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86 Comments
- vsujohn2, on 12/25/2008, -3/+47This is entirely a guess since I didn't read the article, but they probably put bacon at the end of that maze.
- inactive, on 12/25/2008, -5/+46The Force is strong with them.
- ThunderKitty, on 12/25/2008, -1/+30WTF wall hacks
- TimmyToughNuts, on 12/25/2008, -1/+28If I was blind and smelled bacon I would probably would trip over every single obstacle while trying to run towards the delicious smell.
- 1337McJenkins, on 12/25/2008, -2/+28Reminded me of the blind teen able to see using echo-location:
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/779704/best_video_of ... - Chairboy, on 12/25/2008, -0/+22How will we defend ourselves from the blind now? Obviously our maze-defense grids will no longer protect us from the sightless menace.
- billyj, on 12/25/2008, -8/+26The title is misleading. That person is not blind in the way most people think of blindness. His eyes are completely healthy -- the eyesight is there, but there is "nothing to process the signal with" as his visual cortex has been damaged and is not functioning.
The imminent conclusion is that the visual signal is processed in at least two parts of the brain -- certainly this is not first time when we found that multiple parts of the brain contribute to a single piece of "functionality". - koldmilk, on 12/25/2008, -0/+17So when can they start fighting crime?
- k3rfuffl3, on 12/25/2008, -2/+18I expected to see retarded comments upon opening the comments so here are some facts that will hopefully reduce them:
1) They discounted echolocation so don't bother explaining it that way
2) He's seeing his way through, but just not with the same part of the brain as we do. He has no conscious sight, but he can still get information from his eyes using other parts of the brain subconsciously that are related to vision.
To put it simply... His eyes are fine but his brain is screwed up thanks to a stroke. - chewbie, on 12/25/2008, -0/+12video can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwGmWqX0MnM
(in case the original goes down) - minago, on 12/25/2008, -2/+12This article --particularly the OP's stub-- doesn't really treat blindsight properly. It's not about his "native ability to sense things using the brain’s primitive, subcortical — and entirely subconscious — visual system." That "native ability" is the healthy visual pathway. Don't be mislead, blindsight is a very rare and special case of blindness where an otherwise healthy person recieves trauma to the v1 area of their brain, one of the first stops on the visual pathway. it was previously thought that these people were made blind just like everyone else, but as research (like this) has revealed, they lack CONSCIOUS visual experience, but still can see. sort of. Their higher visual areas (v2-v6) still receive information through parallel pathways.
There's nothing primitive about this guys visual pathway, nor is it subcortical. Rather, the higher level areas of his visual system are really the main thing that're operating here (like depth sensing and object recognition), it's one of the more "primitive" spots that's not functioning. What's so interesting about this sort of thing, is it shows that as counter-intuitive as it is, our primary senses can and do operate without giving us direct, conscious phenomenal experience. It's just hard to wrap your mind around the idea of being able to see without visual experience. - inactive, on 12/25/2008, -0/+8"With the blast shield down, I can't even see. How am i supposed to fight?"
- maroon1872, on 12/26/2008, -1/+8If i still had sight and smelled bacon i would stillI trip over every single obstacle while trying to run towards the delicious smell.
- Paranor01, on 12/25/2008, -2/+8um, that was the whole point of the study...
and the title is not mis-leading at all. he is blind. as we currently understand blindness (again, the whole point of the study). - inactive, on 12/26/2008, -0/+5Geordi LaForge.
- Fmunkey, on 12/25/2008, -0/+5They need a new camera man.
- blakestah, on 12/26/2008, -0/+5It is much more than that one blind teen. Nearly every blind person can "see" obstacles using their sense of sound. It has been extensively studied and called the "obstacle sense". The well controlled studies were done close to a half century ago in which the scientists convincingly demonstrated that the sense of sound was responsible by filling the ears of their subjects with wax. Then. the blind can not longer "see". They bump into objects. Further, this ability can be developed in any person with normal hearing within a few test sessions that involve wearing a blindfold and walking right into objects a few times. After a few hours of training, the obstacle sense emerges, and the blind (or blindfolded) can walk through rooms filled with objects without crashing into them.
- dirtpoorchris, on 12/25/2008, -2/+7Ok... Im not freaking crazy. Im have perfect vision and can see my own hands "aura" from about a foot away with my eyes closed and I can see walls real easy it seems. Especially when I am getting tired and laying in bed.
- JesseJ, on 12/26/2008, -1/+5Ok... But do deaf schizophrenics hear voices?
- minago, on 12/26/2008, -0/+4The use of the word 'cortex' by the NYT is part of the problem I'm talking about. When they say cortex, they specifically mean the 'striate cortex' (see the article), which is also known as v1. That there was no activity in the 'cortex' just verifies that this person's response to visual stimuli is blindsight.
The researcher is particularly interested in affective blindsight, which is the capacity for emotional response to visual stimuli in the blind. Emotional responses are expected to be located in the midbrain, so her findings integrate well with what is known about blindsight in general. The fact that the guy avoids objects is probably due to the higher level processing regions. His measured response in the midbrain is due to pictures of faces with which he was presented.
And I know no one cares, I just really love functional neuropsych type stuff - bduddy, on 12/26/2008, -1/+5He can't see, therefore he is blind. Do I think of it in the wrong way?
- TheZetetic, on 12/25/2008, -2/+5So, Dare Devil...?
- andrewlotta, on 12/25/2008, -1/+4On an episode of Oz, a character said if you hold your hand up to the wall of a maze and just walk you will reach the end of a maze with no problem.
Is that true?
Here's a NY Times I ran across when I google'd it:
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950 ... - scottblystone, on 12/26/2008, -0/+3The brain imaging they did showed no cortical function in the visual areas, but did show activity in the midbrain. The midbrain is commonly referred to as being primitive relative to the cortex because the cortex was later to evolve.
Although what you say is relevant in many cases, it is not here. - dirtpoorchris, on 12/26/2008, -0/+3I just tested it out with my little brother. I thougth that maybe I might be imagining it like a graphics processor. With my own hand I can see my hand all the way down to my arm because my arm is close. If my brother waves his hand I can make my face follow it most the way he says. With the lights off. My own hand and arm look slighty lightish or greyish. But with my brothers hand waving (and the way he was angling his arm) I just saw what seemed to be a darker spot in my thought (but thinkin kinda like eyes) where his hand was.
- cfrog7, on 12/25/2008, -1/+4wtf who puts cones and cubes in a hallway
this isn't cube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aGDCE6Nrz0 - FelixdaaHack, on 12/26/2008, -0/+2In SF training we were told not to beam people we were going to take out with our eyes because people have an innate ability to sense when they are being stared at.
- painting, on 12/25/2008, -1/+3http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3AgO6H0H98
blind man paints and draws. - Setherex, on 12/25/2008, -1/+3He will join us or die.
- MawnLower, on 12/26/2008, -0/+2In other news, Daredevil steps down from his status of superhero to medical mystery.
- sonnybobiche, on 12/26/2008, -1/+3@scottblystone: The NYT article says no activity was detected in the cortex, but doesn't qualify that as being the visual cortex or the cortex in general. My guess is the former.
- tgc1, on 12/26/2008, -0/+2Next Tuesday.
- guy123thor, on 12/26/2008, -0/+2There better have been some damned good cheese at the end of that maze.
- inactive, on 12/27/2008, -0/+2 People do care..I found your input fascinating!.
- inactive, on 12/27/2008, -0/+2 No,that is a myth...Just cause one sense goes does not mean others improve to compensate. if this were true blind people would not go deaf,as an example,and deaf people would not go blind.
- kavaliro, on 12/25/2008, -1/+3Muad'dib!
- slapthemonkey, on 12/26/2008, -0/+1Interesting and informative
- TechnoRabbit, on 12/26/2008, -0/+1Read the article.
- momzilla54, on 12/26/2008, -0/+1Whether he is blind because his eyes are damaged or because he lacks the "wiring" to process visual signals, the fact is he still cannot see. We know innately that the subconscious mind is very powerful even without knowing the extent what it can do. This is just further evidence of the enormous complexity of the brain.
- sabach, on 12/26/2008, -0/+1There has to be a twist.
- nicmakaveli, on 12/26/2008, -0/+1woah, anyone watch the video?
amazing! - joshua5, on 12/26/2008, -0/+1thank you that helped
- hoowahman, on 12/26/2008, -0/+1we all use it though. It's just that we process an awareness of it.
- the8thbit, on 12/26/2008, -0/+1Billy, If he were blind in the way that most people are blind he would most definitely be able to navigate an obstacle course.
Most people who are blind can still see, their sight is just so terrible that they can't read or drive, thus, they are legally blind. Only about 1% of the blind are completely blind. - tgc1, on 12/26/2008, -1/+2I was just about to say this. I think it might be Electro Magnetic signals being picked up by the skin. It might be turbulence in the air that hairs on your arm and hand pick up. It might be temperature related. I'm not really sure, but i've experienced just that before. If you close your eyes and you put your hand close to something it feels different, however slight, from your hand in open air. Something in your body is able to pick up things from it, and with practice you can get good at picking up these sub conscious signals. It's strange... but just try it. You'll see what I mean.
I'm not sure if that's what you meant. But i've also seen Auras myself. Around trees. If you look at night, and your eyes adjust to the night, you can see these 3 feet long auras on the tree tops. It's kinda strange. Or maybe i'm just a freak I don't know. It's just sort of a visual distortion. A minute difference between the sky background and the tree top. - the8thbit, on 12/26/2008, -1/+2It'd be more impressive if a deaf dumb AND blind kid learned to play pinball.
- inactive, on 12/26/2008, -1/+2He didn't use echolocation. RTFA
He even responded to emotional images, cringing at pictures of people in duress. Try doing that with echolocation - inactive, on 12/26/2008, -0/+1
there was a vid - TJ11240, on 12/26/2008, -0/+1just keep your right hand on a wall at all times and anybody can find the exit
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