tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8328938478149771357.post2138277255149140620..comments2023-09-28T02:15:32.614-07:00Comments on Nick Cook – A Ramble Through an Oxford Author's Imagination and Inspiration: Beyond The Edges of Our PerceptionNick Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00533479096188610743noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8328938478149771357.post-44955927742690558952012-03-29T10:37:46.290-07:002012-03-29T10:37:46.290-07:00I loved this post! It reminded me of a related ins...I loved this post! It reminded me of a related insight I had once when visiting an aquarium, realizing the fish in the water had no real idea of the world above the water's surface -- and then wondering what we humans had no knowledge of because of the milieu we swim in and the limits of our senses. <br /><br />BTW, Thanks for following me on Twitter. I'm following you now.Elizabeth Varadan, Authorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01708206753256682635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8328938478149771357.post-4082233909270163002012-03-24T15:31:59.116-07:002012-03-24T15:31:59.116-07:00Yes know and I love What the Bleep do we Know. :o)...Yes know and I love What the Bleep do we Know. :o)<br /><br />And exactly on perception... I think people would be really surprised at how much colour perception varies from person to person.Nick Cookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00533479096188610743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8328938478149771357.post-61180320871971068332012-03-24T12:28:11.972-07:002012-03-24T12:28:11.972-07:00I've actually pondered this very thing. (= Wha...I've actually pondered this very thing. (= What the bleep do we know? <br /><br />How do I know that what I see as "red" looks the same to someone else?<br /><br />If a bluebird in the forest is blue-- and nobody is there to see it-- is it still blue? (=Jo Schafferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11514820971898568397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8328938478149771357.post-4500640115380590162012-03-15T15:48:46.931-07:002012-03-15T15:48:46.931-07:00Not off topic at all. :O)
The heightening of oth...Not off topic at all. :O) <br /><br />The heightening of other senses is well documented... the tapestry of them shifting to retune our perception of the world. I suppose ultimately this all highlights how individual awareness is. I suspect if we could see how others see the world it would be quite a surprise. It must be amazing to have heightened UV awareness as February describes in the first response above... imagine being able to see all those extra colours!Nick Cookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00533479096188610743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8328938478149771357.post-35005155751367299932012-03-15T15:37:44.786-07:002012-03-15T15:37:44.786-07:00Nick, what an interesting and thought-provoking po...Nick, what an interesting and thought-provoking post. :) <br /><br />Taking what you said, I guess we could liken this to people who has limited senses; the loss of sight, hearing etc. With the loss of anything, we know all creatures (including humans) can develop their other senses to counterbalance their loss. E.g. a blind person would adapt their senses so they rely heavily on their heightened sense of sound and touch whereas a deaf person, asides from their use of sight, is able to pick up vibrations instead of sound. There are also people out there who swear they can smell people with certain ailments. How about those with ESP? Would they not be considered to be in tuned with some frequency others are unable to tap into? <br /><br />Slightly off the subject; but I am also interested in colour-blindness and if it is limiting and how different it is to colour-blindness in animals –or rather their (dogs in particular) black & white vision of the world. Any thoughts –or have I gone off on another tangent? :)yikicihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02053193063885023803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8328938478149771357.post-52334264860129116502012-03-08T09:38:01.310-08:002012-03-08T09:38:01.310-08:00Wow, fascinating stuff. I remember that as a child...Wow, fascinating stuff. I remember that as a child I always wondered if people saw things the same way I did. Even now "my" blue or purple clearly isn't the same as my daughter's. Imagine if we even saw just a fraction more of the whole spectrum? I'd love to see it, if just for a moment.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00018944465720933242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8328938478149771357.post-24535418751538433532012-03-08T09:03:36.189-08:002012-03-08T09:03:36.189-08:00Great stuff, Mike, and look forward to reading it!...Great stuff, Mike, and look forward to reading it! And Nicky... oh so true!Nick Cookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00533479096188610743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8328938478149771357.post-51557745450385251162012-03-08T08:31:39.555-08:002012-03-08T08:31:39.555-08:00Good post, Nick. There's a touch of convergenc...Good post, Nick. There's a touch of convergence here - in the novel I've planned out, the hero's uncle discovers something in an unconsidered part of the electro magnetic spectrum, and this is used as the McGuffin for the whole story!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01460566739058154979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8328938478149771357.post-3868118566564600972012-03-08T02:59:36.040-08:002012-03-08T02:59:36.040-08:00Great post, Nick, and I'd add, it's not on...Great post, Nick, and I'd add, it's not only our vision which is limited. We are, on all levels, a pretty myopic species.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04871239587214383387noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8328938478149771357.post-8821558208852434542012-03-07T15:18:34.786-08:002012-03-07T15:18:34.786-08:00Think that's an interesting point, Alex... ima...Think that's an interesting point, Alex... imagination filling in the gaps so to speak. The brain apparently throws away 95 percent, if not more, of all visual information it receives. If it didn't we wouldn't be able to move because our brains couldn't cope with the work load!Nick Cookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00533479096188610743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8328938478149771357.post-6124309196846978102012-03-07T12:54:34.173-08:002012-03-07T12:54:34.173-08:00Interesting post, Nick. I'm tempted to wonder ...Interesting post, Nick. I'm tempted to wonder what we, as creative people, could do if we could experience a wider portion of the EM spectrum. But then I think about the fact that much of our emotional response to the world is based on what's just out of sight, in the shadows. That's often what intrigues, moves and scares us. That's what fires our imaginations. Maybe enhanced vision would come at the expense of a stunted imagination. We'd see beautifully, but our poetry might be rubbish. I dunno. Just a thought.alex.woolfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02006446902387291405noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8328938478149771357.post-44000554775385958682012-03-07T10:46:41.904-08:002012-03-07T10:46:41.904-08:00First time visit to your blog and enjoyed the post...First time visit to your blog and enjoyed the post very much. Sounds right up my alley. I will be back. <br />-KatKathleen Scott/MK Mancoshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14872072913152568070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8328938478149771357.post-53079211492643428152012-03-07T10:46:33.299-08:002012-03-07T10:46:33.299-08:00This comment is actually from Abi Burlingham... sh...This comment is actually from Abi Burlingham... she had problems posting so I'm doing it for her.<br /><br />"This is such a thought-provoking post Nick. We assume, as humans, that our intelligence and perceptions are so much sharper than other creatures, that our way of viewing the world is the right one. And yet, a dog's sense of smell is something like 100 times stronger than a human's. In research, crows have been found to recognise 'bad' and 'good' people and pass this knowledge on to their young. I only have to watch the blackbirds building their nest in the garden, and hold it in my hands come Autumn, to be in awe! The list is infinite!"Nick Cookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00533479096188610743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8328938478149771357.post-50218828900705902072012-03-07T09:56:04.104-08:002012-03-07T09:56:04.104-08:00That must be extraordinary effect on how you see t...That must be extraordinary effect on how you see the world, February. <br /><br />And you're in good company... One of the most famous artists who it's suspected suffered from an eye condition was Vincent Van Gogh. There has been speculation that he suffered from fox glove poisoning and one the side effects of the systemic digitalis treatment for it is a disturbance in yellow-blue vision (xanthopsia). <br /><br />Also what a lot of people don't realise is that we all see colour slightly differently anyway, once again illustrating that visual reality isn't the same for everyone.Nick Cookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00533479096188610743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8328938478149771357.post-83191231701003523902012-03-07T08:29:23.861-08:002012-03-07T08:29:23.861-08:00Love this. Especially since I am aphakic and can s...Love this. Especially since I am aphakic and can see colors others can't because I don't filter UV anymore. Of course I have lost sharpness and have missing fields and all that but I wish that everyone could see color as I do just for five minutes. <br /><br />The universe is so much more than we poor 'bats' can comprehend.<br /><br />bruFebruary Gracehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01078037856070486022noreply@blogger.com