while being shown a range of images
of human faces, with a carefully manip-
ulated spectrum of expressions rang-
ing from neutral to angry.
The results were striking. When they
were inhaling the exercise-sweat, the
subjects’ brains only reacted strongly
to the angry faces, treating them, but
not the neutral faces, as potential
threats. But when they inhaled the fear-
sweat, subjects reacted strongly to the
whole range of faces, from those with
neutral expressions to ambiguously
angry to clearly angry. The suggestion,
the researchers wrote, was that the
fear-sweat triggered the brain to create
a sort of heightened vigilance in the
subjects, a greater attention to the envi-
ronment around them.
We can, indeed, “smell” fear on each
other. And that chemical alert system
prepares our brains to react to incom-
ing threats.
When we spoke, I asked Mujica-
Parodi why she had chosen skydiving
as a way to gather the fear-sweat she
needed. “Skydiving was a way to induce
actual danger in a way that was also eth-
ically sound and scientifically sound,”
she told me. “The nice thing about
skydiving is that it’s an experience
unlike anything you’ve ever encoun-
tered before. Evolutionarily, there’s no
animal that enjoys the feeling of being
dropped, and it’s also highly controlled.”
I asked Mujica-Parodi if she’d ever
gone skydiving herself. “I did force
myself to jump, and I felt very nau-
seous,” she said. “I would not say that
I enjoyed it.”the ascent to 3,050 metres seemed to
take hours, and as we climbed, the
weird out-of-body calm I’d felt on take-
off seeped away.It was like coming out of shock, los-
ing that numbed protection and feel-
ing the full pain of an injury for the first
time—only instead of pain, I felt a ter-
ror that rose through my body until it
reached my lungs, my throat and my
brain and threatened to choke me.
Barry, behind me, sensed my grow-
ing tension—no surprise, since we were
pressed together like a pair of lugers
on a sled. He periodically squeezed my
shoulder and pointed out landmarks
below. As we neared jump height, the
Cessna circled around a large cloud,
skirting its edge.AS WE CLIMBED TO 3,050 METRES,
THE WEIRD OUT-OF-BODY CALM I’D FELT
ON TAKEOFF SEEPED AWAY.rd.ca 91