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Can a person that was born blind identify someone that they know/love not by sound, touch or smell but solely by their aura/presence? (self.Blind)
submitted by Nephilim83
fastfinge 11 points 6y ago
No. Or at least, I can't. When I was young (maybe 10 or 11) I was actually unsure about that question, so me and some science minded friends decided to test it. Turns out I can identify large people standing close to me either by how sound bounces off them or by how they breathe or something, so if one person in the group is short, and one tall, I can almost always tell the difference. I can also usually tell men and women apart, but that probably has something to do with smells (different shampoo etc) or the different rustling of clothes (skirts vs pants or something). Even though I don't realize I'm doing it by smell or sound, that doesn't mean I'm not.
bondolo 6 points 6y ago
This seems consistent with other blind people I know including my wife. There's nothing mystical about it; the identification is the result of integration of a variety of audible, olfactory and spatial inputs both observed and subliminal. It's not anywhere close to 100% reliable but there is certainly useful information there.
fastfinge 6 points 6y ago
Sadly, I know blind people who are absolutely convinced that auras are a thing, and that they can identify people by them. I can understand why; enough of the information I get is subliminal that I'm still not exactly sure how I know what I know sometimes. But just because it's not consciously observed doesn't mean it's ESP.
KelCougarMellen -1 points 6y ago
Auras are a thing it's just simply that everything in the world vibrates at a specific frequency, the sound of the universe. If I put you in a room and said run if you were mindful enough you'd feel the vibration/aura of the wall and stop before you smash your face....Hopefully.
fastfinge 1 points 6y ago
Sorry, you're just simply wrong. Dangerously so. Walls are detected by the way echos bounce off them. "auras" and "mindfulness" should never be depended on by the blind for navigation, because they don't exist. Saying otherwise will get someone killed.
Fange_Strellow 8 points 6y ago
What is an aura/presence other than a group of non-specific stimuli? Like one of the other dudes said, combinations of smell, sound, and touch can combine in very subtle ways.
I would hypothesize if you put a blind guy in a vacuum and absolutely isolated them from stimuli, then that blind guy is not going to know if someone is around them. The world doesn't need to be mystical to be fascinating.
edit: Just some advice. Don't ask this in real life to a blind person if you don't know them. We're normal people just like you, not mystical and mysterious beings.
I would hypothesize if you put a blind guy in a vacuum and absolutely isolated them from stimuli, then that blind guy is not going to know if someone is around them. The world doesn't need to be mystical to be fascinating.
edit: Just some advice. Don't ask this in real life to a blind person if you don't know them. We're normal people just like you, not mystical and mysterious beings.
Nephilim83 [OP] 4 points 6y ago
I believe you misunderstood me. I don't believe blind people are mystical beings. I believe there is more to a persons aura than just energy. More like a signature if you like. So I was curious to ask this question.
Fange_Strellow 1 points 6y ago
Let's be honest, though. An aura is typically percieved as a mystical concept. I understand you might be using the term to describe subtle combinations of physical stimuli, but even still it is similar to asking a blind person if they can echolocate or are like Daredevil.
modulus 4 points 6y ago
I can't.
ravenshadow2013 1 points 6y ago
yes I can
GuideDogAndHisQueer 1 points 6y ago
Nope not me either
Nephilim83 [OP] 1 points 6y ago
Thank you all for your replies :)
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