[nabs-l] Feeling faces: a myth or true?

Marissa Tejeda marissat789 at gmail.com
Mon Sep 8 22:42:41 UTC 2014


I get asked that question all the time.  I was talking to 
someone, trying to explain how much I could see.  The
person turns away quickly, to say something to someone, not 
trying to be rude.  I said, "Hey, look at me." and a few people: 
"Woah! How'd you know?"
I simply said: "His head was turned the other way while he 
talked.

 ----- Original Message -----
From: Sami Osborne via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
To: justin williams <justin.williams2 at gmail.com>, National 
Association of BlindStudents mailing list	<nabs-l at nfbnet.org>, 
arielle71 at gmail.com
Date sent: Mon, 08 Sep 2014 18:17:37 -0400
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Feeling faces: a myth or true?

Hi all,

I agree with everything that's been said here.


Another fact which hasn't been mentioned is that if you feel a
person's face and he or she is not expecting that, it can be
considered as sexual harassment, which is illegal.  So I would
recommend not even doing that.

For a blind person to recognize someone, just by their voice is
the best wan to figure that out, as Arielle said.
 Btw, that's really strange, why would someone think it's odd
that you don't want to fell their face?
 I think that a sighted person whom you don't know would think
it's  incredible that the blind person would even recognize them,
and would ask something like "wow, you can't see me, how do you
know it was me?" and you could tell them that it's because of
their voice you recognize, get to know them, and then maybe they
could come to more of an understanding about blindness and what
we can do.

 These are my thoughts on this topic, and by the way, great
discussion.

Thanks,

Sami.


 ----- Original Message -----
From: justin williams via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
To: "'Arielle Silverman'" <arielle71 at gmail.com>,"'National
Association of Blind Students mailing list'" <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Mon, 08 Sep 2014 16:08:09 -0400
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Feeling faces: a myth or true?

I haven't even felt my mother's and father's face in a very long
time, like
as long as a childhood.   I remember my dad mentioning that one
several
years ago.  I quickly changed the subject.

-----Original Message-----
From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
Arielle
Silverman via nabs-l
Sent: Monday, September 08, 2014 3:40 PM
To: Alana Leonhardy; National Association of Blind Students
mailing list
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Feeling faces: a myth or true?

Absolute myth.  Human brains are programmed to recognize faces
visually.  The
details that people recognize visually cannot be easily perceived
by touch.
To me all faces feel the same, except maybe whether or not the
person has
facial hair.  It's ridiculous to think that blind people should
feel faces to
recognize people or gain information about what they look like
visually.
I do have mental images of what my close family and friends look
like, but
that has more to do with body shape, height and weight info that
I get from
hugging them not feeling their faces.  Even those mental images
are pretty
vague.  The best way I can tell people apart is by their voice.
Arielle

On 9/8/14, Alana Leonhardy via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
 There's something very personal about putting your hands on
someone
 else's face.  I have never had the desire to do so, and haven't
met a
 blind person who has.  I have, however, encountered sighted
strangers
 who thought I was odd for not warning to touch them.

 Sent from my iPhone

 On Sep 8, 2014, at 11:48, justin williams via nabs-l
 <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
 wrote:

 I don't do his often except with a woman; not even with my
parents.
 -----Original Message-----
 From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
Karl
 Martin Adam via nabs-l
 Sent: Monday, September 08, 2014 12:46 PM
 To: Marissa Tejeda; National Association of Blind Students
mailing
 list
 Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Feeling faces: a myth or true?

 I haven't done this either--except with people I'm dating and
like my
 parents.  It does seem to be a common stereotype and something
that
 happens in a lot of literature and movies.
 Perhaps some people who went blind later in life and think
knowing
 what people's faces are like is important do this?

 ----- Original Message -----
 From: Marissa Tejeda via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
 To: Nabsl <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
 Date sent: Mon, 08 Sep 2014 05:25:08 -0700
 Subject: [nabs-l] Feeling faces: a myth or true?

 Hi guys,

 So, for a long time I've been want to know this, but never got
around
 to asking.  I, personally, don't feel faces to know what people
look
like.
 Do
 people really feel faces? How can it give someone a picture if
they
 feel the face? Is this just a movie and a myth, or reality and
true?

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