Discussion 3

/in /by

Sonar Seeing

Please watch this video up to at least minute 17.10:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wby1CIhnYWI

Now close your eyes and try to navigate through several rooms using “clicks” only. Tell us how you did! Did you find that you became more sensitive to sounds when you were forced to rely on that sensory system?

  • You need to Replay to Himangshu: This video simply gives us the message that when there’s a will there’s a way. The way Ben handled this situation is really beyond imagination. Losing both of your eyes and still enjoying the life normally is beyond imagination. I really loved how Ben’s mom handled this. Even though she cried inside her room, she never expressed how sorry she felt in front of Ben. I believe the support of Ben’s family is extremely phenomenal. The most interesting part for me in the video was when they compared Ben’s clicking method to see with a submarine. This comparison made me believe that something miraculous is working with Ben. Out of nowhere, this comparison made me believe that miracle is really true. I have heard miracle stories but this one is a legit miracle. Not only viewers are in shock, even scientist are. I tried this same method as Ben by closing eyes. But I had no idea. Almost I fell asleep. Overall this video tells me that when there’s a will there’s definitely a way.
  • You need to Replay to Holler: I became more sensitive to the sounds when I was forced to rely on that sensory system. It is just like a blind person. He tends to have a better hearing system compared to a non-blind person. Blind individuals use auditory data to find sound-reflecting objects and sources. Sound origin localization gains from the sensory system’s capability to terminate disturbing sound reflections while sound-reflecting objects would gain from not ending these reflections. There is a better inter-aural level difference (ILD) for blind people compared to listeners who were seeing. The blind people also have increased capabilities of not stopping lagging clicks. It could be associated with the blind individual’s encounter of localizing mirrored sounds for which ILD could be more productive than inter-aural time differences (ITDs). Blind people can discern between nearly placed reflecting items. For sighted listeners like me, I have to undergo extensive training before I can become more sensitive to these sounds and how the system generally works. Ben in the video can use clicks to locate objects and even show approximately the height of the object (Barcroft, 2015). Nevertheless, as much as he can detect, he cannot tell what kind of object it is. Reference Barcroft TV. (2015, April 14) DOCS: The Boy Who Can See Without Eyes. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wby1CIhnYWI