Beyond supertasters -- are some people just super percepters?

Are you as sensitive to small differences in quality of music or movies as you are about wine? If so, maybe you can relate to this experience.

I went to the eye doctor today for an annual checkup. I have poor vision and am a big fan of ultra-thin lenses. I'm also a big fan of eyeglasses in general and have about a dozen. I've had to cut back, though, since reaching the age where I need progressive lenses -- I can't just buy my two favorite frames at a time.

Anyway, the doctor was testing my vision and she remarked, "You're very sensitive to small changes." Apparently I'm noticeably better than the average person at saying this twist of the knob makes my vision better, and that one makes it worse.

I may be sensitive, but in fact I wear a variety of different prescriptions because I'm loath to discard glasses I like from years past. Sometimes I wear progressives (these replaced bifocals, for you bastards who have perfect eyesight), sometimes not. I have some frames (generally wider) I wear to the movies or hiking, and a pair just for the computer. I sense the differences, but I accept whatever the qualities of my vision will be from the different glasses. Sort of like loving both Pinot and Cab for what they are.

I told the optometrist that I was probably no more sensitive than the average person -- but having been a critic for much of my life, I was more likely to pronounce A over B. She disagreed; she said other patients simply couldn't tell the difference between much larger adjustments.

Though fully correctable, my vision is my worst sense. There's no way I can claim to be even close to as visually perceptive as the average person. So what's going on here?

She got me to wondering if there's a gene for sensory distinctions. It's not just wine on which I can choose A over B. I have been a movie critic and a music critic. I've written (for pay) restaurant reviews, book reviews and theatre reviews. Until today I have always assumed that the reason was simply my willingness to express myself.

But maybe not. Thanks to Dr. Linda Bartoshuk, we know about supertasters and non-tasters. I am friends with a few non-tasters; their lives are simpler and less costly than mine (unless they let me order the wine ...)

I also have long known people who profess to care little about what music is on in the background, or what the view out their window looks like. I am intensely sensitive to these things. I can't ungrit my teeth if I hear the Journey singer's voice, for example, and I insist on living and working in places with a view of some green.

Is it possible that some of us are more perceptually acute across an entire range of senses than others? Or do some of us simply pay more attention to details (perhaps at the cost of unshakable concentration on work tasks, never a strength of mine)?