[accessibleimage] Re: Fwd: Re: Re: link echolocation Ben Underwood

Hi. "Echo location" is something that many blind people use, some better than others. I have read books by blind people who claim extraordinary ability to "see" their surroundings using sound. I have personally known several who snap fingers when they need more or better echo than provided by tapping their cane. I have known one or two totally blind people who somehow were so aware of surroundings that they could avoid running into large objects, not by snapping fingers but just by using ambient sound. I've also known a person who wore steel taps on his heels and could walk around his city without using his cane. Nobody taught any of these people - they just learned it on their own. Wish I was so talented!

John


At 01:00 AM 10/11/2006, you wrote:
right! so how does a human "use" or access echolocation without some kind of man-made device - does anyone on the list know?
i thought it was just bats, dolphins and whales that have this innate ability!
this is still a mystery to me and yes susan, it sounds very dangerous.
thanks,

mel poluck
e-access bulletin, uk


At 20:06 10/10/2006, you wrote:
As I understand Ben's story from another article in the popular press, he does not use any devices at all. It does seem a bit dangerous when you think about him navigating streets w/o anything. The pictures which accompanied the other article I read showed him sitting in his mother's lap, which at his age, makes me wonder how independent he really is. Perhaps that's just my cynical side showing.

Susan Mooney


John A. Gardner
Professor and Director, Science Access Project
Department of Physics
Oregon State University
Corvallis, OR 97331
tel: (541) 737 3278
FAX: (541) 737 1683
        SAP URL: http://dots.physics.orst.edu/


Other related posts: