‘Seeing’ is a sophisticated and multifaceted concept. While the traditional idea of seeing is that we utilize our eyes, theorists such as Mitchell and W. J. T. suggest that our experience of seeing is a multi-sensory process. Mitchell contends in his essay “There Are No Visual Media” that our brains synthesize information from several senses, including hearing and touch, to produce our visual experience. He proposes that we see with more than five senses and that our “seeing” experience is a complicated process that considers our surroundings and the body’s interactions. In this essay, I will explore Mitchell’s claim and present evidence to back it up (Mitchell 257). I will also present two case studies to emphasize the role of other senses in visual perception.
This theory is significant to my thinking since it shows how to employ numerous senses to understand the world better. According to William J. Mitchell’s paper, vision synthesizes numerous senses and does not occur in isolation. This is a critical notion because it helps us bridge the gap between those who can and cannot see, giving everyone an equal opportunity to perceive the world around them. Understanding how we utilize our other senses to experience the world gives us a greater grasp of our surroundings and interactions with them. This can be beneficial in various ways, such as research, design, and therapy. Therefore, this theory is relevant to my thinking as it demonstrates how multiple senses can be used to understand the world better.
The case studies agree on their overall message: that color can be explained to someone who is visually impaired using several senses. Yet, they differ in how they do this. The first case study shows how touch can be used to explain color, while the second case study shows how sound can be used to do the same. Therefore, while the two case studies agree on their overall message, they diverge in terms of the methods they use to explain color. The first case study, which shows how touch can be used to explain color, uses the analogy of different temperatures to represent different colors (Bogdanovich). Using this analogy makes it easier to understand the concept of color. The second case study demonstrates how sound can be used to explain color. By converting different colors into distinct frequencies, the sound can explain the concept of color to someone visually impaired (Harbisson). Therefore, while the two case studies agree on their overall message, they diverge in terms of the methods they use to explain color.
For many years, people have argued about how many senses humans employ to see. Mitchell W. J. T. contends in his work that there are no visual media and that we view the world through a mix of senses. The case study will show how touch can be employed to see. Touch is an important sense in the visual experience, as demonstrated in Peter Bogdanovich’s 1985 film The Mask, in which an adolescent (Cher) with a facial deformity tries to express the concept of color to his blind girlfriend (laura). By exposing individual rocks to different temperatures, Cher explains his theory as follows: The very cold rock he left in the freezer represented blue, another rock that was less cold in the fridge represented green, he also extruded a rock from hot water and introduced it as red then he added “when it cools a bit then that’s pink” referring to when the temperature of the rock drops it would be pink, similar to when white added to red making it pink. This concept makes us all think and relate to it, and it makes sense. Blue represents cold, and red represents hot. Using this analogy, we can explain color to someone who cannot see it by relying on their sense of touch. This case study demonstrates how, while sight is a major sense we use to perceive the world, other senses, such as touch, may also be utilized to describe color.
The article by William J. Mitchell discusses how people use multiple senses to see and experience the world. He states that vision does not occur in isolation but instead is a combination of multiple senses. He argues that we use our senses of hearing, touch, smell, and even taste to experience the world around us. This relates to the video by Neil Harbisson, as it shows how sound can be used to explain color to someone who cannot see it. It is possible to bridge the gap between sighted and non-sighted people by providing auditory cues, allowing for a greater understanding of the world. The following case study shows how the senses of hearing and sight may be utilized to investigate color. The video by Harbisson Neil explains how sound can explain color to a person who cannot see color. It features a man who is color blind (he only sees black and white) and has installed a color sensor that reads the frequency of colors and converts them to sound. This means that each color has a distinct sound that can be heard. He then demonstrates how this works by converting some popular speeches into colors. Through this, it is possible to explain color to someone who cannot see it by providing them with auditory cues. This allows for a greater understanding of the world for visually impaired people. Therefore, it is clear that we rely on more than just vision to experience the world and to understand our environment.
We use more than just our sense of sight to experience the world. We also rely on our senses of hearing, touch, smell, and taste to understand our environment better. This is supported by the article by William J. Mitchell, which states that vision does not occur in isolation but is instead a combination of multiple senses. This theory is also demonstrated in the case studies, which show how color can be explained to someone who is visually impaired through sound or touch. The video featuring Peter Bogdanovich’s The Mask shows how color can be explained to someone blind by using the analogy of different temperatures to represent different colors. Using this analogy makes it easier to understand the concept of color.
Similarly, the second case study demonstrates how sound can be used to explain color to someone unable to see it. Providing auditory cues allows for a greater understanding of the world for visually impaired people. Therefore, it is clear that we rely on more than just vision to experience the world and to understand our environment. By utilizing our other senses, we can better understand the world around us and explain concepts such as color to those who are visually impaired. This is an important concept to understand, as it allows us to bridge the gap between those who can and cannot see and gives everyone an equal chance to experience the world around them.
My theory has been used in various ways, such as in education and therapy. In education, this theory can be used to explain abstract concepts, such as color, to visually impaired people. Providing auditory or tactile cues, it allows for a greater understanding of the world for those who are not able to see it. This can also be useful in therapy, as it can help those who are visually impaired to better understand their environment. Additionally, this theory can be applied to other senses, such as taste and smell. Understanding how we use our other senses to experience the world, it allows us to gain a better understanding of our environment and how we interact with it. This can be beneficial in a variety of ways, such as in research, design, and therapy. My theory has also been used in a variety of other contexts, such as in research and design. In research, this theory can be used to understand better how we interact with our environment and how our senses work together to experience the world. Additionally, this theory can be used in the design, such as in designing products and services accessible to those with disabilities. Understanding how our senses work together, it allows for a better understanding of how to design products and services that those with different abilities can easily use. Therefore, my theory has many applications, from education to research and design.
The theory and case studies represent the idea that we use multiple senses to experience the world. The article by William J. Mitchell explains that vision does not occur in isolation but is instead a combination of multiple senses. This is supported by the two case studies explained above, which demonstrate how sound and touch can be used to explain color to someone who cannot see it. The second case study shows how sound can be used to explain color, while the first case study shows how touch can be used to do the same. Therefore, the theory and the case studies support the idea that we use multiple senses to experience the world and gain a better understanding of our environment.
At the same time, however, they also oppose each other in presenting different methods of communicating color to those who cannot see it. While the theory suggests that multiple senses can be used to explain color, the case studies demonstrate two ways this can be done. The second case study, which shows how sound can be used to explain color, does this by providing auditory cues (Harbisson). By converting different colors into distinct frequencies, the sound can be used to explain the concept of color to visually impaired people. The first case study shows how touch can be used to explain color. Using the analogy of different temperatures to represent different colors makes it easier to understand the concept of color. Thus, the two case studies demonstrate two ways in which color can be explained to someone who cannot see it.
These two case studies collapse the theory in the sense that they present different methods of communication. While the theory suggests that multiple senses can be used to explain color, the case studies demonstrate two ways this can be done. Providing auditory or tactile cues allows for a greater understanding of the world for those unable to see it. Therefore, the theory and the case studies collapse each other by presenting different methods of communicating color to those who cannot see it. This is an important concept to understand, as it allows us to bridge the gap between those who can and cannot see and gives everyone an equal chance to experience the world around them.
Works Cited
Harbisson, Neil, I listen to the color, director. YouTube, TEDtalksDirector, 20 July 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygRNoieAnzI. Accessed 16 Feb. 2023.
Mitchell, W. J. (2005). There are no visual media. Journal of visual culture, 4(2), 257–266.
Bogdanovich, Peter (2014) The Mask YouTube. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwkdDhmf6PE.
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