i don’t know how much other people have to look to keep themselves upright
Not very much; on the other hand the lack of mirrors require me to pay more attention in order to be aware of what’s behind and beside me. (This is partly compensated by the fact that, not being in an enclosed space such as a car, I can hear better. But if we go down this road we encounter differences between people in how they process visual vs auditory input, the fact that Feynman counted in his mind by listening while Bethe did by reading, so that Feynman could count while reading but not while speaking and vice versa, and so on, and so forth.)
on the other hand the lack of mirrors require me to pay more attention in order to be aware of what’s behind and beside me.
Having not really learned to drive until after I’d been biking for years, I’m much more comfortable looking around and keeping track of what’s around me on a bike than I am looking in a car’s mirrors. The car itself, as an enclosed space with walls and stuff, makes me feel half-blind even when I do look in the mirrors. I don’t know if I can hear better on a bike; I do frequently listen to my iPod, which might not be a good idea, but which makes a 40-minute commute a lot more fun.
Not very much; on the other hand the lack of mirrors require me to pay more attention in order to be aware of what’s behind and beside me. (This is partly compensated by the fact that, not being in an enclosed space such as a car, I can hear better. But if we go down this road we encounter differences between people in how they process visual vs auditory input, the fact that Feynman counted in his mind by listening while Bethe did by reading, so that Feynman could count while reading but not while speaking and vice versa, and so on, and so forth.)
Having not really learned to drive until after I’d been biking for years, I’m much more comfortable looking around and keeping track of what’s around me on a bike than I am looking in a car’s mirrors. The car itself, as an enclosed space with walls and stuff, makes me feel half-blind even when I do look in the mirrors. I don’t know if I can hear better on a bike; I do frequently listen to my iPod, which might not be a good idea, but which makes a 40-minute commute a lot more fun.