9 ms·
Reminded me of this NPR story (https://www.npr.org/programs/invisibilia/378577902/how-to-become-batman https://www.npr.org/programs/invisibilia/378577902/how-to
by ta1234567890 6y ago
Reminded me of this NPR story (https://www.npr.org/programs/invisibilia/378577902/how-to-become-batman https://www.npr.org/programs/invisibilia/378577902/how-to-be...) in which they show that a blind person can technically see through hearing (echolocation), and then poise the (philosophical) question, what is seeing? Pretty fascinating.
- tines 6y agoI think seeing is pretty easy to define, it's the decoding of high-density two-dimensional information encoded in a wave. High-density differentiates it from feeling/smelling, and two-dimensional differentiates it from hearing/smelling. Is that definition missing anything relevant?
- ta1234567890 6y ago> Is that definition missing anything relevant? Yes, wide-acceptance. Google the definition of seeing, does it resemble what you wrote? Ask a lot of people what seeing is, would they give the same definition as yours? Historically, seeing has been mostly regarded as what we are capable of doing with our eyes. Also, in your definition, what is doing the decoding? Is the retina decoding, is the optic nerve decoding, are each individual cell decoding, are the individual neurons decoding? And what does it mean to decode? Definitions require agreement, not just a seemingly factual description. At least if you want the definition to be accepted. Which is in the end what defines a definition.