[Blindmath] Spatial Abilities

Thu May 29 22:26:03 UTC 2014

Yes, it's definitely a combo of nature and nurture. There is evidence
that especially for us who are blind from birth, our visual cortexes
get recruited for other uses. I wonder if the way your brain
reorganizes due to blindness determines how well your nonvisual
spatial awareness is. Also, I wonder if blind boys might be socialized
differently from blind girls or encouraged to get out and run around
more leading to better O&M skills? I could certainly imagine myself
having had more opportunities for physical activity or more desire for
it if I had been male.

Arielle

On 5/29/14, Angie Matney via Blindmath <blindmath at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Fascinating conversation. My partner and I were talking about this a
> few days ago. Like me, he has been totally blind since infancy (well,
> actually, he had a bit of light perception in one eye for a while, and
> honestly he is not sure if he still has this or not). But while I have
> the same spatial issues as some others have identified, Chuck is
> phenomenally good at spatial thinking. I do think a combination of
> nature and nurture is at work. Chuck got excellent O&M instruction
> from a very young age. I got phenomenal braille instruction, but myO&M
> was lacking. This is partly because of where I lived--there really
> weren't that many places to go. LOL! Also, I've seen my sighted mom
> and sister struggle with navigation. I think my sister has improved
> somewhat now that she des more driving. All of this is to say that
> Ithink I suffered from (a) a predisposition to be spatally challenged
> and (b) lack of experiences to help me overcome this challenge.
>
> On 5/29/14, Pranav Lal via Blindmath <blindmath at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> Hi Amanda,
>>
>> Thanks for this explanation and my experience is similar to yours. For
>> me,
>> everything is indeed 3d.
>>
>> Pranav
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Blindmath [mailto:blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Amanda
>> Lacy via Blindmath
>> Sent: Wednesday, May 28, 2014 11:43 PM
>> To: sabra1023; Blind Math list for those interested in mathematics
>> Subject: Re: [Blindmath] Spatial Abilities
>>
>> I think it has to do with the fact that those of us who are blind from
>> birth don't experience the world as being flat. Sight involves the
>> projection of light onto a flat retina, so for sighted people it seems
>> natural to go from there to representing real things on flat surfaces.
>> Flat pictures are everywhere for them since birth, but I can't think of
>> one single example of anything in the real world that's flat. Our hands
>> are designed to grasp and rotate and examine real objects, and then we
>> come to school and have to learn what seems like a new language. So when
>> people say that my hands are like their eyes, I have to disagree. I'm
>> speculating as someone who has never been sighted, so any of you can
>> feel free to correct me with more accurate information.
>>
>> Amanda
>> On 5/28/2014 12:46 PM, sabra1023 via Blindmath wrote:
>>> I wonder if being blind from birth has to do with it. If I'm remembering
>> how to get somewhere, I just imagine myself walking there. A map doesn't
>> help. I can imagine three-dimensional things very well and make them out
>> of
>> clay. Also, I can remember a two dimensional shape like a circle or
>> square.
>> However, it's difficult for me to imagine and manipulate graphs in my
>> head.
>>>
>>>> On May 28, 2014, at 12:07 PM, Susan Jolly via Blindmath
>> <blindmath at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> There have been a large number of conferences about and studies of the
>> use of tactile maps and diagrams by blind persons.  This has been going
>> on
>> for more than 40 years.  What I got out of reading many of the studies is
>> that different people are different.
>>>>
>>>> There is, however, a lot of evidence that men have better spatial
>> abilities than women.  I know this is controversial but I think there is
>> some truth to it.  I can see the sun come up east of my house and go down
>> west of my house.  Nonetheless, no matter how hard I try, I cannot
>> imagine
>> that my son who lives 1000 miles west of me lives in the direction where
>> the
>> sun goes down.  I know that it is true logically but when I think about
>> him,
>> he's always somewhere off to the east in my mind.
>>>>
>>>> As for graphs, it took me years to understand why it is not necessary
>> when laying out a two-dimensional graph to use the same spacing for both
>> axes.  I mention this here for two reasons.  First, it is an example of
>> different people being different.  Second, it points out that the shape
>> of
>> a
>> graph is to some extent arbitrary.  Of course, the general shape is
>> independent of the exact choice of layout. (I'm talking about linear
>> axes;
>> you can dramatically change the shape if you use non-linear axes such as
>> logarithmic ones.)
>>>>
>>>> SusanJ
>>>>
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