Venkatesh Rao

That's my whole hypothesis! I'm wonder if it's just a quick touch though, like one quick moment, one quick tickle giggle. Because that wouldn't work. We need more info on the "phantom touch".

Well, sure. Many times, I'd say. Like the first time I went to Buffalo, NY. I thought it was going to be all steel and industrial and it was beautiful, so many trees. And it's true with people too. You get a sense of what they look like and boom it's not at all what you find.

You know, you are also experiencing it with ALL your senses at that point. There's no way just looking at pictures can give you the overall sense. I mean you have memories of the smell of woods, but when you're there, it's real.