How Hearing Helps Guide Creatures

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To begin with, I did not know that the origin of the word 'absurdity' was connected to sound. More specifically how 'surdus' relates to 'not in tune with the mind.' Although in retrospect, people often associate being absurd or unnatural with hearing things that are not truly there. 

Those sort of complications and intricacies are what I believe Ackerman primarily focuses on in her chapter about hearing. Not so much why we hear (although she does explain that fairly well) but rather how we hear. Assuming that the people who read her work already have a moderate understanding of the five sense, Ackerman takes the time to explain more so how the hearing of others works and how much different it is from ours.

What I found most interesting in that category was bats and their use of echolocation. I find it very fascinating that creatures who navigate in the dark have honed their other senses to such a fine point. Specifically, how a bat can send out a series of clicks that bounce of it's environment which creates a mental map. The bat registers the map as a pathway to their prey, avoidance of hitting a wall, or if predators are nearby.



Image courtesy of Dickinson County Conservation Board

On a slightly related note, I myself am a fan of the fictional superhero Daredevil. Amongst his powers (which include echolocation), he has what he refers to as a 'radar sense'. Meaning he can emit electromagnetic waves which from his body which bounce off of objects in his vicinity, which paints a picture of his own surroundings in his head. So he technically does not even need sound to know how to move. 

With all of that being said, Ackerman does a more than adequate job at explaining both the physiological and sociological aspects of sound as well as hearing. To the point where, every sound made connects with at least one other organism in someone.

Comments

  1. Jonathan Brumberg-KrausFebruary 8, 2022 at 6:58 AM

    Apparently, even we humans have some capacity to echolocate, though not a super-powered version of it like Daredevil. I love your concluding observation : "To the point where, every sound made connects with at least one other organism in someone."

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