Image via WikipediaIf you've never tried to echolocate before and don't really know what it is, then read this article, it will give you an idea of what to listen for. One of the first times I noticed the effects of echolocation, I was sitting at my desk at work, and listening to the radio. The speakers were biased to one side of my head, and I raised a hand up on the opposite side of my head - maybe one foot away - and found that the sound reflected off my hand and into the ear that was getting less music. Try this, and now move your hand around a listen for the sound reflections. If it's not obvious enough with just your hand, try a folder or binder (something larger, flatter, and more rigid will be a better reflector). The image above illustrates why flatter surfaces make better reflectors. Sound reflects off of objects similar to the way light does.
Now try twisting your hand or binder back and forth, but keeping it in one place so that you're reflecting the sound away from your ear, and then directly at your ear, and then away in the other direction. It should appear as if the sound source is passing by, while really, it is just the shape of the reflecting object creating different effects.
The effects you will hear from this exercise are quite a bit more pronounced than the effects you will see when you start using clicking to echolocate, but this should give you a good idea of what kind of effects can be observed when sound reflects directly off of a small object.
3 comments:
Hi Tim,
Great blog! I’m a post-graduate student Industrial Design Engineering at the Royal College of Art in London and I'm really interested in the phenomenon of human echolocation. I’m in my final year now and I would like to see if I can design something that supports the development of this sense. It is very exciting to read your stories on your process of learning echolocation. I’ll start as a beginner now. Let’s share our experiences and good luck with your learning!
All the best,
Katrien Ploegmakers
Thanks for your comment Katrien, I'm glad to hear you're interested in it. Comments help motivate me to write more articles :) I'd love to hear more about your work on this too.
Hi. I saw a documentary on a guy named Ben Underwood, and was facinated by what he could do. This is why I am here, trying to learn how to do it. I tried this exercise and found it helpful and entertaining. I'll be sure to look at the rest of them. Thanks for the lessons!
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