Pranav notes

> How would you define real vision?

That is what interests me too. I get the impression
that some of you consider those flashing phosphenes
for pixels closer to vision than feeling or hearing
dots or beeps for pixels, assuming that one has the
means to convert live visual information from a camera
into either phosphenes or tactile or auditory stimuli.
This issue is about the carrier of visual information
versus information *content*.

I transcribed a section about Jens' first experiences
with the brain implant, where the CBS interviewer asks:

> When you put this system on, what happened, once everything
> was connected?

and Jens answers:

> Something very interesting happened. I saw flashes of white
> light, first in my right side, and then in both sides when I
> looked across the table at a man who was sitting on the
> other side. I didn't equate these signals to light at the
> time. I was trying to make sound or feel out of it and then
> I realized "Boy, I was seeing this guy". And then I put the
> remote control we had laying around from a television set on
> a table in front of me, and I could actually find that by
> looking only, which was a big change from having to feel
> around for everything.

Apparently, the phosphenes did not immediately appear
as "visual" to Jens, even though he is late-blinded.
In general we know of course that perception of vision,
hearing, touch and so on is all about neural spike
patterns in our brains, so the physical information
carrier as such is not what it is all about. Still,
for some reason, thinking of observing those flashing
phosphenes seems to have a special "appeal" for some
as compared to getting the same - or better - visual
information in another form and modality?

In seeing with sound, users reported that initially
they perceived just sound, very weird and possibly
disturbing sound for that matter, and only after a
while one began to no longer notice the sound, but
rather the camera view that is carried by the sound.

Best wishes,

Peter Meijer


Artificial Vision through Sound - The vOICe
http://www.seeingwithsound.com/winvoice.htm