h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Inspired by a question from he who answers to the name Lost in Scotland - how anyone can ever feel lost in God's own Country I'll never know ...

If someone is suffers from some form of sensorty imparement do their other senses heighten to make up for any short comings? So, for example, if you are blind do you have improved hearing? Or indeed, vice versa?

And further - what if you are both deaf and blind? What then?

It seems well-established that blind people have more acute hearing than your average sighted person. However, this doesn't seem to be an actual physical improvement, but rather a result of having to rely on hearing a lot more than is usual. Therefore blind people learn how to pay better attention to what they hear, they learn new ways to interperet what they hear and presumably due to the extra use they gain more neural pathways associated with hearing.

I think it will also depend on what age you became impaired.

For example if you were blinded a a very young age the areas of your brain used for sight would be "taken over" by the other senses, so although physically these senses would be no better there would be more processing power attached to them, so in effect they would be "better" than in a sighted individual.

As you get older your brain is less adapatable but it is likely that if you lost a sense your other senses would gradually take over the brain areas as in the child.

But as I undertand it your ears or your nose or the sensory nerves for say, touch, actually would not be improved, as they say its all in the mind!

I have a friend who is both deaf and blind - the senses have compensated each other equally so he can see and hear perfectly.

I want a real reaction here. Are there any blind people read this?


Oh.


Sorry.


Geggs

There may be some severly visulally impaired though, if there are do you find that you other senses are more acute than normal sighted people?

I'm sorry, I could quite smell that. What did you say?

Having sod all sense of smell I find that I can see through people. And anyone who knows Blues Shark will know that my sense of taste is badly affected also.

Before we no it we'll be hurling custard pie at each other















Duck!

I imagine it's just a matter of more computing power beng available. The processing of sight take up a large portion of your brain, so if that went you'd have lost for the other sense.

I watched a program on National Geographic Channel, hosted by Alan Alda. There they tried blindfolding a girl for a few days, and then teach her that reading with the little dots. It did seem her sense of touch improved quite a lot.

Go find 2legs... He is blind and I'm sure he'll be interested in this thread...
rmember, what with the wnderful things computers can do (apart from crashing and losing all necessary data) there are all sorts of things out there that allow the visially impaired to access silly web-sites like this!

I have no sense of decency...

B

So master B does that mean you indecent senses are up regulated?

Of course - I happen to be immensely sensitive where indecent activities are concerned

B

I have no sense but I've a computer that talks and I touch type; problem solved; I don't need to be able to see the screan, which is handy if you think about it, cause I can't see a damm thing Has my sens eof hearing improved? has my sense of touch improved?:
No, it hasn't.
But;
I never used them to their full potential when I could see, when I lost my sight, at age 17 I couldn't just rely so heavily on sight, obviously....
Because of which I "learnt" to use what sense I had left Mean senses, as I never had any sense whatsoever anyhow So I can read Braille using touch; but I had to learn how to do it, and I guess that I could have learnt it whilst sighted (I know sighted people who read braille by looking at it), but there wasn't any need for me to do so; my sense of hearing is variable; I find it very difficult sometimes, to, for example listen to someone talking in a very loud night club, but generally its "better"; becdause its always turned on and working (hopefully) to the best of its ability I guess I've an awful sense of balance, but only after I've drunk a small loch of wisky or something simular but, wait for it, :
I've a fantastic sense of touch; well, thats what all the girls tell me Hmm, I guess with my hearing I immediately associate what I hear to what it is, so as I'm sitting here I'm listening to my computer, the radio and at the same time, I'm hearing noises from outside, but immediatly associating them with what it is "car just drove to East road end o f my street", "someone just colelcted some plates or glasses off the table outside the cafe", "why do all the cyclists in Cambridge have dud crank shafts" "that car went the other way toward St Matthew street" : and I find it difficult not to do that, as Its important for me to be aware whats happening around me, especially when I'm wondering back from the pub half cut, as I prefer not to get run over too often these days I should really do some work today