If someone says to you: "Whatever you do...don't look down!" ...do you look down?

how can you not!

Yea, I always fall for that one. I also do the smell thing.

If my husband or best friend told me this, I wouldn’t
if anyone else did, i would

I can’t imagine a situation where this would happen other than me on a rickety bridge crossing a volcano. In that case, I would just take the advice because I know looking down would make me more scared and I would fail to completely whatever quest I was on.

Immediately…if not soooo-nah! ;)

Sure I would. Who wouldn’t? It’s the same thing as saying “don’t look now, but….” and you immediately look.

In some situations, I know better. I’m terrified of heights, so generally, I won’t look down either way.
I love roller-coasters, though. I’m usually the one saying “don’t look down” going up the first hill if I’m with someone who isn’t a fan of them.

Well I’m curious. You can’t blame me for that.

But of course.

It’s human nature when someone says “don’t look down” to wonder why we shouldn’t and then on instinct look to make sure it’s safe.

I might ask why first depending on the situation but I’d have to see for myself.

OMG! Look out behind you!!!

I like to think I’m more genre savvy than that.

I’ve long since stopped feeling any desire at all to look behind me when anyone tells me there’s a horrible monster or whatever there. But that’s probably just a matter of habituation. It gets old.
Tough luck, @Cruiser. :P

I think I’ve also stopped being susceptible to basic trolling staples like “you are now blinking and breathing manually” or “you are now thinking of [insert horrid subject here]”. Spending enough time in the wretched hive of trolls and wankery that is the internet has the effect of making it easier not to give a frying truck about cheap tricks like that.
Except for The Game, that one is inevitable.

So maybe not.

It’s part of human nature. Part of it is curiosity as you wonder what you will see, or what will happen if you look. The other part of it is the inner rebel in all of us. Humans by nature do not like to be told what to do. So when some one DEMANDS “Don’t looks down” even if you really have no care what is below you will look to defy this demand. This shows my idea a bit more clearly.

Hell yeah I look down! If I fall or drop I want to know what I’m dealing with. I also fall for the “Don’t look behind you” one. BUT, I don’t fall for the “Eww, this smells/tastes bad, smell/try it.” Well, no, that’s just stupid.

No one has ever said this to me, but I can’t imagine there being anything ever that I wouldn’t want to look at.

There is a old joke about telling a child, as you leave the room, “Don’t stuff beans up your nose.” The outcome is always the same.

No. At least I’m pretty sure. Once while the wife and I were outside having a smoke (back when we smoked), she all of a sudden got a very serious look on her face. She looked me straight in the eyes and said “don’t turn around”. I froze and did not take my eyes off of hers. She then grabbed my hand and pulled me away from where I was standing. Turns out a HUGE spider had climbed down the wall and stopped just above my shoulder. I was leaning on the wall, so chances are it could have crawled on me. I shudder even thinking about it. I HATE spiders. Ack.

@girlofscience
“I can’t imagine there being anything ever that I wouldn’t want to look at.”
Really? Ever heard of something called “goatse”?
Don’t google that.

@Fyrius: Yeah, of course I want to look at everything terrible. I have train-wreck syndrome.

And, that was nothing.

@girlofscience
I stand corrected.

i have this thing in which i do the exact opposite thing a person tells me to do. so yeah, i look down. :)