Fascinating research published in a recent issue of the Acta Acoustica journal has shown that pretty much anyone can learn to navigate in the same way that dolphins or bats do.
Echolocation is a sonar sense. By emitting pulses of sound and then listening to the way the sound is reflected, it is possible to build up an accurate mental impression of the surroundings. Dolphins and bats both click, and it turns out that this is the best way for humans to echolocate as well. The ideal sound appears to be the ‘palate click’, a hard click with the tongue, popping it off the roof of the mouth. Other sounds that volunteers tested — including artifically-produced clicks from a wrist-bracelet — just weren’t as effective.
According to the research, just a couple of days is enough to pick up basic echolocation, but it takes about a month of practicing 1-2 hours a day in order to train your brain to make the most of the sense. The National Geographic article cites the case of Daniel Kish, World Access for the Blind’s executive director, who was born blind, and is able to use echolocation to play ball games, bicycle, and go mountain hiking. This is obviously very interesting for anyone with visual impairment, but it could also be very useful for people who have to deal with dark or smoky conditions where sight is diminished, such as fire-fighters, or, frankly, anyone who wants to impress and astonish friends and family.
The other famous modern echolocator was Ben Underwood, an American teenager who lost his eyes to cancer at the age of three. He was able to skateboard, rollerblade and even play foosball by echolocation. Tragically he died this January (2009), of the same cancer. He was 16.
Echolocation isn’t on its own, however. Prof. Beatrice de Gelder, a researcher into blindsight, has this video of a totally blind man navigating a deliberately-cluttered hallway.
This isn’t echolocation, though — it is called blindsight, and can occur when part of the vision-processing circuitry of the brain gets damaged, but other areas remain. Although the mind can no longer access vision, the brain still processes some data, and it can be possible to develop what feels like an intuitive sense of vision. There are no images, just an awareness of obstacles. Sounds a bit like Luke using to learn the Force in Star Wars.
On a novel-related note, it occurs to me that echolocation could be a useful skill for a vampire to have learnt…
interesting wow i loved it