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» Hatrack River Forum » Active Forums » Discussions About Orson Scott Card » Ender a photic sneezer? (Page 1)

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Author Topic: Ender a photic sneezer?
onetrooluff
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Ok, I know this is going to be a very odd topic and I'm willing to bet no one has discussed it previously (I did try a search just in case...).

First of all, a photic sneezer is someone who sneezes in response to bright light. There's an explanation here; it's something that affects only about 25% of the population, and is passed on genetically.

I thought everyone sneezed when walking from a building into a bright sunny day; never thought it was odd until my dad found a little writeup on it in Discover magazine. He's a photic sneezer as well.

Now, why am I asking if Ender is one? I seem to recall a sentence in Ender's Game where Ender walks out of the cabin by the lake (when he's taken there later in the book) and sneezes due to the bright sunshine.

So, I pose two questions to Mr. Card:
1) Is Ender a photic sneezer?

2) Are you a photic sneezer? In my experience, people who are mostly assume everyone does it; for people who aren't, the idea usually doesn't even occur to them. So, my guess would be that you are. [Smile]


...I suppose I should say hello, by the way - I've read all the Ender and Ender's Shadow books (minus Shadow of the Giant, but I'll get there), all the Alvin Maker books, Pastwatch, and Hart's Hope, and I'm currently reading Enchantment. I've enjoyed them all.

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WntrMute
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I suspect he is a philotic sneezer as well.
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Icarus
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I am one.
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Sergeant
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Me too. 3 sneezes at least when walking out of a building into the sunlight.

Sergeant

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onetrooluff
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Hahah... WntrMute, I knew that was coming. [Smile]
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Amilia
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I'm not, but my dad and several of my siblings are.

I find it very funny that the adds Google picked for this page are for sneezeguards. :-)

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Lucky_Sean
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NSF Snezeguards www.sneezeguard.com

That is hilarious - I simply having nothing more to say on the matter.

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CRash
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I'm a photic sneezer, but no one else in my family is. I just thought I was weird.
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TrapperKeeper
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I thought I was the only one! Sweet! I dont care whether or not ender is, now i know that it is something that actually exists and (probably) has a biological reason.
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TheSeeingHand
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When I first read what a phlotic sneezer I thought it was weird but I just realized that I think I'm one...
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TrapperKeeper
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There is no question in my case, it happens ALOT!
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Brinestone
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I'm not, but I do sneeze when my hair is being brushed too roughly. I wonder if there's a word for that.
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Black Mage
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My brother tried to convince me everyone was. I'm certainly not.
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0range7Penguin
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Ive never heard of this condition before...huh...learn something new everyday.
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HectorVictor
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I thought looking into a bright light helps you withhold a sneeze. Maybe it's just true for 25% of the population, like the "photic" sneezers. Shouldn't it be photonic anyway?

Kind of funny though, I thought the topic name was philotic sneezer when I clicked on it lol.

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Dr Strangelove
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Yes, I've never dobied before, but this thread seriously tested my resolve. Though I don't know if I'd be able to find a link to anything which pertains to both philotes and sneezing, much less a philotic sneezer. Such potential though.

On topic though, this is pretty interesting. Does anyone know if its hereditary or seemingly arbitrary?

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TomDavidson
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I'd never even heard of this condition before. I've certainly never seen it. Is it more common in certain geographic areas?
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Blayne Bradley
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I think im one, maybe its just coincidence since I've been sneezing for the last... 8 years or so.
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genius00345
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I'm one. I always thought everybody did it.

I also thought it was 'philotic' when I first read through!

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RunningBear
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Philotic Sneezer: noun Fe-loh-tehk Sn-ee-hz-hur. def: One who engages in a forcible clearing action of the nasal cavity due to exposure to the subatomic particles which are the constituting particles of all matter.
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Princess Leah
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Philotic Sneezer, 2. One whose sneezes instantaneously extend threads throughout the known universe.
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Sergeant
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Philotic Sneezer, 3. One who sneezes while "outside" and creates extensions of himself in the form of siblings (This is where I thought the thread was going when I first read it). Maybe I ought to get more sleep.
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onetrooluff
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Dr. Strangelove: It's definitely genetic. A parent who has it will pass it on to 50% of their children; a child with no photic-sneezing parents will definitely not have it.

I got it from my father; my mother and brother had no idea what we were talking about. [Big Grin]

TomDavidson: Not a clue on the geographic area thing. It's an interesting question. I didn't come across any answers to that in my original Google search; perhaps a search for "photic sneezer geographic," or something of the sort, is in order.

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Shigosei
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I read this as "philotic sneezer" at first, too. I thought it might have something to do with all the connections Ender makes with the people around him.

I'm a photic sneezer, and so is the rest of my family. I always thought it was odd, and wondered why it happened. Sometimes I've deliberately looked at a bright sky (doesn't need to be anywhere near the sun) to hasten a hesitant sneeze.

Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photic_sneeze

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neo-dragon
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Wow. I've never heard of such a thing as sneezing due to bright light! I'm not a photic sneezer myself, but I do always sneeze in pairs. I (almost) never just sneeze once.
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Tarrsk
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quote:
I'm not, but I do sneeze when my hair is being brushed too roughly. I wonder if there's a word for that.
Dandruff. [Wink]
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Brinestone
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[Razz]
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littlemissattitude
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I am most definitely a photic sneezer. And I, too, thought that most everyone was. Learn something new every day, I guess. [Smile]
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tms
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Nice to finally know what it is. I've always quite enjyed being able to stimulate them myself, especially round hayfever system. It's a cool thing to be able to do as an actor to, believe it or not, coz faking a sneeze sounds, well fake. I've pulled it off on stage many times (now that I think of it only for gags) and all I have to do is think about sneezing and look at the stage-lights.
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Occasional
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I am a part time one. Sometimes I do and sometimes I don't, but when I look at the Sun on a very bright summer day there is a good chance I will.
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beverly
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I come from a family of photic sneezers. My husband does not. He and his family had never heard of such a thing, and pretty much laughed at the very idea when I asked them about it.

One of my very first threads on Hatrack was to ask about it, so I learned about photic sneezing right here!

When I talked to my Dad about what I learned here, he explained the looking-into-bright-light-inducing-sneeze-thing. I'm glad for that little tip. Quite useful!

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Subhuman
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I am photically sneezing all the time. The trick is to breath out real fast when you get into a bright as place.

I kind of think that being a photic sneezer is sweet. Whenever I skateboard in the summer I have like an adventure just trying to get used to the light.

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aiua
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I do that, but never thought it was odd.

Welcome, Onetrooluff!

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onetrooluff
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Heheh... I agree with Subhuman, being a photic sneezer IS sweet. [Smile] And often useful (to get stubborn sneezes out).

And thanks for the welcome, aiua!

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sarcasticmuppet
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I sneeze when I pluck my eyebrows.
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mistaben
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This morning I put my 1-year-old in her high chair, then opened the curtains, letting the sunlight pour in.

She sneezed twice.

/meaningless but interesting anecdote

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Orson Scott Card
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Ender is, and I am.
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TomDavidson
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You know, I polled everyone at work on this, and all my close friends, and none of us do this. I figure it's got to be genetic/geographic.
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onetrooluff
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Hahaha, you have no idea how tickled I am to have an answer to this question - it's been floating around in my head ever since I first heard about the whole photic sneezing thing several years ago. Thanks for answering. [Big Grin]

And to sarcasticmuppet: I sneeze when I pluck my eyebrows too, like clockwork.

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onetrooluff
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Sorry for double-posting... but I was just thinking that considering the concerns they have about photic sneezers becoming fighter pilots, it's lucky Ender wasn't affected by it in battle school. Heheheh.
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Icarus
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Accidentally pulling my nose hairs will not just make me sneeze, it will give me an instant allergy attack.
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Uprooted
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*note to self: Never pull Icarus' nose hairs.* [Wink]
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Icarus
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Thank you.

*relief*

[Smile]

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Orson Scott Card
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DISGUSTING CONTENT ALERT:

What about when you pull nose hairs on purpose? That's how I deal with the suckers. I didn't NOTICE my nose hairs had started growing (one of the joys of old age) till I was out on my daily run and a moustache hair kept getting into my nose and tickling it. Drove me insane. I kept clipping this and that moustache hair but it didn't help. Then I finally tipped my head and saw that I had these long hairs inside my nose, and a hair on ONE side of a nostril could tickle the skin on the other side of the same nostril. Which is just stupid. My head hair and beard hair and LEG hair don't tickle the skin, but my NOSE hairs have this useless talent (or the skin is hypersensitive).

This is more than you wanted to know, of course ... one solution is to get a nose hair trimmer, but they get covered in viscous liquids AND they do a lousy job. Scissors are never at the right angle. So ... I grab on and pull hard and then cry a little, but ... no tickling.

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Blayne Bradley
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*ducks and covers*
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Steev
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Yeah, me too!


edit: the pulling hair part not the duck and cover part.

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Icarus
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*sneeze*

*twitch*

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Irregardless
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quote:
Originally posted by Orson Scott Card:
DISGUSTING CONTENT ALERT:

What about when you pull nose hairs on purpose? That's how I deal with the suckers. I didn't NOTICE my nose hairs had started growing (one of the joys of old age) till I was out on my daily run and a moustache hair kept getting into my nose and tickling it. Drove me insane. I kept clipping this and that moustache hair but it didn't help. Then I finally tipped my head and saw that I had these long hairs inside my nose, and a hair on ONE side of a nostril could tickle the skin on the other side of the same nostril. Which is just stupid. My head hair and beard hair and LEG hair don't tickle the skin, but my NOSE hairs have this useless talent (or the skin is hypersensitive).

This is more than you wanted to know, of course ... one solution is to get a nose hair trimmer, but they get covered in viscous liquids AND they do a lousy job. Scissors are never at the right angle. So ... I grab on and pull hard and then cry a little, but ... no tickling.

I have one very dull pair of scissors that I use for this exact purpose (i.e., plucking, not cutting). Yes, it causes tears, but I also find it strangely addictive; there's nothing quite so satisfying as a smooth nostril.

I have heard that it's unhealthy, though -- provides opportunity for potentially dangerous bacterial infection.

Here's one safe way to do it: http://www.nobodyhere.com/justme/nose.here

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cheiros do ender
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quote:
I didn't NOTICE my nose hairs had started growing (one of the joys of old age) till....
I have nose hairs and I'm only 16! [Frown]

Ironically enough, I do sneeze when I step into sunlight for the first time in a while, but I thought that was natural. Go figure.

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Uprooted
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quote:
Originally posted by Irregardless:

Here's one safe way to do it: http://www.nobodyhere.com/justme/nose.here

Now that was a weird site.
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