

Learn Echolocation like a Dolphin - wglb
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/06/echolocation/

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wglb
When I was in high school, I had a blind friend who used something similar to
do some rather amazing things. He would follow me on his bicycle (!), tracking
by the sound the bike made. Solo, he could turn into the driveway next to his
house. When prompted, he told me he could tell where he was by the trees.
What? "Yes, I can hear the sound the trees make". The light rustling of the
leaves, the reflection of the bike's sound off the tree itself.

I suspect that we may use a bit of this already without being aware of it.

I have always felt that there are opportunities to extend our senses, not only
by practice as suggested by the article, but also by some sort of electronic
assist.

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RiderOfGiraffes
A few months ago I had to spend four days with my eyes closed. I was surprised
to discover that I could tell where my coffee was just by holding out my hands
and tracking the heat source. I also tended to stop suddenly when walking
around, feeling that something was wrong, and then finding that there was
indeed an object out of place and in the way. Sometimes these were quite small
- mug-sized (although not mugs).

Feynman had more to say about training the senses. You can read about it in
his semi-autobiographical books.

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Bjoern
Comparing Human Echo location to a Dolphin is highly unfair, at least for the
human. The Dolphins brain has specifically adapted to use this technique and
it is quite impressive. Dolphins are actually able to see through things which
block their view of an object. Meaning that they can distinguish objects
without actually seeing them directly.

Here is more on this:

[http://www.guba.com/watch/2000977386?duration_step=0&fie...](http://www.guba.com/watch/2000977386?duration_step=0&fields=8&filter_tiny=0&pp=5&query=404934828&sb=7&set=5&sf=0&size_step=0&o=3&sample=1231730837:f40ae2aaa7e3b1508fe84d3aa954dc6b786be741)

