I can’t quite figure out what I think of this, but it’s definitely interesting. One of the million emails I received today was from L.K. Tucker, who runs VisionsAndPsychosis.net, which is a bizarre site, to say the least.

They were writing me in response to my post about Windigo Psychosis, which is a so-called “culture bound syndrome” appearing among Algonquin tribes, I believe.

I found your comments on the Windigo Monster, a Culture Bound Syndrome.

It may have a basis in human physiology. That is, when people are confined for months in small over-wintering cabins a phenomenon, conflict of physiology, can be engaged.

It was discovered by engineers designing the first close-spaced office workstations. Knowledge workers using them began having bizarre or psychotic episodes. The problem was peripheral vision reflexes and the solution for the business office by the 1960’s was the Cubicle.

Each person will experience the confusion of a dissociative mental break in terms of their culture and ethnicity. Culture Bound Syndromes.

I found some reference that Indians separated into small family groups to survive the severe winter weather. In the spring some groups did not return. The Windigo was an explanation. It was the Bogey Monster.

When the victim is a woman or child the group survives to tell of the incident. hen the head of the group or provider had the episode no one survived. It is possible that a scenario like the Movie, “The Shining”, happened.

This phenomenon occurred in the American frontier during the fur trapping period. Some statements and accounts tell of men wintering alone rather than chance the cabin mate going berserk and kill them.

[…] I think the failure to provide Cubicle Level Protection, where it is needed is causing student suicides, and unexplained disappearances.

There are some interesting things in here, although it’s sort of put together in a confusing way. I don’t really understand how the whole cubicle thing relates to monsters that are said to roam the Great North woods in winter. I mean, I sort of get the connection, but does this mean that cubicles are actually a good thing? I always thought they were a soul-crushing slave-box.

A search on the internet for “history of the cubicle” unfortunately only leads back to this site, and an article titled “The Modern Cubicle.” That offers a couple more clues to sorting this whole thing out. Apparently, they are saying that cubicles are designed so that you face the corner, so you can mentally focus on your work/computer. But that your eyes still perceive motion in your peripheral vision. You consciously suppress reflexes based on this perception of motion, but subconsciously you cannot. Your pressure builds and builds until you have a psychotic break. I *think* that’s what they are trying to say. But I’m not sure. I’d read more on this site to try and figure this all out, but the design and formatting of it is so bad that it’s really hard to look at it for more than a couple seconds.