i have extremely good object permanence for a sighted person. i often say i can “see in the dark” when my partner asks me how i found something in our pitch black bedroom, but it is really that i remember where exactly in physical space the end of the qtip is on my nightstand because i can’t actually see anything.
my partner finds this incredibly perplexing and is not able to do this. the dark is impenetrable to her. if she cannot see it, it no longer exists, so she will not even attempt to reach out blindly for her glasses in the dark, for instance.
i think we are on extreme ends of this spectrum, but you seem closer to me than my partner or the author. humans are so weird and cool.
I'm a coin flip. Either I have no clue where I left something or I'm like you and can walk over to it with my eyes closed and pick it up without having to fumble for the handle. Being blind folded just made me have to take the time to remember where I was putting something ... it didn't take long to become good at.
I have this to some degree -- my eyes are blurry in daytime by default, so I dont really notice the details of things even when my eyes are open.
However I do have a good concept of the gist of objects learned through muscle memory, and I frequently reach for things without looking whilst not knowing what lies between me and it (e.g. I know that I can get to my sofa in a single jump, but I would never walk to it because I have only a rough idea that there is a coffee table somewhere in between)
I do also frequently cycle back from work late at night through in starless/moonless countryside, so I have a reasonably developed sense of confidence and caution when manoeuvring without sight (i.e. 95% of the time there is nothing to worry about, you only have to surrender yourself to the notion that you might get injured in that 5%)
my partner finds this incredibly perplexing and is not able to do this. the dark is impenetrable to her. if she cannot see it, it no longer exists, so she will not even attempt to reach out blindly for her glasses in the dark, for instance.
i think we are on extreme ends of this spectrum, but you seem closer to me than my partner or the author. humans are so weird and cool.