[nfb-talk] Hebrew U scientists help blind'see 'by activatingtheir visual brain cortex

Fri Jan 11 17:22:00 UTC 2013

Right but you're confirming every thing I said. It's just dumb for people to 
pity you if you're blind. Why would you care what those dumb people think? 
To me, not  letting them dictate how I feel about being blind is true 
independence. They can go ahead and pity me. What do I care?

Why would I bother telling people that I don't want their charity and I 
don't want their pity. I just don't want their charity and don't want their 
pity. That's enough for me and I don't understand why it matters to you. You 
are letting sighted people dictate how you see yourself. Worse than that, 
you're letting ignorant sighted people dictate how you feel about yourself 
because only an ignorant person would think blind people need pity these 
days.

I'd like to be able to see so that I could drive a car, see the photos that 
are passed around at family gatherings, and do my job easier. If some people 
pity me because of it, too bad for them.  That's just stupid.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Joshua Lester" <JLester8462 at PCCUAEDU.onmicrosoft.com>
To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, January 11, 2013 10:06 AM
Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Hebrew U scientists help blind'see 'by 
activatingtheir visual brain cortex

> There may be advantages of having sight, but I'm content as a person.
> I'm not against sight, but as for me, I don't want it, because I'm already 
> independent.
> The NFB's philosophy is that blind people are able to do whatever we put 
> our minds to.
> It's that simple!
> We don't want pity, and we don't want to be a charity case for the state!
> We want equality, and if given that equality, we can do whatever the 
> sighted people do!
> Catching a ball?
> There are beep ball teams already established.
> Good grief!
> Blessings, Joshua
> ________________________________________
> From: nfb-talk [nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] on behalf of Todor Fassl 
> [fassl.tod at gmail.com]
> Sent: Friday, January 11, 2013 10:00 AM
> To: NFB Talk Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Hebrew U scientists help blind 'see     'by 
> activatingtheir visual brain cortex
>
> Something doesn't make sense about this though.  How can you say you're
> happy being blind unless who you are is a blind person. Vision is a very
> handy thing. With vision you can catch a ball or run the high hurdles. You
> can appreciate a photograph of your kids. You can fly a plane or drive a
> taxi. Why wouldn't you want to be able to do those things?
>
> If you're blind, there are a lot of things you can't do. But to me, that 
> has
> nothing more to do with who I am than does not being able to do math like
> Albert Einstein or throw a football like Peyton Manning. That has nothing 
> to
> do with who I am. I'm just not a blind guy.
> Would I like to be able to do math like Albert Einstein or throw a 
> football
> like Peyton Manning? Sure. Would I like to be able to see like everybody
> else? You bet.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Mauricio Almeida" <mauriciopmalmeida at gmail.com>
> To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Friday, January 11, 2013 9:02 AM
> Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Hebrew U scientists help blind 'see 'by
> activatingtheir visual brain cortex
>
>
>> independently on what she meant to say, i agree with this point at least
>> as far as i am concerned.
>> I never had vision, and I do not consider it important whatsoever, for I
>> never , and I repeat, never, suffered prejudice due to blindness, as to 
>> me
>> and to the people within my network prejudice hardly depends on us and 
>> how
>> we let it come and affect our existence.
>> I am in favor of every single treatment available, for people should have
>> the right of having sight if they wish, i just wouldn't do any of them,
>> despite some people considering me crazy for not wanting such a cool 
>> thing
>> as sight.
>>
>> cheers
>>
>> mauricio
>> On Jan 11, 2013, at 9:59 AM, "Todor Fassl" <fassl.tod at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> When you reply that way, it implies that you are ssaying that people
>>> should be happy with who they are instead of jumping through all these
>>> hoops to get some vision. You may not have intended to say that but
>>> that's the way it comes off. I mean, that's just the way people are 
>>> going
>>> to take it. It may just be a communication problem. Did you intend to 
>>> say
>>> that blind people should be happy being who they are rather than going
>>> through all this stuff to get some limited vision?
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Gloria Whipple"
>>> <glowhi at centurylink.net>
>>> To: "'NFB Talk Mailing List'" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
>>> Sent: Wednesday, January 09, 2013 3:53 PM
>>> Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Hebrew U scientists help blind 'see 'by
>>> activating their visual brain cortex
>>>
>>>
>>>> If those who want it, go for it@
>>>>
>>>> I have been blind all of my life and my fingers still work.
>>>> I am happy with what I have.
>>>>
>>>> Gloria Whipple
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: nfb-talk [mailto:nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Buddy
>>>> Brannan
>>>> Sent: Wednesday, January 09, 2013 13:45
>>>> To: NFB Talk Mailing List
>>>> Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Hebrew U scientists help blind 'see ' by
>>>> activating
>>>> their visual brain cortex
>>>>
>>>> Why not? I think it's possible that such sensory substitution could be
>>>> useful some day. I also feel fairly confident that such sensory
>>>> substitution
>>>> won't replace sight or turn blind people into sighted people. If such
>>>> technology could be developed and implemented such that adjustment to 
>>>> it
>>>> would be fairly straightforward and take relatively little time from 
>>>> our
>>>> otherwise productive and busy lives, what objection do you have?
>>>> --
>>>> Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV - Erie, PA
>>>> Phone: (814) 860-3194 or 888-75-BUDDY
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Jan 9, 2013, at 4:36 PM, Gloria Whipple <glowhi at centurylink.net>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> No thanks!
>>>>>
>>>>> Gloria Whipple
>>>>>
>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>> From: nfb-talk [mailto:nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Ed
>>>>> Meskys
>>>>> Sent: Wednesday, January 09, 2013 13:16
>>>>> To: nfb-talk; nhblind-talk
>>>>> Subject: [nfb-talk] Fw: Hebrew U scientists help blind 'see ' by
>>>> activating
>>>>> their visual brain cortex
>>>>>
>>>>> To: edmeskys at roadrunner.com
>>>>> Sent: Tuesday, January 08, 2013 6:11 PM
>>>>> Subject: Hebrew U scientists help blind 'see ' by activating their
>>>>> visual
>>>>> brain cortex
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Hebrew U scientists help blind 'see with eye music'
>>>>> By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH
>>>>> Jerusalem Post 01/08/2013
>>>>> Device for sensory exchange activates visual cortex to help those born
>>>> blind
>>>>> describe objects, letters and words.
>>>>> By activating their visual brain cortex, people who were born blind 
>>>>> can
>>>>> describe objects and even identify letters and words, with the proper
>>>>> stimulation and using a device for sensory exchange developed by 
>>>>> Hebrew
>>>>> University researchers.
>>>>>
>>>>> The research team, headed by Prof. Amir Amedi of the Edmond and Lilly
>>>> Safra
>>>>> Center for Brain Sciences and Institute for Medical Research
>>>>> Israel-Canada
>>>>> and including doctoral student Ella Streim- Amit, has just published
>>>>> their
>>>>> findings in the journal Neuron; a summary of their research also
>>>>> appeared
>>>> in
>>>>> the journal Science.
>>>>>
>>>>> They developed a unique training program for seeing using the device,
>>>> which
>>>>> transfers visual information to the blind via their healthy senses.
>>>>>
>>>>> The device translates pictures into tones; after a few dozen hours of
>>>>> training, the blind from birth can identify images and put them in
>>>>> visual
>>>>> categories such as faces, houses, parts of the body, ordinary objects
>>>>> and
>>>>> textures.
>>>>>
>>>>> They can also locate people, identify facial expressions and read
>>>>> letters
>>>>> and words, thus being able to "see" enough to exceed the World Health
>>>>> Organization minimum to be regarded as sighted.
>>>>>
>>>>> Amedi said on Sunday that for decades, it is has been known that if 
>>>>> the
>>>>> visual cortex does not receive visual information after birth, it
>>>>> doesn't
>>>>> properly develop the normal visual structure and skills, and thus
>>>>> visual
>>>>> reconstruction was thought to be impossible. But when the team checked
>>>> what
>>>>> happens in the brains of blind people who learned to "see" via sounds,
>>>> their
>>>>> visual cortex functioned even though they had learned to process 
>>>>> images
>>>> only
>>>>> when they reached adulthood, he said.
>>>>>
>>>>> The researchers also found that the brains of the blind from birth had
>>>>> visual preferences similar to those with normal sight when they 
>>>>> reacted
>>>>> to
>>>>> different kinds of visual stimulation. For example, the part of the
>>>>> brain
>>>>> used for reading showed that in the blind, as in the sighted, there 
>>>>> was
>>>>> increased activity in reaction to pictures of letters and words. In
>>>>> addition, this region proved to be so flexible that one of the blind
>>>> people
>>>>> tested was able to react to such images after a two-hour training
>>>>> session.
>>>>>
>>>>> "The brain of adults is more flexible that what we assumed," Amedi
>>>>> said.
>>>>>
>>>>> "These findings show it may be that the brains of blind people, even
>>>>> for
>>>>> long periods, can 'wake up' to process vision through rehabilitation,
>>>>> including new medical developments such as retinal implants 
>>>>> [artificial
>>>>> eyes]."
>>>>>
>>>>> Additional research in the field by Amedi's team with Dr. Sheli
>>>>> Levi-Zedek
>>>>> that was published in the journal Restorative Neurology and
>>>>> Neuroscience
>>>>> presented a device for sensory exchange. Using it, the blind from 
>>>>> birth
>>>>> could cover their eyes and still carry out rapid and exact movements
>>>> toward
>>>>> targets. Using a non-invasive device called "eye music" involving
>>>>> pleasant
>>>>> music, the blind were able to "see" with sounds.
>>>>>
>>>>> In training sessions of as little as half an hour, 18 blind from birth
>>>>> people were able to tell the difference between a red or a green 
>>>>> apple.
>>>>>
>>>>> This paves the way for future hybrid devices, including a receptor
>>>> implanted
>>>>> in the eye together with "eye music."
>>>>> ____________________________________________________________
>>>>> Fast, Secure, NetZero 4G Mobile Broadband. Try it.
>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
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