I'm in class right now with a blind classmate and, from my vantage point, aside from sightedness he gets along perfectly well.

The fact he's well adjusted doesn't surprise me, but it did get me to thinking about how he (assuming he's never been sighted) would/could perceive his "disability." I mean, if no one ever told him he was blind, would he know it? Moreover, when/if he needed to be told, I'm curious about how his mind processed the notion of sight. While he may be able to perceive drastic shifts in light, he'd have no "mental vocabulary," no point of reference, for color, dimensions, depth, perspective, etc. What would these abstractions mean to him? Finally, I can only imagine what it'd be like if one day, without warning, he woke up sighted! It'd be an overwhelming experience -- probably terrifying at first!

Anyone have any ideas about this all, or maybe relevant experience working with blind persons?

Well, you could have a blind person read this and tell you...

sorry Lammy, I couldn't resist

paintedlady said:

Shame on you!

i watched this film called 'mask' in it and the boy explains to the girl what colours are through temperature stones

It would seem that they ONLY know becasue of what others tell them. It's a theory 2 some degree.

He's blind, does that mean he's not approachable? couldn't you just talk to him?

It's weird you asked this though. I was listening to 'Lately' by Stevie just minutes ago. He's lying his ass off.

"Lately i've been staring in the mirror".

No you fucking have not Steveland!!

Zinzi said:

Is that the big-faced kid in that Cher movie? scared the shit outta me.

We raise puppies for the Leader Dogs for the Blind ...

I spend a bit of time wondering about a lot of things dealing with the loss of sight or lack of it

yesterday I was outside and I kept my eyes closed for a very long time and just listened ~ tryig to hear each and every tiny sound like a limited sight persons ear may pick up ...

Graycap23 said:

This is sort of what I'm thinking about as well. Makes me wonder to what extent any of us would be prepared if someone came along, hypothetically, to tell us about other senses we may have. Not only would we possibly not miss those capacities, having never known them, but we might have absolutely no point of reference to even understand them.

I wonder what we're missing out on?
[Edited 11/16/09 9:49am]

Marrk said:

I may strike up the conversation with him one day.

The only way I can relate to this is how I used to think what sex was like before I experienced sex. Then after I had sex I knew what was described to me was different than what I experienced.

Some things you can only experience for yourself. Like being slain in the Holy Spirit, falling out a plane, being able to walk again, or being a inch from life, it is different for everyone it happens to.

I can only say, that if I were always blind and then suddenly could see, I would be overwhelmed with sheer joy.
[Edited 11/16/09 9:49am]

There was a study not too long ago--I'd have to do a search for it, but basically, the gist was that people with sight would pay much more, on average, to keep their sight than blind people would to be able to see. Meaning that people with sight can't imagine life without it. But those who don't have it, or have never had it, have been able to adapt in a way that makes it less needed or valuable to them.

So in answer to your question, I would guess (and hope) that most blind people perceive blindness as much less of a disability than you or I would.

Marrk said:

yeah

Lammastide said:

Intelligence is no different.
Most humans don't have it.....and don't miss it.

Zinzi said:

It's a nice movie though. I'm a bit ashamed i don't handle things like that better, it's not me being a meanie.

We have all these 'shock-docs' in the UK, highlighting folks with extreme illnesses, they had this one called 'tree-man' or something the guy's skin was like the bark on a tree, well, i nearly passed out just watching the trailer!

For a person born blind from birth, it's their "normal". Same with being black, being white, being short, being really tall, being male, or female. You only know what your experience dictates. Same goes for a person who is deaf, or is born with a physical disability like not being able to walk. It's just what they know.

The "mermaid girl", who recently died at age 10, only knew her life having one lower extremity. She also had no vagina or anus, and had to have a tube to dispose of human waste. To us, that's just a big headache waiting to happen. But to her, it was as normal as us listening to "Head" without turning red or blinking an eye.

However, why not ask a blind person how they perceive things? They're just people, and they know that people are curious. It's not being nosy. It's a way for people who have a differentiation between them (like sight/no-sight) to bond, and find a commonality. We watch movies all the time about two very different people finding each other (Romeo & Juliet were prime examples, as was the aforementioned movie Mask), yet in real life, we're SO self-segregated.

Here's a pretty amazing blind kid story...



sadly, Ben Underwood has since passed away...

Marrk said:

oh was that bodyshock?

Zinzi said:

I think so. When the doctors were using a circular saw on the guy, cutting it away.

Lammastide said:

I guess on some level not being able to see ultraviolet color and infrared is a tremendous disability too. It certainly would be for certain animals (some snakes have organs at the tips of their noses that allows them to see animal's body heat, so camouflage is useless to the prey).

I guess, we'd need to factor in the usefulness of the ability that we lack. I would think being blind (even if you're used to being blind) is still quite inconvenient in this day and age, and that even if you don't have a strong intrinsic desire to 'see', you'd probably prefer it for practical reasons.

ernestsewell said:

awww the mermaid girl died?

I went to the "Dialogue in the Dark" exposition and it was quite an experience- they put you in complete darkness for about 40 minutes with canes and a guide. the experience walks you thru riding in a boat- going to the park- crossing the street- finding the address on a house- and going to the supermarket and a bar. All the guides for the exhibit were blind. our guide was in a horrible motorcycle crash and lost his sight. he can't even percieve sunlight. he had recently gotten married to a sighted person and was very happy. he said he did want to throw himself out of a window after the accident- but he rehabilitated.

After the experience- I truly was thankful for my sight- I couldn't imagine it being taken away from me.