Seeing Is Believing

Description of the Activity

The experiment concerning the suppression of a particular sense involved dancing without looking at one’s partner and without seeing where and how one is moving. This is a quite disturbing experience due to the absence of the opportunity to receive visual confirmation. A person has no idea of their exact actions or the way their body moves and appears to an observer. The person is able to rely only on the feeling of their partner and their own sense of rhythm. Initially, it is especially hard to concentrate on those things because the person finds themselves entirely out of their comfort zone being overcome by doubt and lack of confidence.

In order to succeed, one needs to relax, compose oneself, and find inner harmony to gain control over their behavior. The person has to be able to feel confidence in their actions and decisions. In fact, the ability to relax and improvise requires a significant level of confidence.

As the activity started, it was rather hard to overcome the tension that arose from being unable to see what I was doing. I felt very clumsy, awkward, uncertain, and even weak. However, as the dance continued, I was able to notice some progress. In fact, I could move more freely and started recognizing some signals that helped me identify myself in space and time. Those signals came from the music to which we were dancing and from my partner. I became more responsive to those things and managed to regain some spirit eventually committing to the dance.

 

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Results of the Activity

Having completed the activity, I gained a real insight into a situation when I was able to leave my comfort zone and obtain new valuable experiences. For instance, I had to face some problems in terms of stress and anxiety when I was not able to see what was happening around me. I believe that the outcomes of this experience extend not only to dancing but also to many other life situations. McLuhan indicates that modern society is not able to appreciate the world around them and comprehend their function in it because of the constant suppression of their other senses in favor of sight. Having completed my experiment, I tend to agree with his opinion.

When a person eliminates the sense of sight, the other senses gradually become more acute. It is necessary to spend additional time for these senses to focus because at first, they appear to be distorted. Among the major challenges of losing sight, there is a feeling of being unable to recognize one’s own position in space and time. However, eventually, as the person gains confidence and begins to learn how to rely on their other senses, this feeling passes.

Conclusion

The progress and results of the activity appear to be a matter of perception. The surrounding world is not limited only to what people can see. Humans also experience it through their other senses, such as touch, taste, smell, and hearing. Whenever some of our senses appear to be at a disadvantage or even failing, the other ones begin to compensate for them. In my opinion, if people relied more on the senses other than sight, they would be able to notice and appreciate a wider range of various phenomena. Moreover, they may be able to distinguish more clearly different aspects of life. It might even significantly influence their sets of values and perspectives. Indeed, not everything or everyone that is unpleasant to the eye is equally unpleasant in other respects. In fact, people might become better and more effective at interacting with the surrounding environment as well as at understanding themselves.