[nabs-l] Heightened Senses

[Arielle Silverman]

Hi all,

Two points I would add:
1. There is a difference between sensory abilities and sensory skills.
Sensory abilities are characteristics of a species that have a
variable but limited range, such as visual acuity or whatever the
equivalent is for hearing, smell, touch, etc. Human beings can only
get so good at seeing, hearing, etc. Sensory skills, by contrast, are
abilities to perceive or discriminate specific stimuli through
practice. Braille is a good example of this; through training, blind
people can learn to discriminate Braille dots by touch, but I don't
think that necessarily means that they are more sensitive to all touch
stimuli. Similarly, I might be able to differentiate traffic patterns
by hearing when I am specifically paying attention because I was
taught this skill, but that doesn't mean I can tell what type of car
is driving by through listening to its engine, because that's an
auditory skill I haven't practiced. A sighted person can learn these
and other sensory skills, too, assuming their senses are in the normal
human ability range, but sighted people usually aren't motivated to do
so because the equivalent visual skills are more readily applicable
(i.e. they learn to discriminate print letters instead of Braille
because print is more widely available, and they look at traffic
signals because this information is more intuitive and accurate than
listening).

2. Blind people, like sighted people, aren't all the same. Some can
hear, smell or feel better than others, for a wide variety of reasons
having nothing to do with blindness. Similarly, different blind people
have different aptitudes at sensory skills based on individual
differences and the quality of training they received. So claiming
that we all have amazing senses is just as erroneous as saying all
sighted people hear, smell, etc. at the same ability level.

I agree that people might use these compensatory stereotypes to try to
justify the fairness of the world. I also think people might rely on
these beliefs to try to explain to themselves how people can be blind
and still successfully participate in life. They are right in that we
need to use our other senses to get things done, but they should be
taught that it's the sensory skills, not innate sensory abilities,
that help us adapt to blindness.

Arielle

On 9/22/10, Sean Whalen <smwhalenpsp at gmail.com> wrote:
> I agree with those who have said that we do not have heightened senses, we
> just develop and use them to a greater degree. I generally try to explain
> that to people whenever possible.
>
> I think there is a point to what Mark brings to light with the running
> example. I would say that there is a distinction between abilities and
> capacities. I have a greater ability to use my hearing than do most people,
> but they, theoretically, have the capacity to develop the ability to do the
> same. We all have the same hardware, but some of us develop and refine our
> ability to utilize it beyond what is common; just as the long distance
> runner develops her ability to run through training.
>
> The thing that bothers me most about getting comments about my enhanced
> senses is not the failure to understand that my heightened ability to employ
> them comes from a heightened reliance on them and practice in using them to
> gather information, but rather that, often times, the comment about
> heightened senses carries the implication that the heightened senses are a
> gift from God, or the universe, or whatever, to compensate for the
> misfortune of being blind. That rubs me the wrong way for a number of
> reasons, not the least of which is a feeling that blindness, while certainly
> neither easy nor a positive in my life, is less of a misfortune than many
> people around the world endure, presumably without any wonderful consolation
> prize like enhanced sensory perception. Basically, I think some people
> want/need to believe that it is the case, in order to preserve their sense
> that the world is just and fair. Problem is, it isn't.
>
> Sorry if this only took us further off the beaten path.
>
> All the best,
>
> Sean
>
>
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-- 
Arielle Silverman
President, National Association of Blind Students
Phone:  602-502-2255
Email:
nabs.president at gmail.com
Website:
www.nabslink.org