View Full Version : Would you rather go deaf or blind?
Banana
03-10-2005, 08:29 AM
At first, I quickly picked going deaf because it sounds like something that would just cut into the luxuries in life such as listening to music, hearing your friends, etc. whereas sight is needed to survive.
Now that I think twice about it, losing your hearing is just as scary as losing your sight.
Opinions?
sOKaLiBoY
03-10-2005, 09:17 AM
i would rather go deaf then blind
kimpossible
03-10-2005, 10:11 AM
blind
Banana
03-10-2005, 10:26 AM
Wow. One of the few people I know that would chose blind.
Well I choose blind as well b/c without contacts or glasses I'm pretty much blind anyway but I don't think I could deal with never hearing music or my loved ones voices ever again...
kimpossible
03-10-2005, 10:37 AM
Hearing the voices of my loved ones is more important to me then seeing them. When I tried to think of what would really be the deciding factor, that was it. I also love music more than watching films.
Plus, then I could do some really cool martial arts training where all my other senses become superhuman to compensate for the one no longer active.
edit: hahaha... meki and i are in SYNCH!!
deez nuts
03-10-2005, 10:37 AM
deaf.
though i won't be able to hear the woman's sex noises from my tv when i'm spanking my rice stick to porn; it's a hell of a lot better than not being able to watch it.
edit: hahaha... meki and i are in SYNCH!!
It's a little unnerving that we're thinking the same... Can you see the other crazy thoughts that go through my head? Hee hee :biggrin:
Craig
03-10-2005, 10:55 AM
It's a little unnerving that we're thinking the same... Can you see the other crazy thoughts that go through my head? Hee hee :biggrin:So that's why you choose to go blind ? Already paying more attention to the images in your head than what you see externally ?
Napoleon Chynamite
03-10-2005, 10:58 AM
I'm already half deaf from blasting too much loud music into my own ears.
So that's why you choose to go blind ? Already paying more attention to the images in your head than what you see externally ?
Yup! Right now there's a big party in my head... Care to join? :tongue:
Craig
03-10-2005, 11:14 AM
Yup! Right now there's a big party in my head... Care to join? :tongue:
Can I take a raincheck on that ?
Hiroshi2
03-10-2005, 11:23 AM
blind
Music and the sound of pussy getting fucked. If I can't have that.........
Emperor_Mike
03-10-2005, 12:27 PM
I'd rather go deaf than blind because I cannot live without the written word and some of the more obscure works I favour do not come in audio format.
On the other hand, if I'm compensated in some fashion for my blindness with, let's say, super psychic powers, then it'd be a different story.
kimpossible
03-10-2005, 12:31 PM
dude, braille. already thought of that one.
on the other hand it'd be hard to live without porn.
deez nuts
03-10-2005, 12:35 PM
on the other hand it'd be hard to live without porn.
exactly.
we're like two peas in a pod.
applehead
03-10-2005, 12:38 PM
i saw this thing where they featured a phone
where the incoming voice can be heard
by placing the earpiece on your head instead
of the ears.
thaite
03-10-2005, 12:40 PM
Who was it who said being blind cuts you off from the world, but being deaf cuts you off from people?
Given the choice, I'd still choose deaf.
pikachupacabra
03-10-2005, 12:51 PM
dude, braille. already thought of that one.
on the other hand it'd be hard to live without porn.
dude, braille porn!!!
Emperor_Mike
03-10-2005, 02:44 PM
Braille requires too much effort. Plus there's art and architecture as well. I can't imagine a life devoid of experiencing such sights as Paris at night, Versailles by moonlight, or the enigmatic smile of the Mona Lisa. :smile:
YuheiCarreau
03-10-2005, 03:50 PM
Definitely deaf. I'm an artist, I need my eyes - and besides, deaf people can get drivers' liscences (I think), blind people can't.
This is kind of a silly question though, sorta like "would you rather have to pee standing up 10 times a day or just have to pee sitting down all the time?"
Napoleon Chynamite
03-10-2005, 05:36 PM
Definitely deaf. I'm an artist, I need my eyes - and besides, deaf people can get drivers' liscences (I think), blind people can't.
This is kind of a silly question though, sorta like "would you rather have to pee standing up 10 times a day or just have to pee sitting down all the time?"
That's too easy. I pee 10 times a day already :biggrin:
Who was it who said being blind cuts you off from the world, but being deaf cuts you off from people?That pretty much says it all. The blind can socialize with anyone. A deaf person needs to learn how to read lips or find someone who signs. And lip reading is largely inaccurate. In a mainstream society, you will be isolated; an invisible minority.
Then try getting a job.
Too terrible a question to contemplate. Then again if I really have to choose I would go with blindess. To paraphrase Gustav Mahler, "I experience through music, and through music I experience."
I would not know what to take reference to my life and emotions without music. Visual arts could be tremendously powerful but I suppose I am more auditory than visual. May be I am just trained that way.
All in all, it takes incredible courage to overcome any disability I reckon...
YuheiCarreau
03-11-2005, 12:35 AM
If I was blind, YW wouldn't be nearly as much fun. I'd either have to get one of those braille displays or a screen reader. Can you imagine some of the stuff you people write comin' out of your computer speakers in a flat monotone?
thaite
03-11-2005, 10:07 AM
My job would be much too difficult blind. My answer stands.
AliBabaIncorporated
03-11-2005, 10:10 AM
Deaf. I read for pleasure a lot more than I listen to music for pleasure. And I hate listening to transcripts of stuff that I could just read.
Banana
03-11-2005, 10:22 AM
I don't think it's silly question because like someone mentioned, would you rather be cut off from the world or people?
It's also very telling in the fact that they're two completely different lifestyles and your experience with either can change your ability to interact with the world.
nonamerasian
03-11-2005, 12:35 PM
I choose deaf.
I'd probably be easier to have an independent lifestyle in the audio/visual world lacking hearing rather than sight.
I've heard of Deaf communities, but not blind ones.
I'm a people watcher. I like seeing new faces. Observing mannerisms. Watching people around me age.
I love photography and reading.
And I love seeing new sights. In nature or in the concrete jungle.
I go slightly crazy when I spend too long in a room with "bad windows" or in areas without much of a view. I don't like to imagine what I'd be like not being able to see anything at all.
kimpossible
03-11-2005, 01:02 PM
I've heard of Deaf communities, but not blind ones.
I had never thought of that but there's a distinct sense of truth to it. :smile:
applehead
03-11-2005, 01:25 PM
I go slightly crazy when I spend too long in a room with "bad windows" or in areas without much of a view. I don't like to imagine what I'd be like not being able to see anything at all.
yeah i don't even like walking around
in semi-darkness in the middle of night
to go to the bathroom.
i get all panic-y.
i can't imagine going blind.
my doggie is a tibetan spaniel and that
breed has a tendency to go blind at an older age.
i get upset for him just thinking about it.
asvenus
03-12-2005, 12:27 PM
oh god i was soooo with meki and kim, i cant imagine not listening to music...im actually getting upset thinking about it...
but then reading nonamerasian post...damn and not being able to indulge in what is an obsession of mine..reading..god no..no.
i couldnt choose..i just thank the universe i have both..any other alternative is too dreadful to contemplate..we are lucky people..so lucky
but then reading nonamerasian post...damn and not being able to indulge in what is an obsession of mine..reading..god no..no.
i couldnt choose..i just thank the universe i have both..any other alternative is too dreadful to contemplate..we are lucky people..so lucky
Braille... I love the written word just as much as I love music but since there is Braille available I think I could deal with that a little better... There is no alternative to music for someone who's deaf... It makes me want to cry just thinking about not being able to hear music ever again... But I agree that this is a very hard question to answer... I don't think anyone would choose either voluntarily.
asvenus
03-12-2005, 01:29 PM
Braille... I love the written word just as much as I love music but since there is Braille available I think I could deal with that a little better...
i was more thinking of nonams point about...
I'm a people watcher. I like seeing new faces. Observing mannerisms. Watching people around me age.
And I love seeing new sights. In nature or in the concrete jungle.
I go slightly crazy when I spend too long in a room with "bad windows" or in areas without much of a view. I don't like to imagine what I'd be like not being able to see anything at all.
just seeing things in nature or people/kids mannerisms makes me melt and go all happy inside..i couldnt give that up...
Braille... I love the written word just as much as I love music but since there is Braille available I think I could deal with that a little better... There is no alternative to music for someone who's deaf... It makes me want to cry just thinking about not being able to hear music ever again... But I agree that this is a very hard question to answer... I don't think anyone would choose either voluntarily.Deaf still appreciate music, just not in the same way. Deaf parties and clubs blast the music so that it can be felt. I helped my ASL teacher set up a component system at her home and had to plug my ears during testing due to the volume she and her husband needed it at. There are Deaf raves which I'd like to check out some time.
Missing out on lyrics, though, largely separates the Deaf from pop culture. Entertainment is one of the areas where accessibility isn't quite there yet. Rear-window projection systems are in select theaters, and caption decoders on televisions are mandatory, but getting the industry to make the content accessible is tough. For the most part, you'll have to wait for the DVD release. And some of those aren't captioned, either.
AliBabaIncorporated
03-12-2005, 03:37 PM
Entertainment is one of the areas where accessibility isn't quite there yet. Rear-window projection systems are in select theaters, and caption decoders on televisions are mandatory, but getting the industry to make the content accessible is tough. For the most part, you'll have to wait for the DVD release. And some of those aren't captioned, either.
Hmm, never thought of that. Virtually all the content in HK is subtitled, to a far greater extent than in TW or the mainland. Movies have to be subtitled bilingually (I think by law?), and mostly everything on TV is too, except the news and cartoons. Never thought of it as helping deaf people, but I guess that's an additional advantage.
One thing I never really understood ... how do people who have been deaf from birth learn to read? Literacy is the process of converting symbols into the sounds of the spoken language, of which deaf-since-birth people haven't got any experience, right? Or is there something I'm missing here?
BTW, what's a rear-window projection system? (All-knowing google seems to have never heard of it).
DragonKnight
03-12-2005, 05:05 PM
Blind.
Mostly cause my eyesight sucks as is. Even though I love racing, I couldn't really do it if I went deaf anyways. If anything, music is probably one of the most important things in my life.
Hmm, never thought of that. Virtually all the content in HK is subtitled, to a far greater extent than in TW or the mainland. Movies have to be subtitled bilingually (I think by law?), and mostly everything on TV is too, except the news and cartoons. Never thought of it as helping deaf people, but I guess that's an additional advantage.
BTW, what's a rear-window projection system? (All-knowing google seems to have never heard of it).Subtitles are useful to the deaf, and this does lead some to seek out foreign films for the real theater experience. It is important, however, to know the difference between subtitles and captions. Subtitles assume you can hear the speech which includes intonation, as well as environmental sounds and the score. Captions would relate the additional auditory information and place the text in the appropriate location on the screen while subtitles just try to get out of the way and generally stay on the bottom.
Rear-window caption systems are becoming popular because before, the deaf were totally dependant on an open caption showing (where the text is visible and everyone sees it), but now deaf people can watch the same showing with hearings without hearings getting pissed off that text is on the screen. This page (http://www.designboom.com/portrait/rufus_rear.html) has a technical description with diagrams, and About.com (http://deafness.about.com/cs/accessibility/a/rearwindowcc.htm) has one person's experience with it.
Currently, deaf people subscribe to email lists and are notified of theater showings that have open captions and rear-window captions. Both captions require the film industry to cooperate with the captioning industry so there is a lag time as the captioning work is done, if at all.One thing I never really understood ... how do people who have been deaf from birth learn to read? Literacy is the process of converting symbols into the sounds of the spoken language, of which deaf-since-birth people haven't got any experience, right? Or is there something I'm missing here?Literacy is understanding the ideas that symbols convey. Many deaf children are forced to take speech lessons, and if they can learn to talk by remembering to push air out of their lungs as their mouth and tongue contort in a certain way, they can certainly learn to memorize what a series of symbols mean.
Hiroshi2
03-12-2005, 08:07 PM
Hey wait a minute if I was blind I couldn't go to YW.
Oh well I'll guess I'd still rather be blind.
Just playing, y'all cool.....................;)
Blind people can use screen reader software, and YW is sufficiently well-structured to be accessible. There are also Braille screens which transform text on the screen to tactile symbols. Both are kinda expensive, though... Braille screens are $4k+, and I've been considering getting Jaws (http://www.freedomscientific.com/fs_products/software_jaws.asp) for testing my pages but I don't build enough sites to justify the pricetag ($895 for Standard edition). I just hope Jaws complies with the WCAG specs. =D
Deaf still appreciate music, just not in the same way. Deaf parties and clubs blast the music so that it can be felt. I helped my ASL teacher set up a component system at her home and had to plug my ears during testing due to the volume she and her husband needed it at. There are Deaf raves which I'd like to check out some time.
Missing out on lyrics, though, largely separates the Deaf from pop culture. Entertainment is one of the areas where accessibility isn't quite there yet. Rear-window projection systems are in select theaters, and caption decoders on televisions are mandatory, but getting the industry to make the content accessible is tough. For the most part, you'll have to wait for the DVD release. And some of those aren't captioned, either.
ASL teacher? Does that mean you can sign? B/c I can too! Well my pathetic attempts at signing anyway... I think my signing abilities are like my ability to speak Korean... I can get by but it's not perfect. If I forget something I end up just spelling it out... Everyone seems really patient with me though. I was lucky to have an ASL program in the middle school & high school I attended so signing came in handy when talking to the ASL students. I also find that it comes in handy in my current line of work... He he... Since I already know how to sign you would think that I would choose to be deaf over being blind but nope...
Anyway, there is something to be said about feeling the music but for me it just wouldn't be the same... Besides when I take out my contacts or glasses everything is pretty much a big blur anyway... It's worse than seeing an impressionist’s painting up close... I do not fear the dark but I do fear total and utter silence.
Yeah, I took an ASL class over one year and finished 3 months ago. I keep in touch with my teacher and classmates and meet up once a month for practice. My vocab is slowly increasing but I need more practice with reading signs. I have yet to use it professionally but even if I don't, I still enjoy the beautiful language. Maybe we can practice with each other if you have a webcam. =D
Green_Jade
03-15-2005, 08:32 PM
i saw this thing where they featured a phone
where the incoming voice can be heard
by placing the earpiece on your head instead
of the ears.
Sounds like a bone conduction phone... it'd help people that have conductive hearing loss -- the one which is caused by physical problems in the ear, not the cochlear..
I'd definatly go deaf. I'd rather be dead than blind... no, if I go blind, I'll probably kill myself, the though alone is absolutly terrifying.
I've seen plenty of Deaf people being successful in life. I've had number of Deaf teachers in college, some with PhDs. Also had few friends that were deaf/hard of hearing. I can sign enough for small talk. I'm forgetting rapidly since I never use it now..
There's this misconception that if you are deaf, you don't hear anything. As far as I know that is very rare, most deaf people can hear some sounds. I only know of one deaf person that couldn't hear anything standing next to a speaker at full volume..
Ok.. from the little I remember from my Deaf culture class, the reason that the blind community isn't as established as the deaf community has largly due to one thing, communication. A blind person can still carry on a normal conversation.
Geographical deaf communities formed back in the day because being closer made it easier for them to communicate (they can't pick up a phone and call their frien 100 miles away)..and from deaf communities came Deaf culture. It's different now though TTY, emails, AIM, text-messaging has pretty much eliminated the need for geographical proximity.
If you think being either one is scary... Imagine what it'd be like to have Ushers -- People with Ushers are born hard of hearing/deaf and eventually loose their sight too. There were few students with ushers at my school. Scary. :frown:
kimpossible
03-15-2005, 08:59 PM
Maybe we can practice with each other if you have a webcam. =D
That was smooth.
Geographical deaf communities formed back in the day because being closer made it easier for them to communicate (they can't pick up a phone and call their frien 100 miles away)..and from deaf communities came Deaf culture. It's different now though TTY, emails, AIM, text-messaging has pretty much eliminated the need for geographical proximity.I'm not sure if I'd say it's eliminated it. It just helps ease the separation once you have regular contact with other Deaf. ASL, a large part of Deaf culture, still requires propagation and evolution in person, although video communications are slowly gaining ground and may be a major propagation channel in the future. Mobile devices like the Sidekick have brought communication nearly on par with the hearing, but so far the tech has a huge price barrier for what is a necessity to some and a leisure item for others.
Glad you brought up historically deaf communities. Now it seems some deaf aren't finding communities until they seek it out in their teens or when they go to a college that caters to the Deaf community. Not sure what that says about how the times have changed since Martha's Vineyard provided a deaf-friendly environment from birth.
Green_Jade
03-16-2005, 01:40 PM
Glad you brought up historically deaf communities. Now it seems some deaf aren't finding communities until they seek it out in their teens or when they go to a college that caters to the Deaf community. Not sure what that says about how the times have changed since Martha's Vineyard provided a deaf-friendly environment from birth.
Lots of deaf people do not participate or know about Deaf communities/culture because they are usualy the sole deaf person in the family/community. About 90% of deaf people have hearing parents so they really don't have a chance for exposure to other deaf people. ... and generally deaf children of hearing families are brought up orally rather than manual or bi-bi, and the deaf community can be very intimidating to someone that can't sign..
I think Martha's Vineyard only happened due to a rare chance of limited gean pool in a small community. I probably read up on this... but can't remember now.
tapestrybabe
03-17-2005, 08:37 PM
dunno...
hard decision to make...
i prolly would want to go blind tho...
deafness...
the thoughts of that...
just sounds so lonely and isolating...
not being able to hear...
another persons voice
talking to you...
or the sound of music...
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