The Killians write:
>Sensory compensation isn't real anyway so there are lots of flaws.
 
Sensory compensation IS real.  I just read an article in the paper the jist
of which is that the brain can rewire itself, suggesting is it far more
adaptable and flexible than originally thought.  For example, a blind
person who is reading braille uses the part of the visual cortex that is
normally used when a sighted person reads.  Many other examples were given
of how different parts of the brain can take on functions usually not
processed there.
 
So a blind deaf ferret could have a better sense of smell, as it had more
of its brain available for that function.  But I can't imagine a ferret
would be very easy to train to find mines, unless they smelled like
raisins, and as others mentioned, how the heck would the ferret let you
know it had found anything?
 
Linda Iroff
Oberlin OH
[Posted in FML issue 2854]