The last two walks with Dan (my dog) have me thinking about prioritization of senses-- which sense holds your attention, and which live in the background, and what drives that decision? Dan is prone to barking at other dogs, and sometimes snapping at people if he gets startled, so I am always using my eyes and ears to look for other dogs and people. I may cross the street or turn around or speed up or slow down based on what I see, and perhaps what I hear. Dan, at least these last two days, has been entirely driven by his nose. This morning the birds were out in force, and at least one squirrel darted across our path, but Dan kept is nose firmly to the ground seeking out the next tree or fence post to conduct his p-mail. I would have thought the squirrel smelled appetizing and might have jolted him towards hunting with his eyes? (it would have when he was a puppy).
I also would have thought a dog raised on the streets would be less singularly focused - that using all of your senses would have been a necessary survival skill? Maybe Dan is getting soft. He does have a comfortable safe place to sleep and is without a doubt well fed.
I explored this topic a little in one of my #vss365 stories from October 2023:
ARC9 blindfolded the street dog and muffed his ears. Then with a tap, sent Sandy’s nose off to #wander the burgled shop, searching for a misplaced scent. Before the small hand traced 45 degrees, Sandy returned with a purple azalea petal. So she had been there after all!
I wonder how else I could explore this idea? Might you actively use scent to distract a guard dog so as to slip by visually undetected? Might a cross examination insinuate someone did not see something because they were listening so intently?
Anyone have examples where one sense dominated your attention so intently that you missed something else completely? What was the situation?
(other topic on my mind: my seven year old macbook pro is acting up. Should I get one of the new M3 Airs? Should I get a new pro? Opinions?)
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