Hi rudderrudderrat:
I’m sure there are folks out there who “know” you’re “quite rare” – but I don’t think that is what you were referencing. With respect to the nausea (more to your point), while there are some who note this kind of circumstance, they are not so numerous that I would think it to be commonplace – and even those who do, at times, experience such phenomena, would likely say that they are not subject to such feelings each and every time they do that particular something in the simulator. The reason for this is that simulators really are only capable of inducing what is known as “on-set” cueing; in the case you describe, through motion of the simulator cab initially. Once that motion is initiated, it is perceived by the simulator occupants – and as the motion system begins to approach its physical limits, it slows and begins to “reset” back to the neutral position – but it slows, stops, and reverses at a rate that is normally well below what is detectable by the human senses. This is particularly true if the person doesn’t specifically focus on the differences between what is presented and what is known. In the meantime, the other human senses – sight and sound primarily – are left the responsibility to confirm and reinforce what was originally “sensed.” The visual scene continues to move, as do the appropriate flight instruments. If there is an external sound present (like another airplane in proximity with engines running) the sound from that source is also used to confirm the continued movement. Normally, this is sufficient to allow the brain to process what is available, confirm the movement, and prevent any degree of nausea. Of course, there are some folks who, at least initially, are, or were, absolutely committed to “test” the capabilities of such subtle manipulation of the senses – like me for example. But it IS possible to convince even the most obstinate skeptic that the human senses CAN be fooled. Of course, each case is somewhat different and it sometimes takes rather substantial efforts to do that. However, as you would easily recognize, taking those extraordinary steps to convince every, and any, person who has doubts would be appropriately time consuming and expensive. Particularly, since a good portion of the believability or acceptability of any particular simulator provided cue can be simply believed or accepted by the individual if they simply relax and “go with the flow.” And by that I mean not focusing on the very limited and specific cue involved, but rather continue interacting with what is presented and performing the tasks that you know are necessary to be accomplished. In all sincerity, this works some of the time, maybe even a majority of the time, but, truthfully, not always.
This may or may not give you any peace about what you have experienced in simulators – but, to answer your specific question – I’ve never done a person-by-person interview to know for sure how “rare” an individual might be who has experienced, or still experiences, what you’ve described … so, truthfully, I’m stuck with my own beliefs and my own experiences with the simulators and the numbers of persons I’ve seen using those simulators – and that number is quite substantial. So, in my not-so-humble opinion – yes – you are, indeed, “quite rare” ... not alone, but quite rare nonetheless.