Widzieć inaczej. Komentarz do doświadczeń osób chorujących na śnieg optyczny
To see differently, to see more, to see less. An anthropological commentary on experiences of people suffering from visual snow syndrome

Summary/Abstract: The paper is based on ethnographical interviews with two adult people suffering for many years from visual snow syndrome – a neurological ailment. Some medical experts consider it to be a complication of migraine (so called persistent migraine aura without infarction), but the others regard it as a unique syndrome, not related to a migraine problem. The most common symptoms of the suffering are flickering dots of the visual field, particularly visible on transparent backgrounds, vitreous floaters, and persistent afterimages. It is indicated in the article that visual snow is not only a sensory disturbance, physiologically conditioned, but it is also a model of human existence, which causes the necessity of individual adaptation, creates the distinguishing character of identity, as well as marks personal interactions, emotional life and thinking. It is a complex phenomenon that intertwines biology with the processes of culture and shows an inextricable connection between human body, senses and mind.

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