Blind

[Silent_Rebel]

What would you do if you lost your eyesight. I don't want the BS answers like "I think I would adapt and nothing would happen". I want to hear what you honestly think that you would do.

 

[preilemus]

Most likely panic and despair for a solid month, before coming to terms with it in some way. Most of the things I want to do require eyesight in one way or another, so that would be a huge bummer.

Things I would do:
-learn braille
-train myself in the art of echolocation
-apply for some sort of government welfare (I can't really think of any occupations that don't require sight*)
-become a full-time thinker


* besides something like a telemarketer (yuck)

 

[Ashenstar]

Oh you know......I'd shoot myself in the head .

No seriously....what are you wanting for an answer? lol
You adapt or you don't.

Honestly, I would cry. My eyes are my prettiest feature and to have them not function would be heartbreaking.

My life would quickly go to hell before possibly getting better. My relationship with my bf would end, I wouldn't be able to work, or go to school initially. Life would stop and I would be stuck at my parents again until I figured out a way to work around my little problem. I would probably never date again and would grow old to be a crazy cat lady and come to my demise from tripping over a cat or two.

 

[Chimera]

Life would suck.
But at least I could have one of those seeing-eye dogs with me at all times. ​

 

[Anthile]

Prognosis: In 20 years from now blindness won't be a problem any longer.

 

[MattKelevra]

Thats gotta be a pretty hard life. Easier for a woman than a man I suppose, as there are always white knights who would jump at the chance to take care of a blind girl (assuming she is attractive). Not saying those kind of people would necessarily be desirable, but it's something at least.

I would not kill myself, as I believe this life is all there is and feel no desire to rush towards nothingness. I would try the echolocation stuff, learn brail, get on government assistance, and read all day, every day pretty much. Maybe try my hand at writing, as I can already type with my eyes closed anyways. Social interactions would be even harder not being able to read body language or see people. It would just be horrible.

 

[Kuu]

This is in fact one of my most disturbing fears. Being a very visually inclined person, that would most certainly suck, as most of my interests that seem to be useful to provide a living also depend massively on sight... so it would be very depressing. I would immerse myself in music and reluctantly become a person who converses with people, and use speech synthesis software to read stuff. I would then endeavor to learn as most as I can about the state of the art in visual prosthetics because:

Prognosis: In 20 years from now blindness won't be a problem any longer.

Lose human sight, gain robot sight

You could then tear apart any dSLR and feed your chip with the sensor data, like looking through the viewfinder. With a neural interface you could control it all and even capture snapshots and video to a memory card, or upload them to the internet with some 3G connection. And then, lasers.

We live in exciting times, to be capable of saying that losing your eyesight might soon be more interesting than keeping it.

 

[Cognisant]

Kevin Warwick has an electrode array implanted into the nerves of his left arm, enabling him to transmit and receive information directly to/from technology. I can't find it right now but there was an experiment where he hooked himself up to some echolocation/rangefinder things and could in effect "see" with them.

I guess my point is it'll be a few years (decades? ) until technology is sufficiently advanced to restore sight to the functional level of a real human eye, but there's many other possible senses to explore in the meantime.

 

[fullerene]

Music. ...lots and lots of music.

 

[Sparrow]

I'd kill myself.

 

[Reverse Transcriptase]

Kevin Warwick has an electrode array implanted into the nerves of his left arm, enabling him to transmit and receive information directly to/from technology. I can't find it right now but there was an experiment where he hooked himself up to some echolocation/rangefinder things and could in effect "see" with them.

I guess my point is it'll be a few years (decades? ) until technology is sufficiently advanced to restore sight to the functional level of a real human eye, but there's many other possible senses to explore in the meantime.

There already is some techonology to restore certain kinda of eye damage. If you still have your optic nerve intact, then there's a decent chance of success. Especially since we have a developed optic nerve from years of use of it. (Giving eyesight to someone born blind is much more difficult, because their neural optic pathways have nearly disappeared. Use it or lose it, kids!)

I would:
Yearlong major depression, trickles and spots of depression throughout the rest of my life.
Find some spiritual answer for why I should continue on.
Look forward to the day when I can get surgery to fix my blindness.
Become a thinker, I agree with that.
Start writing more poetry.
Learn how to do public speaking.
Become a motivational speaker and/or professional reader of stories/poems/etc.

 

[Dormouse]

I would walk into things alot, but actually have an excuse.

Really? Someone has already said music... So yeah. Solitude and melody. Maybe I'd try to learn an instrument.

 

[Words]

Learn the ways of nose and ears for environmental sensing/imagining.

 

[Cavallier]

It would be...interesting. Once I got over my fear of the dark I think it would be fascinating...at least for a little while.

I would have to completely rethink my life but wouldn't get that depressed about it. I would listen to audio books veraciously. I would go back to school out of sheer boredom. I've had several college professors that were blind. I would love to be a college professor. In fact I could see myself doing things I would have otherwise been to lazy to do when I had eyesight such as continuing school.

Then I'd just wait around for Orecog or someone like him to invent some way to get around being blind.

I don't think my boyfriend would leave me like Ashenstar. (I really want to get into that but I'm reining myself in right now*) So, I would have good emotional and physical support. Although, if he wanted to I'd let him go because I'd hate to shackle him to a "poor little blind girl". I think it would be more difficult to find a new lover but I don't think it would be impossible. I suspect my own mistrust of people would be the biggest hurdle as apposed to my actual blindness.

*Okay, I can't help myself. Is it because it's a casual relationship? If it is I can see why it might end but I don't really see the loss of eye sight as being so incredibly debilitating that my lover would leave me. We could still be lovers for one thing. Good sex makes up for a lot after all On a more serious note, is this more a self-confidence issue? You don't think he'd want someone who wasn't perfect? Or, are you saying you would leave the relationship because you wouldn't want to weigh your bf down with your disability? Okay, I'll quit now because I think you were being playfully morbid and not actually all that serious.)

 

[Vegard Pompey]

Losing either my eyesight or my hearing is one of my greatest fears next to death itself.

I would despair, despair and despair again but hopefully I would eventually adapt to some extent. But still despair. Though I'd still have music, and I would start using audiobooks a lot.

 

[sagewolf]

Mope for at least a year: I'm a very visual person, and losing the ability to draw, in particular, would devastate me, even before you consider I'd be losing a lot of independence too (back to being a ward of my parents? Yaaaayyyy...). Music would help, though. Music and the ability to have a seeing eye dog with me all the time.

 

[Ashenstar]

I was being playfully morbid but in a serious manner too.

Pfffft I don't know how serious the relationship is. It's been a few of months eh. lol it's monogamous.... but uhhhhh we haven't discussed such things as relationship seriousness lol

My bf would leave me because I would never expect someone to stick around with me with that thrown into the equation. And really he's got so much on his life plate I wouldn't blame him

And if he wouldn't leave me and was too amazing I would run away from him not wishing to be a bother.........and then trip and fall being blind and all. then he would scoff, grab my waist and lead me back home.

 

[Inappropriate Behavior]

Wait for an compatible eye donor to die. Assuming the problem is with damage to the eyes themselves and not the optic nerve. I would fear losing my sight more than my hearing. I can't imagine life in total darkness. Losing my hearing would be awful but I could adapt to that much easier.

 

[Silent_Rebel]

Sorry, I did not word that the way that I was thinking. Do you think that it would bring out your emotions in a way that you would not want to? Well, from what I have read about you other INTPs you do not like when your emotions show at all (that is probably just a generalisation).I do not know that much about this kinda stuff. I am an INTP but I have not known any others (INTPs).

 

[shoeless]

funny, i was actually just thinking about this last night.

it wouldn't be so bad. i mean, obviously it would suck, and i'd be depressed for a good while, but once i got used to it, i'd try to be more proactive with my life. in some ways i could see it (...sorry) as an almost freeing experience.

i'd certainly learn braille, get a seeing eye dog, etc. i'd probably write more, maybe do poetry "readings" (more like recitings i suppose) and that sort of thing. get a seeing-eye dog. and naturally i'd embrace music much more.

i think without my sight i'd lose a lot of my insecurities that rely on visual stimuli. i'd be more open about talking to people i don't know well, since i can't guage their reaction based on their facial expression, and i can't feel inferior to them based on physical attractiveness.

i'd probably join some sort of support group type thing, just so i can meet people that way.

i dunno. i certainly think it would be interesting. i'd miss art though... i'd definitely miss art.

 

[420MuNkEy]

I'd take a handful of pills and go cliff diving.
Sure, there's probably a cure in the not so distant future, but to have something so vital taken from my life there would be no sense of hope left.

No Video Games
No Visual Art (Paintings, Movies, Sculptures, etc)
No Color
No Depth

The only thing I'd be able to take solace in would be music and audible art. I wouldn't even enjoy books, as I currently don't enjoy reading them. For me to read something, it almost has to be on a screen.

 

[shoeless]

is depth really all that great?

(i ask because i have no depth perception. no concept of it whatsoever.)
maybe my existing eye problems is what makes me so chill with the concept of going blind... hmm.

 

[420MuNkEy]

is depth really all that great?

(i ask because i have no depth perception. no concept of it whatsoever.)
maybe my existing eye problems is what makes me so chill with the concept of going blind... hmm.

It's really hard to imagine a life without depth. It's about the visual equivalent of not being able to hear pitch.

 

[Ermine]

First of all, I'd change my major. It would be incredibly difficult to try graphic design when you're blind. I'd probably put most of my energy into sculpture, highly textured mixed media painting (think artistic braille), and lots of music. I already play guitar and piano on the side, but I'd be willing to invest my whole life in music if I had to. I'd also do tons of audio books. I'd also probably spend a lot of time looking into new technologies for blind people and get my eyes fixed if possible.

I think my biggest issue with being blind would be that I'd lose so much of my independence, and I'd be forced to trust everyone I encounter. I think that might even bother me more than losing most of my ability to appreciate visual art.

 

[transformers]

Oddly, I had a debate about this topic just yesterday. I think after a long period of feeling sorry for myself and wanting to give up on everything, I'd suck it up and try to adapt. It'd be hard at first, but I'd probably compensate by using my hands and hearing more often. In some ways it might make life better. Music would sound that much sweeter.