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This is a worthwhile long read. If you're done reading it consider for a moment how they feel their environment quite differently than we do. Their eyes aren't

by xutopia 10y ago

This is a worthwhile long read. If you're done reading it consider for a moment how they feel their environment quite differently than we do. Their eyes aren't their most important sense. Their trunks is how they sense most things. Consider how our own bodies are capable of sensing so much from our surroundings with touch alone and how little we make use of it.

evincarofautumn 10y ago
Do people generally consider sight to be our most important sense? I certainly don’t—but I have synesthesia, so maybe I have to rely on more senses to get a clear picture of things. For example, I might fill up a glass by sound, identify one of my shirts by feel, or recognise a person by smell. I bet neurotypical people do this too, but if asked, they would attribute it mainly to sight.
- kbutler 10y ago
  View sight as most important? yes - it's the window (ahem) to the world, including highest bandwidth information delivery. Fill up a glass by sound? yes, but except in rare cases, it's supplemental Identify shirt by feel? Only if I didn't turn on the light - Yes, I can recognize the shirt I'm wearing by feel, or can tell what shirt I've grabbed out of the laundry basket while watching TV, but I definitely choose the shirt to wear by sight. Recognize a person by smell? Almost always see them first.
  - evincarofautumn 10y ago
    That’s interesting, thanks. I guess I don’t bother to turn on a light if I don’t intend to spend much time in a room, like if I’m just getting a glass of water, or grabbing something whose location I know. (And I’m actually pretty bad at looking for something with my eyes if I forget where it is.) > Recognize a person by smell? Almost always see them first. Haha, of course. I was thinking more along the lines of “Somebody left a sweatshirt at my apartment after the party—whose is it?”
- ozborn 10y ago
  Yes. It's been reported that 30% of the human brain is dedicated to visual processing, more than all of the other senses put together. I think also most input to the brain from the visual system.

by xutopia 10y ago

evincarofautumn 10y ago

Do people generally consider sight to be our most important sense? I certainly don’t—but I have synesthesia, so maybe I have to rely on more senses to get a clear picture of things. For example, I might fill up a glass by sound, identify one of my shirts by feel, or recognise a person by smell. I bet neurotypical people do this too, but if asked, they would attribute it mainly to sight.

kbutler 10y ago
View sight as most important? yes - it's the window (ahem) to the world, including highest bandwidth information delivery. Fill up a glass by sound? yes, but except in rare cases, it's supplemental Identify shirt by feel? Only if I didn't turn on the light - Yes, I can recognize the shirt I'm wearing by feel, or can tell what shirt I've grabbed out of the laundry basket while watching TV, but I definitely choose the shirt to wear by sight. Recognize a person by smell? Almost always see them first.
- evincarofautumn 10y ago
  That’s interesting, thanks. I guess I don’t bother to turn on a light if I don’t intend to spend much time in a room, like if I’m just getting a glass of water, or grabbing something whose location I know. (And I’m actually pretty bad at looking for something with my eyes if I forget where it is.) > Recognize a person by smell? Almost always see them first. Haha, of course. I was thinking more along the lines of “Somebody left a sweatshirt at my apartment after the party—whose is it?”
ozborn 10y ago
Yes. It's been reported that 30% of the human brain is dedicated to visual processing, more than all of the other senses put together. I think also most input to the brain from the visual system.