[Blindmath] To all you blind physics experts

Fri Feb 10 17:26:44 UTC 2012

Hi Amanda, yes you are on the right track.  However please think through
that right hand rule.  It does not depend on your palm direction.  If you
rotate your hand, all the vectors rotate together.  So your forefinger will
still be pointing to whatever quantity it represents, but you are rotating
the direction of the vectors represented by the thumb and middle fingers.
The rule is still valid.

Be well and hang in there.  Nobody ever said physics was easy!

John

-----Original Message-----
From: Amanda Lacy [mailto:lacy925 at gmail.com] 
Sent: Friday, February 10, 2012 9:16 AM
To: john.gardner at orst.edu; Blind Math list for those interested in
mathematics
Subject: Re: [Blindmath] To all you blind physics experts

Hi Dr. Gardner,

In physics 1 I stopped going to lectures and only started again because I 
had too many questions. My professor does some of these things well. He 
always speaks equations as he writes them on the board. It's mostly when he 
makes these drawings on the board which change rapidly that he might slip 
into the use of "this" and "that." He also reads descriptions of things such

as the right hand rules which are written on his slides.

Some of the problem might be me. I often struggle with descriptions which 
are purely verbal. For example, there's a right hand rule that the professor

described in which you point your fingers in a certain direction (velocity, 
if I remember correctly) and your thumb should then be pointing in the 
direction of the magnetic field. Then we worked an example in which we were 
supposed to point our fingers to the right. Well...I can do that with my 
palm facing downward, away from me, and all the angles in between and get a 
different thumb direction each time. The book and slides make no mention of 
specific palm direction. Picture descriptions are the same. I can take 
things quite literally and find ambiguities everywhere.

I find it very helpful when there are pictures and/or an actual apparatus to

touch along with the verbal description. Lab is probably where I learn the 
most. In lecture I'm going to try reminding the professor that when we come 
to a picture he needs to let me know which slide we're on so I can flip to 
the appropriate tactile graphic.

Do I at least appear to be on the right track?

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "John Gardner" <john.gardner at orst.edu>
To: "'Blind Math list for those interested in mathematics'" 
<blindmath at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, February 10, 2012 9:58 AM
Subject: Re: [Blindmath] To all you blind physics experts

> Hello Amanda, I am a blind physicist, but I was not blind when I was a
> student.  Your experience in lecture is familiar to me, because I have 
> been
> to lots of lectures at all levels since becoming blind.  There are things
> you might do to be better prepared, but it is clear from your letter that
> the major problem is understanding the lecture.
>
> Your professor needs some pointers on how to convey "this rule" and "that
> model"  A really good lecturer will say "This rule using the right hand
> where the thumb points in the direction of the current and the fingers 
> wrap
> around the wire pointing in the direction of the electric field", etc. 
> This
> kind of detailed (invariably repetitive)  lecturing is good for all the
> students, not just those who are blind.  You have described lectures by 
> Dick
> Baldwin, and it is clear to me that he understand that such detail is
> needed.
>
> I am often asked for advice on how to communicate with blind people in
> lectures.  My answer is that my advice is how to be an excellent lecturer
> for everybody.
> * Write everything that is spoken on the board, show in a slide, or
> otherwise communicate the essentials of every point made verbally.
> * Do not use "this" and "that" as nouns.
> * Never say "it", "that thing", etc.  Say the actual name of whatever
> object, rule, equation... is being discussed.
>
> There are many more things that could be added to this list, but any
> lecturer who religiously follows these three rules will communicate much
> better with everybody than he would if he didn't follow the rules.
>
> All this takes slightly more time and certainly more concentration.  And
> frankly most lecturer are not very good at communicating fully.  But those
> who really want to improve their lectures do not usually object to being
> given my little list.  It comes from an experienced professor who happens 
> to
> be blind.  And it is intended to be constructive.
>
> I suggest you give my note to your physics professor Ananda.  I doubt that
> he will be offended from what you say.  I'm happy to have a private
> discussion with him off list too.
>
> John Gardner
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org] 
> On
> Behalf Of Amanda Lacy
> Sent: Thursday, February 09, 2012 10:23 PM
> To: Blind Math list for those interested in mathematics
> Subject: [Blindmath] To all you blind physics experts
>
> There seem to be several of you on here, so I am hoping for some advice 
> even
> though this isn't exactly about math.
>
> I am currently in general physics II and beginning to struggle. My physics
> professor (Prof. Underwood) says that the units which will probably be the
> hardest for me are electromagnetism (the one we're on now) and optics. I
> have the book from Learning Ally and write down all the homework problems
> and important equations on the computer. I've also started experimenting
> with one of Prof. Baldwin's programs in order to emboss important diagrams
> and follow along in class. I try to ask lots of questions during Prof.
> Baldwin's office hours, in class, and in lab. I have a tactile drawing pad
> and at least two people who give me pieces of there time and expertise 
> when
> they can, but still I am lost in class. The subject matter is so visual 
> that
> Prof. Underwood is often drawing and redrawing complex things on the board
> as he lectures. Then I hear such tantalizing statements as, "learn this
> right-hand rule," or "this very important concept explains how an electric
> motor works." I hadn't f
> ollowed whatever it was which led to such statements. At the end of class,
> my unanswered questions are often more numerous than they had been at the
> beginning. As a consequence of not following lecture, some of my homework
> looks completely unfamiliar to me so that I have no idea how to proceed.
> Prof. Underwood is talking about building some 3D models for me. He is
> really doing the best he can and sometimes seems unsure what to do with 
> me.
> I don't always know what to do with me either.
>
> If any of you can describe strategies you used which did not rely on 
> vision,
> I would be grateful. I am genuinely curious about what I'm supposed to be
> studying. If I can satisfy that curiosity, then the A will come on its 
> own,
> as it always does.
>
>
> Thanks,
> Amanda
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