The Queue: Irrelevant intros are new and exciting
by Alex Ziebart 
Jun 20th 2011 at 11:00AM
Did you know a possible explanation for the origin of the "succubus" as a serious mythological creature is that men suffering from sleep paralysis turned to the supernatural to explain why they were locked in a semi-lucid dreamstate wherein they were wracked with visions of dark, unexplainable things whilst utterly unable to move, speak, or wake up? Did you know that sleep paralysis might also be the origin of alleged alien abductions that people in the modern era claim to experience?
Additionally, many children who are truly, legitimately terrified of going to sleep because of seeing ghosts, spirits, or men all in black (very specific!) may be afflicted with an adolescent form of sleep paralysis. They're not just lying so they can sleep in their parents' beds. Though they are children, so you may never know for sure.
We, as a race, may have been advancing both culturally and technologically for thousands of years, but many of the same psychological problems have remained throughout our entire history. The only difference between sleep paralysis now and sleep paralysis then is that the zeitgeist of humanity has turned from the fantasy of mythology to the fantasy of science fiction as their supernatural explanation for natural phenomenon they don't understand.
What does this have to do with WoW? Well, beyond the succubus part, not a whole lot. I'm also not a doctor or any sort of expert or specialist in the field, so please don't diagnose yourself with sleep paralysis because of my descriptions of it. You may, in fact, have been abducted by aliens last night.
Now let's pretend this conversation never happened and dig into the Q&A.
Aezir asked:
Dose time go by in dog years for Worgen or dose it go by normally?
I don't think we have a real answer to that question. If we wanted to speculate, it would depend on the mythology we want to use. In some settings, werewolves are short-lived due to the nature of the beast and the wasting effects of the curse. In some settings, werewolves have normal human lifespans because their natural form is human. In others, werewolves are immortal right alongside their undead rivals, the vampires.
Good luck unraveling thousands of years of werewolf mythology to figure out which one Chris Metzen and the dev team decided to go with. Until they tell us, we will probably never know.
Amanda asked:
Why are the skeletons in the Auchenai Crypts instance human instead of draenei?
The developers didn't have the time or inclination to make a draenei skeleton, so we get human/humanoid skeletons instead. Use your imagination!
Fataliaa asked:
why is the game no longer asking for my authenticator?
Blizzard has updated the authentication servers to be better at detecting you and where you log in from. If you're logging in from a computer that you've successfully logged in on with your authenticator previously, it may not need to ask for your authenticator. Your authenticator is still there as a layer of security, but if Blizzard's login servers are sure that you are you logging in from a place you usually log in from, it will just let you through without the extra step.
Darkfreak asked:
What is Alex ziebart's comment avatar a picture of?
That, my friend, is a screenshot of my first World of Warcraft love: my priest. Specifically, it is my priest using Dispersion in front of Oshu'gun in Nagrand. I thought it was the prettiest thing in the entire world and made it my avatar just about everywhere.
Have questions about the World of Warcraft? The WoW Insider crew is here with The Queue, our daily Q&A column. Leave your questions in the comments, and we'll do our best to answer 'em!
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, The Queue
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 9)
(cutaia) Jun 20th 2011 11:07AM
This explains so much! Fox Van Allen doesn't really exist...it's all sleep paralysis. Thanks, Alex!
Matthew Jun 20th 2011 2:12PM
Succubi were also an explanation for what is now called 'morning wood'.
Fox => Sleep Paralysis.
Sleep Paralysis => Morning Wood.
You do the math.
(I know I know all you logic geeks I mean mavens will poke holes into this. It's meant to be silly. Pun intended)
Katherine Jun 20th 2011 7:44PM
Fox gives you morning wood?
Helston Jun 20th 2011 8:05PM
Fox DOESN'T give you morning wood?
Luci Jun 20th 2011 11:08AM
I like the faded look to the screenshot ^.^
Henry Jun 20th 2011 11:33AM
The lack of sharpness makes it look painted. I like it too.
snowleopard233 Jun 20th 2011 11:10AM
My brother and I both occasionally get sleep paralysis and it really does feel like you're being abducted by aliens or harassed by demons in the room. Basically, you wake up in the middle of your sleep cycle and are unable to move, while at the same time the portion of your brain that controls fear is more active than usual. Most oft he time it's triggered by stress or unusual sleep habits and is often linked with other sleep disorders like insomnia and sleep-walking.
But seriously, more people need to be made aware of this. I'm tired of all the loons on daytime television telling folks they're having astral projections or are being contacted by aliens when really they're just sick people that need help. Knowing what you're dealing with can help reduce a lot of the stress, and in turn decrease the frequency of such episodes.
Tim Jun 20th 2011 12:35PM
Unless you're actually attacked by demons whilst sleeping (I'm totally within my right mind and I believe I was years ago. Hadn't slept in that room since, mainly because I'm an "adult", married, and don't live there anymore) I totally agree with what you just said.
ZodiacDragons Jun 20th 2011 1:40PM
I have a friend who has described this. I dont know about the "demonic voices" he says he's heard but the paralysis comes from a chemical in your body when you go to sleep.
Basically when you sleep, your body releases this chemical so that when you dream, you aren't really running around, fighting crime, saving hot damsels in distress and what not. Through out the night, you go through sleep cycles and every few cycles will release this chemical, though each time it will be a little less until you wake up. As Snowleopard says, sometimes you wake up in this sleep cycle and because the chemical is still active in your body, you won't be able to move. And I suppose the voices come from your mind still in a dreamlike state.
That's how my psychology teachers have (sort of) explained this process anyways, but I can see how demons and aliens are a believable alternative too.
ZephyrSP Jun 20th 2011 1:59PM
I have also experienced sleep paralysis a couple times in my life. It is a crazy experience to be sure. You know you're awake, but you can't move a muscle or even open your eyes. You try as hard as you can to move an arm or anything - it can seriously freak you out and I am not surprised people interpret it as all sorts of supernatural things.
The couple times I can remember it happening to me, it lasts a couple minutes or less but feels like hours. The most recent time, maybe a 1-2 years ago, I knew what it was so I was able to approach it from a more education point of view and not freak out about it. But it's so uncomfortable and unpleasant that you still want it to end as quickly as possible.
Amazing what the mind can do. It makes complete sense - when you sleep your mind suppresses the mental signals to move which is why everyone doesn't sleepwalk all over the place. This is when you've just barely slipped back to consciousness and your brain hasn't switched back to "manual control" mode, if you will. I think it only happens when you (barely) wake up straight from heavy REM sleep.
Devin Jun 20th 2011 1:45PM
I'll wake up occasionally and not be able to move at all, my breathing is extremely shallow and I'll only be half conscious which causes a bit of panic for me; just thinking about it makes me feel a little claustrophobic. I usually try to start with small movements like wiggle my toes then move from there. Sometimes I'll try to grunt or make some sort of noise in hopes that someone will fully wake me up but can't tell if I'm talking out loud or if I'm just doing it in my head. Very wierd experience and I'm now feeling very fortunate that I don't have the added "benefit" of hallucinations to boot.
Boydboyd Jun 20th 2011 2:13PM
I've only had sleep paralysis once in my life.
My wife and our kids had just moved into an apartment. As such, my wife and I were sleeping on a mattress in the floor the first night.
I woke in a state of sleep paralysis, lying on my side, but being able to view the doorway to our bedroom mostly out of my peripheral vision. I could see what seemed to be a very tall man, appearing in a trench coat and wearing a hat. Of course, he was all black, like a silhouette. Certainly I was frightened.
I'm not scared of the boogy man, the dark, etc. I don't believe in ghosts or spirits. While I believe there is alien life somewhere in the universe besides Earth, I don't think they visit us. Yet, when I was able to fall back asleep, and then awake to my alarm later, I distinctly remembered the state that I had been in. I remembered being quite terrified.
I thought it was cool - something new that I had never experienced. Abnormalities of the brain, mind, psyche, id, whatever you call it. . . they intrigue me. I look forward to learning more about it!
bean Jun 20th 2011 2:46PM
Yep, and there's also the opposite problem - when your body DOESN'T release the chemical to stop you from moving (or doesn't release enough), you can move/twitch throughout all of their REM sleep, and end up completely exhausted after a full night's sleep with no idea why.
Devloc Jun 20th 2011 5:10PM
Oh man, I just realized, this perfectly describes three or four times this happened to me when I was really young! I distinctly remember, for some strange reason, trying to stay awake as long as I could. Maybe I just never felt tired? So I'd just lie in bed looking around. The first time I remember it happening, I was looking at a picture on the wall, then... just... watched as I saw a couple of "mountain climbers" work their way around the room. It was strange. I didn't have any physical reaction (to any of the times I remember it happening) so I was never noticed not being able to move. There were two times it happened where it did frighten me a lot, but I just stood (laid?) my ground, and watched.
I had always thought it was silly self induced sleep deprivation powered hallucinations until just now =)
Xantenise Jun 20th 2011 9:27PM
I've only ever had sleep paralysis once. Woke up, couldn't move, freaked out, then realised what it was and went back to sleep.
Most anticlimactic sleep paralysis ever.
Possum Jun 20th 2011 10:03PM
Perhaps this is the explanation for all those dreams I have where I can't scream or move?
Lee Woodworth Jun 20th 2011 11:10AM
Do you think they'll ease the iLvl restrictions in 4.2 for heroics and so forth since the difficulty is getting toned down?
The Giant Jun 20th 2011 11:19AM
I sure hope not
(cutaia) Jun 20th 2011 11:20AM
Probably not. The difficulty is getting toned down because the gear of those running them is getting progressively better overall. If you relax the restrictions, you risk ending up with groups of 5 undergeared people who will not enjoy their time.
How would you avoid this? Make sure that any undergeared people are paired with overgeared people. Would this cause resentment over how "FU Blizz you make me carry nubs and stuff"? Absolutely.
So, yeah...probably not.
keith Jun 20th 2011 11:21AM
I may be wrong, but I thought it was just the heroic raid encounters that were getting toned down, not heroic 5-mans.