Using a wall for balance, Daniel Kish steadied himself on his new bike. He peddled ahead, wobbling a little. Soon the 6-year-old was pushing away from the wall and picking up speed, riding all on his own. This story isn’t a big deal until you learn one important detail: Kish was blind.
Kish, who is now an adult, lost his eyes to retinal cancer as a baby. But he doesn’t let the lack of sight slow him down at all. He uses something he calls “flash sonar” to help him navigate the world. He makes clicks with his tongue and listens to how the sound bounces offthe things around him. His brain uses this information to create an image of the world around him. This technique is similar to what dolphins and bats do to locate and navigate their surroundings: they cry or chirp and listen for the echo. Kish is a real-life bat man.
LIGHT AND SOUND
Kish relies on sound and echoes instead of light to perceive his surroundings. This process is called echolocation.
Light energy travels in waves that go up and down, like waves on the ocean. These waves hit objects, whether a shirt, a mirror, or your face, and much of that light is reflected off. When you look at an object, what you see is the reflection of light from that object. Your brain translates that reflection into an image. This is how sighted people perceive and make sense of the world. Without light and the reflections of light, eyes can’t see anything.
この記事は Muse Science Magazine for Kids の January 2021 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
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この記事は Muse Science Magazine for Kids の January 2021 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
Who's Your Cousin?
The great apes are among the most popular animals in most zoos. Their actions, facial expressions, and family life remind us so much of ourselves. Have you ever wondered, though, how we might look to them?
Is it possible to die of boredom?
To figure out if we can die of boredom, we first have to understand what boredom is. For help, we called James Danckert, a psychologist who studies boredom at the University of Waterloo in Canada.
THE PROBLEM WITH PALM OIL
Palm oil is all around you. It’s in sugary snacks like cookies and candy bars. It’s in lipstick and shampoo and pet food.
SERGE WICH
Serge Wich’s favorite days at work are spent out in the forest, studying orangutans in Sumatra and Borneo or chimpanzees in Tanzania.
ELODIE FREYMANN
When you’re feeling sick, it probably doesn’t occur to you to try eating tree bark.
Guardians of the Forest
EARLY, MAKESHIFT WILDLIFE DRONES HELPED TO DETECT AND PROTECT ORANGUTANS.
APE ANTICS
The Whirling World of primate play
Dr. Ape Will See You Now
HUMANS AREN’T THE ONLY PRIMATES THAT USE MEDICATION.
THE LEFT OVERS
A lot has happened for modern humans to get to this point. We lost most of our hair, learned how to make tools, established civilizations, sent a person to the Moon, and invented artificial intelligence. Whew! With all of these changes, our bodies have changed, too. It’s only taken us about six million years.
SO, WHAT IS A PRIMATE?
What do you have in common with the aye-aye, sifaka, siamang, and potto? If you said your collarbone, you re probably a primatologist—a person who studies primates. If you’re not, read on.