What do blind people see?

[Skeptic Chicken]

I hope not to offend anyone with this.

I remember reading something saying that blind people see the world differently to people with faultless vision. But after a google search, no such thing popped up. But I'm certain I've seen this mentioned somewhere before.

So, if any of you know where I may have heard it, please give a heads up.

As for the topic, what do you think blind people see? I know that there is no virtual way to interpret what they see, unless one gives a detailed explanation which would probably end up in a loop (they see darkness, yet they can't know what darkness is unless they've seen light to interpret lightlesness, etc.).

Or is it most likely, they see people and the world for what it looks like, but for what they are like personality wise, as due to their sightlesness, appearance doesn't matter?

If this is in the wrong place, please move it Moderators.

[RedSquirrel]

I did ask a blind person what they saw once (I was a child and unashamed), he replied: "What does your throat see?".

I still don't think I fully get it, but darkness is a sight thing, there is nothing to "see".

[Eponabri]

I did ask a blind person what they saw once (I was a child and unashamed), he replied: "What does your throat see?".

I still don't think I fully get it, but darkness is a sight thing, there is nothing to "see".

I googled "what do blind people see" and got oodles of sites with answers. This was the first one:

What the blind really see varies quite a bit, depending on the cause of blindness and its severity, said Dean Bok, Ph.D., Professor of Ophthalmology and Neurobiology at UCLA's Jules Stein Eye Institute, and a researcher who's worked with the organizations Research to Prevent Blindness and the Foundation Fighting Blindness. Many people who are described as blind can perceive light. Even those who must use a cane or guide dog to get around are more likely to see the world around them as an indistinct fuzzy blur, rather than a formless void.

And that blur is likely to be in black and white.

You probably remember from grade school that there are two structures in our eyes—cones and rods—that enable us to see and perceive light. Rods are related to night vision. Cones to color vision and what we see during the day. But there's a bit more to it than that.

"Cones are extremely important, not only for color, but also for acuity," Bok said. "The ability to read fine print is from cones, not rods."

Basically, the worse your vision is, the less color you can usually perceive.

But what's really astounding is how new, high-tech treatments are changing what some blind people see. Cory Haas is a 9-year-old boy who lives in New York state. A couple of years ago, Bok told me, this boy was one of the people whose sight was limited to fuzzy, mostly colorless blobs. He couldn't read. He needed help walking. Today, Cory Haas can ride a bike and read books with large print. His sight is nowhere near perfect, but he's gone from being legally blind, to being just another kid who has to wear glasses.

http://boingboing.net/2009/12/21/science-question-fro-3.html

[Purplos]

I have a completely blind friend. He sees nothing. There is no such thing as 'sight' for him.

People as described in the above post are not technically blind. They may be legally blind or partially blind, but I think if there is some sight, they aren't truly, totally blind.

[thewatchman7]

I have a completely blind friend. He sees nothing. There is no such thing as 'sight' for him.

People as described in the above post are not technically blind. They may be legally blind or partially blind, but I think if there is some sight, they aren't truly, totally blind.

im inclined to agree with this.

[__R_____]

Maybe the word "see" os the real culprit here. If by see you mean imagine, as in how does a blind person assimilate information into their mind's eye w/o the sense of sight that most of us rely on. Synesthesia is something that seems to manifest itself when one sense is taken away. there are plenty of examples such as seeing numbers as colors etc..I'd imagine this would play a role in things..Stevie Wonder, as odd as that sounds, talks about this in composing his music.

[Edel]

I did ask a blind person what they saw once (I was a child and unashamed), he replied: "What does your throat see?".

I still don't think I fully get it, but darkness is a sight thing, there is nothing to "see".

You can understand what he's saying. They simply can't see, it doesn't exist for them.

What does your toe see? It simply can't. Your toe doesn't see darkness, light or whatever, it just doesn't see at all.

[greywolf]

I also have a neighbor friend who is completely blind,and she says that she sees nothing but blackness.she said she was'nt born blind,but progressively went blind starting at the age of 7 and was totally blind by the age of nine.she says she can remember what things looked like as a child,so she says she is luckier than someone who was born that way.but you know what,i know alot of people who have 20/20 vision and cannot "see" as many things as my blind friend!

[TheNightOwl]

I understand the idea of them not seeing anything at all, but at the same time I don't. I guess for someone who is not blind, the idea of what it would be like to not have a sense of sight would be incomprehensible.

Personally, I always used to think that they just "saw" what I would perceive as darkness. One time I was at a science museum and they had an exhibit that supposedly simulated blindness. They basically made you crawl through a really dark tunnel.

[Pawnochio]

I hope not to offend anyone with this.

I remember reading something saying that blind people see the world differently to people with faultless vision. But after a google search, no such thing popped up. But I'm certain I've seen this mentioned somewhere before.

So, if any of you know where I may have heard it, please give a heads up.

As for the topic, what do you think blind people see? I know that there is no virtual way to interpret what they see, unless one gives a detailed explanation which would probably end up in a loop (they see darkness, yet they can't know what darkness is unless they've seen light to interpret lightlesness, etc.).

Or is it most likely, they see people and the world for what it looks like, but for what they are like personality wise, as due to their sightlesness, appearance doesn't matter?

If this is in the wrong place, please move it Moderators.

2 seconds isnt the whole point they are blind so NOOOOTHINGGG! lol

[rashore]

I think part of the equation might be when they lost sight. Like a person born fully blind might interpret things in their "inner sight" differently than someone born with sight and then lost it.

There's also the point of someone who cannot see still sees things through their other senses. Like a person that can visually see a leaf just sees an image of green with some veins, and a blind person sees a wholly different 3-d object because they use their sense of touch to define that leaf. Sometimes the other senses can make up for it when a person lacks a sense.

Like deaf people can hear music. They might not hear it the same way people with hearing do, but they can feel the vibrations of it. Personally, I have seen a deaf person cry at the beauty of music even though they could not hear it. So that kind of leads to the urban legend part of it. How much was the feeling of vibrations, and how much was picking up on the empathy of the hearing audience around them feeling the music?

I completely believe that blind people can see, if only in a different way than people that can see with their eyes. If nothing else, having no optical input does not destroy the capability to see things with the brain.

[Edel]

I think you guys are hitting the nail now. There must be a clear difference with someone who's born blind and someone who lost sight at some point in their lives.

First, someone who's born blind simply cannot cannot see. What does your toe see? It simply can't.

Someone who's lost his eyesight at some point might still be able to see, but the only sight they have is absolute void.

Or not...

This is all terribly confusing.

Personally, I have seen a deaf person cry at the beauty of music even though they could not hear it.

Wow, really?

[Still Waters]

A friend of mine due to medical problems slowly went blind and now he 'sees' through his mind. He imagines and remembers images from when he still had his sight. He's also an accomplished writer & musician too and can still play his synthesizers which is a particular passion of his although his heart isn't in it the same now.

Interesting topic Skeptic Chicken. I've moved it to a more appropriate forum

[8th_wall]

Maybe the best way to find out is to stimulate the visual centers in the brain of a blind person, blind from birth, and see what happens. I don't think it's in absolute terms "nothing" as there is still potential there. It would be the same as asking what existence is like before birth. The potential is there however the experience isn't.

Edited October 10, 2011 by PsiSeeker

[Ozner]

Would it be possible to explain sight to someone who has never seen before?

[Edel]

Would it be possible to explain sight to someone who has never seen before?

I highly doubt it. It's something extremely complicated, certainly much more than it seems.

For someone who has never seen before, imagination just won't take you there.

[Still Waters]

I highly doubt it. It's something extremely complicated, certainly much more than it seems.

For someone who has never seen before, imagination just won't take you there.

I agree. Yet I'm thinking a blind person must have some images of what the world looks like? Their own interpretations of what they can smell, feel, hear etc., even if they're not the same as what we can see.

[8th_wall]

I agree. Yet I'm thinking a blind person must have some images of what the world looks like? Their own interpretations of what they can smell, feel, hear etc., even if they're not the same as what we can see.

Imagine a blind person experiencing visual synaesthesia through the other senses...

[Edel]

Imagine a blind person experiencing visual synaesthesia through the other senses...

That reminds me of Marvel's Superhero, Daredevil.

If that were possible, it'd be amazing. What are the odds though. I have seen some really weird cases out there (people tasting colours), but I doubt the brain can go this far into creating a new vision.

Now imagine it could be done with technology.

[Vzy4kat63]

It's impossible to explain how the world looks to a blind person who's never seen the light of day. But you can tell them to imagine how the world looks.

Here's a little activity to do, to some what experience what it would be like to be blind. Takes a black cloth, ex: bandanna/sleep mask

Put the sleep mask on first then put on the black bandanna and make sure there is no light source coming in. And see how far you can make it inside your home with out bumping into things or falling.

Make sure there is another person or other people around you when doing this activity. So you don't hurt yourself of course.

Note: I'm not trying to offend anyone, who is blind or has blind friends/family members it's just a simple activity on how they live day by day with not being able to see anything. It's nothing more then to have a simulation basically of how life would be like being blind.

[Sonicsalt99]

Even if they are blind, It is believed somehow they see somethings. like a story i read once. A Deaf man was biking through the woods, And a old lady fell. Somehow, He heard it. Maybe it is the same with blind people.

[archer95446]

My friend was born blind. She had many operations when she was a child. Today, thanks to those operations, she can see a little bit.

She described her vision to me, she said "cover your right eye completely and then cover the left eye, except for a small corner.

that's all she can see, but,she gets around just fine!!!!