black — until the dungeon master blazes a torch, confirming your worst fears. A Beholder monster lurches at you, its eyeballs wriggling on tentacular stems. As you prepare to wield your Vorpal sword, where do you focus your gaze: at the monster's head or at its tentacle eyes? Such a quandary from the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons may seem like a meaningless trifle, but it holds within it the answer to a tricky scientific question: Do people focus their gaze on another person's eyes or on the center of the head? In fact, a father-son team has used D&D monsters to show that most people will look to another creature's eyes, even if they're not attached to a head."
I don't watch at eyes, I watch at boobs amirite?
It has been shown many times in studies that people are able to read a lot of emotion by looking at another person's eyes. Looking at foreheads doesn't give you a tactical advantage, but if you can look in someone's eyes you can see what they are feeling most of the time. You can also see where they are looking, and where their attention is at, which is critical. Of course, good magicians know this and look at the wrong things at the wrong times to mislead you ;)
Just because I can hook a shark from a boat, I do no offer to wrestle it in the water.
But the head IS a giant eye.
Technoli
Being in IT support, we see many people come in without eyes, or common sense, attached to their head. Many times, the head is firmly impacted in the nether regions but this malady is most common with upper management.
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I, and I imagine most slashdotters, look at my feet when interacting with other people. Especially women.
Makes sense. There's a survival advantage whether you're predator or prey, it doesn't matter if you can see it, it's whether or not it can see you. Being able to see its head, claws, or gelsacs is useful, but the thing that gives you a survival advantage is knowing whether or not it can see you. If you can see its eyes, it can see you. (The converse - if you can't see its eyes, it can't see you - does not hold unless you're a Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal.)
Car Analogy: Same as if you're driving on the highway past an 18-wheeler. If I can see the trucker's eyes in the side mirrors, he can see me. (I'll assume he can't for the sake of prudence, but it's possible he can see me). If I can't see his eyes in the side mirrors, it's my responsibility to position me vehicle in such a way that he can see me, and/or somewhere he can't hit me whether he can see me or not.
Most D&D players look at their shoes. The extraverted D&D player looks at the GM's shoes.
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If this "research" will qualify for the Ig-Noble awards next year.
So rise up, all ye lost ones, as one, we'll claw the clouds.
This is proof that D&D contains all the secrets to life, the universe, and everything!
Not true, many instructors (Sensai, Sifu etc) will tell you to stare at the centre of your opponent's chest. The eyes can lie, if look at the centre of the chest you get a better field of view of how an opponents limbs are moving which can allow you to react better against a feint or a true attack.
For starters, did any of the participants in the experiments roll any savings throws? Lame.
Experimenter: "OK, you encounter a beholder, and... it gets initiative. You: it fires... (dice roll) a beam from eye-stalk number 7."
Participant: "Uh, OK."
Experimenter: "Roll the dice. No. No, the other one. Yeah. OK. I see you failed your save vs paralysis".
Participant: "Huh? (sees the taser in the experimenter's hand) No, wait!!"
Experimenter: Zzzzzaaap!
Experimenter: "Hm. He's not moving... oops. Hey. Did anyone roll a cleric? Anyone? What?!? Goddammit!
Slightly off topic, but this is how you're coached to defend in basketball and football too. Check the opponents center of gravity, not their eyes.
Always look at your opponents eyes, (if they're not highly skilled) they will usually look at an area before making a move in that direction.
Please mod this down. Looking at your opponents eyes is the last thing you want to do. Nor do you want to stare at a weapon, or at their chest as someone else posted. You want to see all of the opponent, and not focus at any one particular place. If anything, you want to fix your gaze slightly past the opponent. Then any movement, be it head, foot, hand, can be seen equally. Just watch UFC if you disagree. See that kind of glassy unfocused look in their eyes? That's what you want.
The only thing worse than a Democrat is a Republican.
and many of these guys have never been in a real street fight.
As a consequence, none of them will tell you "here's how to defuse this situation so that it doesn't escalate. Fighting cause you to owe money if it goes to court. You could go to the hospital. The person(s) attacking you could go. Someone could die." And most don't teach how to do this.
They also will not tell you "the complicated stuff you are learning, the spinning kicks, the block-strike patterns, will probably not work". Under adrenal stress, you lose fine motor coordination. Those techniques will go out the window, probably, and you'll be reduced to playground style fighting.
You are better off learning basic, easy to use techniques that are "high percentage". Practice those under pressure.
If you are a pro fighter, veteran cop, etc, feel free to ignore this. For the rest of us schlubs, this is how it is.
I've been practicing various martial arts for over 30 years. My very first instructor's first lesson was "Best self defense is good pair of sneakers."
I'll *always* avoid a fight if I can. It's never OK to hurt someone unless you really have to.