the brain. And when you get down to the level of brain cells, or neurons, humans have the same neurons animals do. Weâre using them differently, but the cells are the same.
That means that theoretically we could have extreme perceptions the way animals do if we figured out how to use the sensory processing cells in our brains the way animals do. I think this is more than a theory; I think there are people who already do use their sense neurons the way animals do. My student Holly, who is severely dyslexic, has such acute auditory perception that she can actually hear radios that arenât turned on. All appliances that are plugged in continue to draw power, even when theyâre turned off. Holly can hear the tiny little transmissions a turned-off radio is receiving. Sheâll say, âNPR is doing a show on lions,â and weâll turn the radio on and sure enough: NPR is doing a show on lions. Holly can hear it. She can hear the hum of electric wires in the wall. And sheâs incredible with animals. She can tell what theyâre feeling from the tiniest variations in their breathing; she can hear changes the rest of us canât.
Autistic people almost always have excruciating sound sensitivities. The only way I can describe how a lot of sounds affect me is to compare it to staring straight into the sun. I get overwhelmed by normal sounds in the environment, and itâs painful. Most autism professionals talk about this as just being super- sensitive, which is true as far as it goes. But I think autistic people are also super- perceptive. Theyâre hearing things normal people arenât, like a piece of candy being unwrapped in the next room.
It happens with vision, too; a lot of autistic people have told me they can see the flicker in fluorescent lighting. Hollyâs the same way. She can barely function in fluorescent lighting because of it. Our whole environment is built to the specifications and limitations of a normal human perceptual systemâand thatâs not the same thing as a normal animal perceptual system, or as a normal-abnormal human system like a dyslexic personâs system, or an autistic personâs. There are probably huge numbers of people who donât fit the normal environment. Even worse, half the time they probably donât even realize they donât fit, because this is the only environment theyâve ever been in, so they donât have a point of comparison.
Some researchers say that people like Holly have developed super-sensitive hearing because their visual processing is so scrambled. Super-sensitive hearing is a compensation, in other words. Thatâs always the explanation researchers give for the super-hearing of blind people; people who are blind have built up their hearing to compensate for not being able to see.
Iâm sure thatâs true, but I donât think itâs the whole story. I think the potential to be able to hear the radio when itâs turned off is already there inside everyoneâs brains; we just canât access it. Somehow a person with sensory problems figures out how to get to it.
I have two reasons for thinking this. First, there are a lot of cases in the literature of people suddenly developing extreme perception after a head injury. In The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat Oliver Sacks has a story about a medical student who was taking a lot of recreational drugs (mostly amphetamines). One night he dreamed that he was a dog. When he woke up he found that all of a sudden, literally overnight, he had developed super-heightened perceptions, including a heightened sense of smell. When he went to his clinic, he recognized all twenty of his patients, before he saw them, purely by smell. He said he could smell their emotions, too, which is something people have always suspected dogs can do. He could recognize every single street and shop in New York City by smell, and he felt a strong impulse to sniff and
That means that theoretically we could have extreme perceptions the way animals do if we figured out how to use the sensory processing cells in our brains the way animals do. I think this is more than a theory; I think there are people who already do use their sense neurons the way animals do. My student Holly, who is severely dyslexic, has such acute auditory perception that she can actually hear radios that arenât turned on. All appliances that are plugged in continue to draw power, even when theyâre turned off. Holly can hear the tiny little transmissions a turned-off radio is receiving. Sheâll say, âNPR is doing a show on lions,â and weâll turn the radio on and sure enough: NPR is doing a show on lions. Holly can hear it. She can hear the hum of electric wires in the wall. And sheâs incredible with animals. She can tell what theyâre feeling from the tiniest variations in their breathing; she can hear changes the rest of us canât.
Autistic people almost always have excruciating sound sensitivities. The only way I can describe how a lot of sounds affect me is to compare it to staring straight into the sun. I get overwhelmed by normal sounds in the environment, and itâs painful. Most autism professionals talk about this as just being super- sensitive, which is true as far as it goes. But I think autistic people are also super- perceptive. Theyâre hearing things normal people arenât, like a piece of candy being unwrapped in the next room.
It happens with vision, too; a lot of autistic people have told me they can see the flicker in fluorescent lighting. Hollyâs the same way. She can barely function in fluorescent lighting because of it. Our whole environment is built to the specifications and limitations of a normal human perceptual systemâand thatâs not the same thing as a normal animal perceptual system, or as a normal-abnormal human system like a dyslexic personâs system, or an autistic personâs. There are probably huge numbers of people who donât fit the normal environment. Even worse, half the time they probably donât even realize they donât fit, because this is the only environment theyâve ever been in, so they donât have a point of comparison.
Some researchers say that people like Holly have developed super-sensitive hearing because their visual processing is so scrambled. Super-sensitive hearing is a compensation, in other words. Thatâs always the explanation researchers give for the super-hearing of blind people; people who are blind have built up their hearing to compensate for not being able to see.
Iâm sure thatâs true, but I donât think itâs the whole story. I think the potential to be able to hear the radio when itâs turned off is already there inside everyoneâs brains; we just canât access it. Somehow a person with sensory problems figures out how to get to it.
I have two reasons for thinking this. First, there are a lot of cases in the literature of people suddenly developing extreme perception after a head injury. In The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat Oliver Sacks has a story about a medical student who was taking a lot of recreational drugs (mostly amphetamines). One night he dreamed that he was a dog. When he woke up he found that all of a sudden, literally overnight, he had developed super-heightened perceptions, including a heightened sense of smell. When he went to his clinic, he recognized all twenty of his patients, before he saw them, purely by smell. He said he could smell their emotions, too, which is something people have always suspected dogs can do. He could recognize every single street and shop in New York City by smell, and he felt a strong impulse to sniff and
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