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In her book ''The Fruit, the Tree, and the Serpent'' (2009),<ref>{{cite book|last1=Isbell|first1=Lynne A.|title=The Fruit, the Tree, and the Serpent|date=2009|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yKzIuw4YBCoC&q=The+Fruit%2C+the+Tree%2C+and+the+Serpent+isbell&pg=PR7|publisher=Harvard University Press|language=en|isbn=9780674033016}}</ref> [[anthropologist]] [[Lynne Isbell]] writes that snakes evolved to be difficult to detect and mortally dangerous. Surviving the peril of snakes for millions of years required selective pressure favoring primates' specialized visual systems. Compared to that of other mammals, the [[Pulvinar nuclei|pulvinar]] region of the brain – which helps to visually detect relevant objects – is disproportionately large and effective in the brains of primates (including [[human]]s).
The concept of snakes being a special threat to humans has been confirmed by population-based studies. [[Ophidiophobia]] (phobia of snakes) is one of the most common and intense phobias among the general population. Furthermore, a study reported that around 50% of people experience dreams about snakes.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Sagan|first1=Carl|title=Dragons of Eden: Speculations on the Evolution of Human Intelligence|date=26 September 2012|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BQxZsou&q=the+dragons+of+eden&pg=PA249|publisher=Random House Publishing Group|language=en}}</ref>{{Link broken|date=August 2024}}
== Empirical studies ==
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