People love celebrities.
This is not a new phenomenon – whether it be flocking to see Kings, Queens, Italian Generals or village idiots, we love looking at ‘notable’ members of our tribe.
Don’t feel guilty, though. The urge to look at famous people is embedded in our primate evolution: a 2005 study found that Macaques will even ‘pay’ to see pictures of other macaques of ‘higher social status’.
We are acutely attuned to recognise faces – our ability to decide whether that other ape is a threat or not is the skill that kept us alive. (That same neural circuitry is now put to work whilst scrolling through the ‘sidebar of shame‘)
This new bot on twitter, tumblr and (shortly) Instagram, posts blended celebrity pictures. The proportions are chosen at random, though never more than 60% of either, to ensure that the resulting image sits right in the uncanny valley.
Follow @celebreedy(Special thanks to @matt_muir for coming up with the name!)
