If somebody was born blind, how do you explain to them that they are blind, and everybody else can see the things that they cannot, and can they understand this?
2007-07-07 04:13:41 · 11 answers · asked by Danielle 3 in Health ➔ Optical
ok...who remembers the movie Mask?? The movie from the 80s...Cher was in it....
Anyway, the main character, Rocky, worked as an assistant counselor at a blind camp...course, he fell for this blind girl...and they were talking...colors...she said she couldn't understand....
Rocky got some things together to help identify colors: A rock from the freezer was "blue", a rock from boiling water was "red". Grass was "green". Cotton was "white".
You'd have to explain an association...by touch. They've well adapted to what they know...blindness. If they were born blind, they do not know anything else and honestly do not consider that a handicap in most cases. Their hands, ears, nose, and mouth ARE their eyes. The other senses take over and totally compensate.
No, they won't know what a rainbow looks like...but if you use physically descriptive words, they can draw a mental picture.
2007-07-07 10:08:18 · answer #1 · answered by Jennifer 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Sight is a sense like hearing, only at the speed of light. Instead of objects making or reflecting a sound, as in hearing, the objects seen have to be non-transparent and not obscured. Which means the object is either emitting or reflecting light in a direct line to the eyes. Also, I know legally blind people who can see, just not so fine. This is more of a physics question than a philosophy question, IMO
2016-05-20 22:21:49 · answer #2 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Blind people must form an idea in their minds about an object they feel or a space they are in. It may not be a "picture" in the same sense that sighted people form in their minds, but it would allow them to predict the shape and size of the object in a future encounter with it, before they actually touch it or are in it again. You can tell them that sight allows a person to be aware of the presence and properties of an object or a space without anyone telling them that it's there, in a way like hearing the sound of something at a distance, or feeling the heat of something (like a stove element or the sun) without actually having to touch it.
2007-07-07 04:25:40 · answer #3 · answered by TitoBob 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
This is what some people refer to as an ineffable experience, meaning that there is no point of reference for the person you are trying to enlighten. How do you explain "red" to someone who has never seen red? There are many emotional overlays, such as "warm", "fire", sunset, etc. These overlay, however, are quite personal, and don't translate well.
The classic ineffable experience is to try to imagine how you would explain how it feels to have sex to someone of the opposite sex.
If it were me, I guess the best I could do was to simply sit with them and talk about my favorite times and places. I would hope that the positive feelings would somehow translate to some little understanding.
2007-07-07 04:23:21 · answer #4 · answered by Bufford M 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The person will not have the ability to grasp the experience you are talking about, and so it would be a pointless venture. You should explain that you have sight which is a faculty which enables you to sense stimuli in the environment via remote perception. They will understand what you mean in that sense, but will never fully understand "sight."
2007-07-07 04:19:49 · answer #5 · answered by LaNell the Relationship Expert 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
No. It's like the blind one trying to explain what they see. It can't really be explained, only seen.
2007-07-07 04:16:03 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
well the only example I could think of was this. I know they can still feel, so maybe say fell this "whatever, body shape" and then say you can feel it right it has a shape, and then say well I can see that shape infront of me, I know its three feet away from me and see it there. I think that could be understood I mean there not stupid, infact there other senese are much stronger and there insight must be deeper. good luck KIm
2007-07-07 04:19:42 · answer #7 · answered by KIMBUR 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would first tell them that I can see things that are FAR away, then I would give them a simple DESCRIPTION of the objects, then I would take them to the objects and let them GRASP them.
2007-07-07 08:56:31 · answer #8 · answered by spir_i_tual 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you can't tell them about form of vision or colors , but you can say it's smelling of distant things or feeling them before u bump into them [ that's what I tell my young patients ]
2007-07-07 09:27:28 · answer #9 · answered by hasafer 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Some things are too sad to even think about.
2007-07-07 04:16:25 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋