Re: Implicit human echolocation

[Peter Lennox <P.Lennox@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I think this is quite important. Of course, there are degrees of echolocation, and it might be that the scale of echolocation vaires between blind and sighted, so that, in most contexts, sighted tend to use it less. how you would test that would be interesting...
regards
ppl

Dr. Peter Lennox
S.P.A.R.G.
Signal Processing Applications Research Group
University of Derby
http://sparg.derby.ac.uk  
Int. tel: 3155
>>> "Bruno L. Giordano" <bruno.giordano@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> 05/30/07 2:31 PM >>>
Hello,

I have a general knowledge of the literature on human echolocation: 
sighted-blindfolded listeners are capable of locating nearby surfaces 
from the reflections of self-generated sounds, when they are instructed 
to do so.

However, does echolocation persist in absence of explicit instructions?

An improbable single-trial experiment could address this question: 
blindfolded participants are asked to walk along a path, as long as they 
wish. They wouldn't be informed that a wall is obstructing the path. 
Unfortunately, the number of injuries would measure implicit 
echolocation abilities.

Is anybody aware of related, more ethical studies?

Thank you,

	Bruno

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bruno L. Giordano, Ph.D.
Music Perception and Cognition Laboratory
CIRMMT http://www.cirmmt.mcgill.ca/
Schulich School of Music, McGill University
555 Sherbrooke Street West
MontrÃal, QC H3A 1E3
Canada
Office: +1 514 398 4535 ext. 00900
http://www.music.mcgill.ca/~bruno/

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