fly contact
My bicycle is stored outdoors. As I went outside to pick it up today I seemed to catch the neighborhood feral cat in the middle of something private. She was seated on the lawn cleaning herself. We made eye contact for a solid five seconds before she dubbed me a non-threat and went back to her work.
What is the significance of eye contact? Why is it that we lock eyes and how is it that we can lock eyes with other species who have different facial structures and different brains and behaviors? What determines with which species we can make eye contact?
Is it possible to make eye contact with an insect? I believe if you have a sufficiently creative imagination this is possible. Eye contact with an insect could be that moment where the house fly notices you and remains motionless as it watches for a good opportunity to escape. In the traditional use of the phrase though, I think it does not exist between humans and insects. (Or insects and anything else for that matter... but really, how observant are you to be able to make such a conclusion?)
Some research on the subject reveals that we can certainly make eye contact with many animals and that the phenomena is linked to aggression. It is speculated that kids are more often the victims of dog bites because they maintain eye contact, the sign of the aggressor. Whizzing past in a car would likely be a bit too fast for this slow animal's nerves, but anyone who has walked by, made noises at, or danced in front of a cow has undoubtedly had its full attention and thus the opportunity to engage in a contest (they usually win).
Perhaps then it is only other possessors of the mammalian eye that are candidates for eye contact? Enough people have certainly tested against this hypothesis at aquariums or aviaries...
to be continued - will discuss infant sensitivity to parent's eye direction, redefinition of eye contact