The picture I've included is by Tom Lea, an artist who travelled with US Marines in the Pacific during World War II (this particular painting is called "The Two Thousand Yard Stare"). The image captures better than words ever can one of the effects combat has. I first meant this post to talk about long-term after the fact effects of combat, how it changes the warrior who fights in battle permanently. But I've found the actual information on this topic more elusive than I believed it was. So I'm going to broaden the topic a bit to talk about the effects of combat after the fact in general, not just long-term. Let's start with the "thousand yard stare." I read one source that suggested that eyes staring unfocused in the distance is adaptive for survival, because by not focusing on any particular thing, the peripheral vision expands, so any potentially dangerous motion is easily detected. I mention this source more to illustrate that many of the a...
Thoughts on stories, the universe, and everything.