Comment by JackMorgan | Hacker News Reader

Comment by JackMorgan | Hacker News Reader

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I can partially echo locate. With eyes closed and a little click I can "see" what shape of room I'm in and detect open windows or doors. It doesn't come up much. I've never thought about trying to train it, now I'm really curious to do so.

On the other hand, I can also smell people's scent trails. This comes up all the time, knowing who's in a room before I walk in, or who recently left it. This can be super annoying, like if someone smells really bad or doesn't brush their teeth. It can provide a big distraction when I'm trying to focus. Places like coffeeshops with big overwhelming smells help with this.

Yesterday at the gym, I walked through a scent trail that was so strong I almost gagged. The main lifting area had two dudes who all smelled terrible, and I could smell a third who'd just left. Thankfully the two dudes moved on after ten minutes, but those ten minutes were rough.

I think this happened because I needed glasses very young but wasn't diagnosed for a year. I was able to keep reading, but wasn't in any sports or anything where it would matter. I think my brain just learned to compensate by paying more attention to my other senses.

My SO has a similar sense of smell and given her family's situation it's very likely that she went without a prescription for too long in childhood as well.

To me it's like living on a different plane of existence. Among other things she (almost) never gets food poisoning, even though she's no stranger to eating things I wouldn't touch.

I did not need glasses as a kid, but I can still smell things way before others. As you describe it, I can smell the edges of the scent trails, as it fades and gets stronger. I understand why dogs sweep back and forth; they are trying to find the edges and help them move the direction of the trail.

"Scent trails", I know exactly what you mean. I also have a very strong sense of smell. My friends call it my "dog nose". It was much more sensitive as a kid (I think), but still pretty good. I can follow people through buildings based on their smell (be it cologne or pungent b.o.) I can also identify people based on scent alone. Everyone has a very unique aroma. As a kid in school, I knew who had milk for breakfast. It was a very sour smell emanating off them -- probably why I find plain whole milk disgusting to this day.

Funny story, I found one of my favorite bars using this skill. Had just moved to a new location and it was super late -- everything was closed, but I was starving. I smelled tacos in the air. No idea where it was coming from, so I just followed the smell. After winding through a few small alleys, and up a few flights of stairs to this building, I ended up at a small late night bar. The owner was making taco rice.

My hearing is also quite good compared to my age. I still get bugged by those anti-teen/mosquito buzzers. I can still hear if an electronic device is on by the high frequency hum they emit. I attribute this to my actively taking care of my ears since childhood.

On the other hand, my vision is shit. Without contacts/glasses, the world is just a blur of color. I didn't know I had terrible vision until I got my first pair of glasses in middle school.

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