[stylist] seeing with your tongue

Fri Aug 27 10:20:59 UTC 2010

my friend and NAGDU member albert rizzi was the one on the program.

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----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Donna Hill" <penatwork at epix.net>
To: "Writer's Division Mailing List" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, August 26, 2010 10:49 PM
Subject: Re: [stylist] seeing with your tongue

> Hi Allison,
> I think this sort of thing is a double-edged sword. As science, it is
> fascinating, but I personally have a viseral reaction against it. Even
> with no heavy equipment, the idea that we would use such a technique,
> which would seem to have its own social stigma, instead of developing
> other senses like hearing and touch just seems like a re enforcement of
> the social stereotype that blindness must be so aweful that people would
> jump at something this weird.
> Just my two cents,
> Donna
>
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>
> On 8/26/2010 9:47 PM, Allison Nastoff wrote:
> > Hi Everyone,
> > Since this list has been talking about technology that would allow the
> > blind to drive, I thought it would be interesting to start a
> > discussion on a story I saw on yesterday's episode of Good Morning
> > America.  The story was about technology being developed that projects
> > images on to the tongue using electrical signals that the blind can
> > feel, which in a sense allows them to "see with their tongue".  I hope
> > you don't mind me cross posting this since it was discussed on another
> > NFB list, but since it was off topic for that list, I thought it would
> > be interesting to continue the discussion on this list.
> > I also wanted to get your opinions because when I was in sixth grade,
> > I participated in a research study for this technology at a local
> > college when it was very early in its development.  I dropped out of
> > the study after the first year, and maybe in the years since, the
> > technology has improved.  But I remember that when I was in the study,
> > the strip that I put on to my tongue extended from a large machine
> > which sent the electrical stimulation to my tongue.  This machine was
> > connected to a camera which sent the images to a computer, and a board
> > covered with cloth to create a white background also had to be set up
> > behind the camera.  So the point I am trying to make is that this was
> > way too much gear to walk around my kitchen or go rock climbing with
> > the way the blind participants did in this segment.  But it also
> > seemed kind of impractical because it was hard to tell what the shapes
> > were, even when it came to braille dots which I read expertly with my
> > fingers, and I know I can locate objects around the kitchen much
> > faster with my fingers.  Don't get me wrong.  The concept of seeing
> > with your tongue is pretty cool, and I understand how it could be
> > useful for people like the man featured in this video since he went
> > blind as an adult, but since I have been blind all of my life, I
> > wonder if investing in this kind of technology makes sense, or if it
> > would be more beneficial to invest the resources in teaching people to
> > adapt to their blindness with the traditional, and I think more
> > efficient way, using your fingers, ears and nose, or at least invest
> > in technology that restores sight for real, rather than just coming up
> > with some weird inefficient contraption to see with their tongue.
> > What do you all think? Is there anyone else on this list who has
> > participated in research for this kind of technology? If so, what were
> > your feelings about it? I am always interested in getting other
> > people's perspectives about innovations like this.  Here is the link
> > to the story.
> > http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/helping-blind-people-tongues-1147
> > 7360
> > Allison Nastoff
> >
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