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Reading time: ~8 minutes
Semantics
When we’re talking about physical shapeshifting (p-shifting, from here on out), we are specifically talking about a spontaneous bodily change, partially or wholly, into something other than human.
We are not talking about somatic shifts, where your body changes in ways that human bodies are known to do, such as piloerection, pupil dilation, hysterical strength, and related phenomena.
We are not talking about sensory shifts, where you perceive one of your senses differently than when you are not shifted.
We are not talking about delusions or hallucinations of transforming into an animal.
We are not talking about changes made to yourself through bodybuilding, biohacking, or body mods.
All those things are possible. No one is disputing that those things are real. Those things are not what “p-shifting” refers to.
Science
Have you ever looked at a diagram of an animal cell at a molecular level? Let’s zoom in. Here’s a highly oversimplified animal cell:
Alright.
Every single element of a cell is made up of an equally stupid ridiculous amount of atoms.
In order for your body to change, this stupid amount of atoms would have to change or be rearranged too, to create new proteins, which in turn can create new DNA and RNA, which in turn can create new pathways, which is how your body’s appearance is determined. You couldn’t even p-shift something as simple as your hair-color because your hair gets its color from pigments, and those pigments are produced by melanocytes, which produce melanin through melanogenesis, and they only know how to do melanogenesis because of enzymatic and structural proteins in the melanosomes, and those proteins need to be synthesized through a long and complex process in the ribosome and… I could go on. There are just so so many things that would have to be modified and so many atoms that would have to be rearranged for even the most simple change to show.
Do you know how atoms are rearranged? It happens through chemical reactions, which require a catalyst and have an energy loss - most commonly a heat loss, known as enthalpy. Of all the chemical reactions that would have to take place in your body in order for your body’s pathways to change, a significant number of them would result in enthalpy.
The temperature of your body would be raised a lot due to the sheer number of reactions taking place (reminder that a single animal cell has about 10 billion proteins and that your body is made up of 30 trillion cells). In short, your body temperature would be raised above the 108°F/42°C required to destroy your neurons.
You can not shapeshift without billions of chemical reactions, fundamentally changing the makeup of your cells, happening in your body. You can not fundamentally change the makeup of your cells without raising your body’s temperature the point that neurons are cooked. If you could shapeshift you would be braindead by the end of the process.
Logic
If a fraction of the human population could shapeshift, we would know about it. Trust me.
The military exploits every single advantage it can get. They’ve tested every inkling of supernatural things that might give them an advantage in combat, from brainwashing to psychics. DARPA (a branch of the US military) had their “Inner Armor” project which sought to bio-engineer soldiers’ bodies to be more like sea lions. The military is at the forefront of this. Nothing, and I mean nothing, that could give them an advantage would get past their noses.
That alone should be enough proof, but… I mean, there’s just no way something like p-shifters could be kept secret, no matter how small their numbers were. We regularly see things as rare as progeria and stoneman syndrome in the news. And there are always people contacting Ripley’s and Guinness’ with their talents and quirks, hoping for fame. In the 150 years that we’ve had film, in the 200 years that we’ve had photography, where billions have died and been born, do you honestly think not a single one of them happened to both be a shapeshifter and attention-seeking? Especially considering how often supposed p-shifters seem to show up online, seeking attention. If they were real, do you honestly believe not a single one of them would have gone to the news before going to tumblr?
Mindfulness
Those who claim to p-shift are either in need of support, which our community is not equipped to give them, or they’re egotistical, selfish, downright cruel assholes who prey on our community’s collective pain for… I honestly don’t know why anyone would want to perpetuate our suffering… for fun? For clout? Either way, their callousness is not something that should be welcomed.
I understand the desire. I understand how p-shifting brings you hope. I really do, trust me. We’re all nonhumans here, trapped in the desert of our human existence, yearning for that one drink of nonhumanity, wishing for the oasis of p-shifting. But the oasis doesn’t exist. It’s a mirage. You will never get more than a mouthful of sand if you try to drink from it. It’s energy wasted on a false hope.
We all want so badly for p-shifting to be real. No one understands the ache quite like those of us in this community. But we can’t live our lives, chasing impossibilities. We have to focus our emotional energy on the things we can change. We may not be able to shapeshift, but we can modify our bodies through fashion and exercise and tattoos and surgery. We may not be able to sprout wings, but we can take up mountain climbing or hang gliding or sky diving.
The oasis of p-shifting doesn’t exist. But dig deep and you will probably find a spring to drink your fill from instead. You just need a bit of hard work and a lot of patience.