Question for people who are sighted in particular, but anyone can answer.

Mab_813

I'm sighted and I can't.
I feel like I get a heart attack when I'm suddenly seeing someone I didn't expect in that place in that very moment, even if it's something that's not exactly shocking like "coworker in the staff kitchen".

👩‍🦯The Blind Fraggle

@Mab_813 I can understand that.

candle 🕔

@Fragglemuppet firstly i think often it's a suspicious or paranoid feeling you get when someone isn't in the room, so while it's a real feeling it at best has a lot of negatives and at worst is totally random. certainly there's times where people have completely surprised me and i didn't feel like that. i can imagine a lot of little signs like air movement, smells, slight lighting change etc adding up to create a sense of someone being there but i dunno if that's really at play

Graham Downs

@Fragglemuppet I definitely do get a feeling, yes. And I don't have peripheral vision, so you can't say -- like I've often heard -- that it's something you've unconsciously noticed out of the corner of your eye.

And it's never not been true. When I get that feeling, I'll look around and my wife will be standing there, for example. Not actively *watching* me, necessarily. Just in the room and she sees that I'm deep in thought or something and doesn't want to give me a fright by speaking or something.

So maybe it's that I unconsciously *heard* her enter the room? I dunno. But I definitely get a feeling when someone's watching me.

It's one of the reasons why I can't stand open-plan offices. I hate the idea of people walking up behind me, or even standing a distance away behind me, looking at my screen or watching me work or something. It freaks me out.

·J Mopp

@Fragglemuppet What people are probably seeing is in their peripheral vision, seeing someone look at them, and then quickly dart their eyes away. It's easier to perceive movement in your peripheral vision, but that comes at the expense of focus. So you might see someone for an instant, but then dismiss it. Or you might see their eyes quickly move, and come to the conclusion that they were looking at you

LovesTha🥧

@Fragglemuppet yes it is a common saying, but it would be an exceptional piece of ESP if anyone could proove they can sense it.

·J Mopp

@GrahamDowns @Fragglemuppet There are likely subtle cues as well, like the sound of a person breathing or the movement of the air, that set off an ancient instinct to be wary in case of danger

Graham Downs

@jmopp @Fragglemuppet Yeah, I thought about that too. All unconscious cues, of course. That make you think something supernatural is going on.

Maybe even the subtle... scent of someone?

It's not supernatural, but being able to explain something doesn't make it less remarkable (I never said you said it did).

👩‍🦯The Blind Fraggle

@GrahamDowns @jmopp Oh no, I wasn't even thinking supernatural. I mean it can be, but a lot of it is, like you, someone they know and a situation that isn't dangerous at all.

Frances Lievens

It is a feeling I did have, but mainly “that person is staring at me”, so probably you pick up on something in your periferal vision. A person staring behaves different than what you’d expect, so you notice. I guess that’s why kids get told off for staring. But someone entering the room & standing there? I would have heard them, maybe not consciously, but yeah…

Electropict

@Fragglemuppet

When it comes to purely visual cues, I would say no, if you haven't seen them, you don't know.

But perhaps sometimes you have seen them but not *noticed* the fact. They may be camouflaged somehow, or only partly visible. Or it might be dark.

I can't remember this ever happening to me...

However, people do keep clutching their chests in horror, and/or screaming, and/or collapsing to the ground in seemingly mortal shock when they suddenly notice me, so I assume it's real.

Neil Hopkins

@Fragglemuppet yes, but I think it’s a peripheral vision thing rather than any sort of spidey sense.

LovesTha🥧

@Fragglemuppet that is sort of underselling it, as there is no plausible mechanism for someone to detect eyes are looking at them other than by looking back

Aastha

@Fragglemuppet I can sense it often, but mostly when I already have an expectation that I will be stared at. For eg. my partner will sometimes try to spook me out by staring at me when I am alone and doing my own thing. I can "feel" their eyes on my back very reliably now

Squee

@Fragglemuppet I read somewhere once, if you feel like you're being watched you're probably right. Lovely thought as I'm sitting outside alone by the woods
I'm sighted, can feel if someone enters the room. Not every time tho, especially if I'm focused on something. Maybe it's a smell? Air pressure change?
I grew up playing in the woods and stalking animals, had to rely on more than just sight to know if something is close. I figure that's why I'm so sensitive to things like movement and smell.

👩‍🦯The Blind Fraggle

@squeeblade77 Yes, I wish more people would realize that other senses are also important.

Regina M

@Fragglemuppet I believe it although I think the peripheral thing people are saying is true. I ride a bike and I will stare at a driver until they look at me. It can take a while but eventually they do.