Do you really know? Why do we experience the unsettling "Uncanny Valley" effect?
Oct 30, 2025
A spooky TikTok makeup trend aimed to invoke the eerie uncanny valley effect, attracting over 821 million views. The uncanny valley, rooted in a 1970s theory by Masahiro Mori, explains why near-human robots can provoke discomfort. Small imperfections create a sharp dip in our affinity for them. This unsettling phenomenon isn't limited to robots; it also relates to prosthetics, motion-capture films, and wax figures. The discussion highlights the blend of observational theory and its design implications in animation and robotics.
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TikTok Makeup Mimics Humanoid Creatures
- A TikTok makeup trend used pale foundation, grey contouring, hidden brows and altered lips to look humanoid.
- The creators aimed to intentionally trigger the uncanny valley reaction in viewers.
Human Likeness Amplifies Perceived Flaws
- Masahiro Mori proposed that as robots look more human we notice tiny imperfections more sharply.
- That heightened attention to flaws explains why near-human designs can feel unsettling.
Why It's Called A 'Valley' On The Graph
- The 'valley' refers to a dip in affinity on a graph plotting human similarity against our feelings.
- Affinity rises with humanoid features until a sharp drop creates the uncanny valley.