[Blindmath] Using the List

[David Andrews]

Dear List Members:

I am writing you as the "List Owner." I am constantly impressed with 
the quality of advice and information that list members provide 
others.  However, on occasion, things to drift.

For the past couple weeks, there was a wide ranging discussion, 
prompted by a request for information from someone who has recently 
lost her sight and wishes to explore ways to do math. She received 
lots of good advice, but the discussion also drifted some, and a 
couple messages bordered on "personal attacks" of other list members.

As List Owner I would like to remind you of a couple things, so this 
list can remain the high-quality resource it is.

First, personal attacks are not permitted. You may not agree with 
someone, but that doesn't give you the right to question her motives, 
ancestry, etc. Stick to the facts, when you speculate about things, 
you are usually wrong.

Secondly, remember that there are many ways to accomplish a different 
task. Also, people have different skill levels, different abilities, 
different ammounts of time to learn new things etc. Things can be 
said in ways that are not confrontational.  For example, saying "yYou 
must learn Braille, or Nemeth ... to succeed in higher-level math," 
is probably not the best way.  You could say, "many people have found 
the ability to read and write Braille and Nemeth, to be useful when 
performing higher level math."

A range of advice is good, because of abilities, time, experience, 
help etc. But none is necessarily wrong. We all want to be right, and 
we all judge others, even if it is subconscious.

Finally, try and just answer the questions asked.  If you don't have 
an answer, don't say anything.  For example, if someone asks, "I have 
to teach math, and need to put formulas up on a screen," answer that 
with advice, which could be use this software or that software, or 
prepare printed handouts etc.  Don't go off and say, why do you need 
to put math up on the screen? you are just serving the sighted world 
you should .....?


Maybe not a good example, but my point is answer the question being 
asked, don't speculate.  Another example "non-math" that might make 
more sense is if someone asks a question about what is the best cane 
to use.  You don't answer by saying why would any sensible human use 
a cane, get a dog guide of course.

I hope all of this makes sense, and I look forward to reading your 
good advice and thoughts into the future.

David Andrews, List Owner



         David Andrews and long white cane Harry.
E-Mail:  dandrews at visi.com or david.andrews at nfbnet.org