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Also having tinnitus since birth (or very young age), it's the kind of thing you don't question. Similar to how some people in need of glasses never go to the

Also having tinnitus since birth (or very young age), it's the kind of thing you don't question. Similar to how some people in need of glasses never go to the optometrist because they think that seeing blurry is normal. Or colorblind individuals that are not aware that not everyone sees life in two colors. I also had floaters in my visions for ages before being told that not everyone has those... and visual snow / static even in daylight, which it turns out not everyone has. Damn, my body's sensors are so defective.

overcast 8y ago
Are we limiting this to early childhood before you know better? I can't see someone going through their life thinking they shouldn't be able to see properly, or have shit floating around in their eyes(I have had both since birth). I mean common sense says that's now how things are supposed to operate.
- mikeash 8y ago
  How does common sense say that? Talking to other people about how they perceive the world is what would say that, but that doesn’t necessarily happen.
- sp332 8y ago
  If it happens gradually you might not notice until it's really bad. I know someone who got new [+] corneas and cried when they realized they could see individual pine needles on trees. They'd just forgotten that that was a normal thing they could do. [+] Well, slightly used lol
  - northwest65 8y ago
    I can definitely relate to that; after laser surgery (and I mean literally minutes after) I could see the wood grain on the window sill in the darkened room they put me in post op. On the drive home I could see leaves on the trees in the most fabulous definition. I knew my vision was rubbish, but to have it hammered home so starkly was literally eye opening. I marvel at it to this day and I advocate for people getting laser surgery so enthusiastically you'd think I was on their payroll.
- Raphmedia 8y ago
  I rarely compare body specs with others. Maybe there's a bunch of other stuff that are weird about me. For all I know there's something wrong with my sense of touch or smell. I never smelled a flower and then proceeded to ask the person next to me "do this smells like X to you?" Take cilantro as an example. For 5 to 15% if the population, it tastes just like soap. I am sure that a lot of people think that it tastes soapy for everyone else.
  - justin66 8y ago
    Plenty of people have oddball things going on with their senses that they aren't conscious of. I knew one guy who wasn't aware of his colorblindness until he owned some navy and some black socks that were otherwise identical, which occasionally had humorous results, and another guy who couldn't get into the AF academy because of a similar problem (much less funny). Being unaware of a problem with hearing is similarly easy. If a problem doesn't cause physical pain, doesn't have any real-world consequences, and doesn't physically manifest full-strength all at once, the brain can do a lot to keep us from noticing the existence or the progression of the problem.

overcast 8y ago

Are we limiting this to early childhood before you know better? I can't see someone going through their life thinking they shouldn't be able to see properly, or have shit floating around in their eyes(I have had both since birth). I mean common sense says that's now how things are supposed to operate.

mikeash 8y ago
How does common sense say that? Talking to other people about how they perceive the world is what would say that, but that doesn’t necessarily happen.
sp332 8y ago
If it happens gradually you might not notice until it's really bad. I know someone who got new [+] corneas and cried when they realized they could see individual pine needles on trees. They'd just forgotten that that was a normal thing they could do. [+] Well, slightly used lol
- northwest65 8y ago
  I can definitely relate to that; after laser surgery (and I mean literally minutes after) I could see the wood grain on the window sill in the darkened room they put me in post op. On the drive home I could see leaves on the trees in the most fabulous definition. I knew my vision was rubbish, but to have it hammered home so starkly was literally eye opening. I marvel at it to this day and I advocate for people getting laser surgery so enthusiastically you'd think I was on their payroll.
Raphmedia 8y ago
I rarely compare body specs with others. Maybe there's a bunch of other stuff that are weird about me. For all I know there's something wrong with my sense of touch or smell. I never smelled a flower and then proceeded to ask the person next to me "do this smells like X to you?" Take cilantro as an example. For 5 to 15% if the population, it tastes just like soap. I am sure that a lot of people think that it tastes soapy for everyone else.
- justin66 8y ago
  Plenty of people have oddball things going on with their senses that they aren't conscious of. I knew one guy who wasn't aware of his colorblindness until he owned some navy and some black socks that were otherwise identical, which occasionally had humorous results, and another guy who couldn't get into the AF academy because of a similar problem (much less funny). Being unaware of a problem with hearing is similarly easy. If a problem doesn't cause physical pain, doesn't have any real-world consequences, and doesn't physically manifest full-strength all at once, the brain can do a lot to keep us from noticing the existence or the progression of the problem.