
Human Echolocation Allows People to See Without Using Their Eyes (2013) - Mz
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-human-echolocation-allows-people-to-see-without-using-their-eyes-1916013/?no-ist
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panglott
Saw Daniel Kish give a lecture a few months ago, and this amazing ability is a
lot more accessible than it sounds. Kish uses both passive and active sonar
(based on dental clicks), but the passive sonar is a lot easier to wrap your
head around. Even for people with sight, the difference between a large,
echo-y room and a small room is immediately apparent. The differences between
a voice spoken in front of a hard table and a soft pillow are also very
distinct. And if you make an even tone in front of a wall and in front of a
corner, the differences are quite apparent as well. Apparently corners are so
acoustically distinct that you can hear them from quite a distance away.

It's not a foolproof method; he uses a cane because it's difficult to hear
objects below knee level. But he thinks many more people can learn to "hear
the walls" (if we don't ridicule people for it).

