I’m sure that a number of people in the early stages of dementia interpret losing their sense of self as an indication that they’re approaching enlightenment. I wonder if their believing this has any impact on the progress of the disease.

If you believe strongly enough that you are someone you currently are not, you will eventually become the person you believe yourself to be. Significant personality shifts rarely occur because in order for any change in personality to take place, the person has to genuinely see themselves as someone they are not, and as the disconnect between who they are and who they think they are increases, so too does the likelihood that the way they see themselves is not genuine.

It’s difficult to see someone when they are separated from you by a thick coastal fog. Echolocation might work, but the sound of waves crashing on the shore could interfere. I’d prefer to walk towards them blindly with arms outstretched, covering more ground by meandering left & right in semicircles, and stopping when my hand caught theirs.