In article <3790408A.2ED6 at online.no>,
Tore Lund <tl001 at online.no> wrote:
> In the book "Complexity" by Roger Lewin (1993) there is some mention
of
> a visual disorder suffered by one of the interviewees (Chris
Langton).
> After an accident with a hang-glider he felt he was not the person he
> used to be, and this was accompanied by an altered perception of
visual > space, described as follows:
> ...Chris felt he was living in the middle of a cube, the sides of
> which were cinema screens with pictures projected on them.
>--Assorted comments:
--Sounds to me like Chris is using English words in a poetic, symbolic,
dyslexic way. Vision is not limited to six panes with pictures.
--Sounds like the hang-glider accident unfortunately caused major/
moderate head injuries. Injuries to the brain can cause cause
epilepsy/seizures.
--Apparently the hang glider accident caused one or more injury points
in the brain resulting in a loss of function or full function. Some
people who suffer brain attacks (strokes) will make similar statements.
There are a number of books like The Man Who Thought His Wife Was A Hat
and Awakenings (both books by Oliver W. Sacks, M.D.) which hint at
changed perceptions resulting from brain injuries resulting from brain
attacks (strokes) or influenza which may be available through
the local library system.
--Sounds again like the perception of someone who suffered a known
brain injury (either an open head or closed head injury) resulting in
physical, neurological damage to one or more parts of the brain which
can tend to cause all sorts of subtle, moderate, or larger changes in
perception and in most cases permanent and life-altering.
--Descriptions like the above are common among those who have suffered
head injuries/major concussions. There is a non-profit group, the BIA
(Brain Injury Association) based in Washington, D.C., which has
information regarding the consequences of brain injuries (severe,
moderate, mild).
--Comments by Chris certainly display how brain injuries can cause
dramatically altered perception of vision and emotions. Chris is able
to compare previous life experience where his vision was quite normal
to how he experiences life today after a tragic head injury. Chris is
able to notice a major difference and also able to put it into words
(which not all those who suffer these kinds of accidents can).
> "It's hard to describe," he told me. "It was as if I could see the
world, but somehow I wasn't in it, no emotional presence."
>>(Beginning of chapter 8, page 151 in Phoenix ed.)
>> Has anyone heard of similar cases? Is there a name for this
condition? > Has it been studied in detail?
>
>> Seems to me that anomalies of this sort
> could give us important clues to the nature of our stereoscopic
vision.
>> --
> Tore Lund <tl001 at online.no>
>>
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Share what you know. Learn what you don't.
