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sit vis v... sit vis v...
 
December 16, 2008 02:06 PM

Would you rather be deaf or blind?

This question popped in my head this morning. Give a good reason why you would rather be one or the other.
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trupright trupright
 
 December 16, 2008 04:27 PM
I have a cousin that is deaf. She is able to function almost normally, reads lips as well as I hear (she can communicate better in a loud room than I can!), and she is very successful in life.

Thinking about the adjustments I would have to make in my life if I were blind or deaf...I definitely think blindness would require much more effort in terms of changing the way I live life. I would not be able to drive, surf the net (although I know there is some pretty cool adaptive software out there), perform my current job duties, etc. Losing my hearing would be hard, but I could more easily maintain my independence...less of a learning curve. Learning to communicate via ASL or similar would be a challenge, but ultimately do-able.
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s7acker s7acker
 
December 16, 2008 02:11 PM
Than what?

;-)

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carriep carriep
 
December 16, 2008 02:16 PM
I'd rather be blind.

It comes down to the fact that, if given a choice between listening to a song or viewing a painting, I'd pick the song.

Other considerations:

I think it would be much easier for me to learn braille than to learn sign language.

I'm a type by touch typist, so I do not need to see what I am typing in order to make sure it is being written accurately.

In my daily life, I can take the bus to work, so would still have a fair amount of independence there.

It would mean that I wouldn't be able to do my day job of data entry, but that's not really a bad thing.

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sit vis vo... sit vis vo...
 
December 16, 2008 03:22 PM
This got me thinking about my job. I am helpdesk/pc repair for a college. If i went blind, i would only be able to do 1/4th of my job now. but if i went deaf, i could still do almost all of it. it would actually be like a bonus for me if i could not listen to people :)

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edthedoc edthedoc
 
December 16, 2008 02:19 PM
Surely a no-brainer. I think blindness causes far more problems in day-to-day living than deafness. Imagine getting dressed, cooking a meal or crossing the road blind, and then deaf.

Even profoundly deaf people can feel some sounds, and can lipread or use sign language, therefore partly reducing the consequences of their deafness. Someone who is completely blind has no alternative way to 'see' colour, or to assess anything they can't touch.

Much larger parts of the brain are responsible for routing and processing visual inputs than auditory ones, so I would consider loss of sight to have more of a negative sensory impact.

I'd definitely rather be deaf than blind.

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nicktr nicktr
 
December 16, 2008 02:37 PM
I agree whole heartedly with edthedoc.
With blindness you would lose a lot more of your independence than with deafness. Not being able to see would drive me crazier a lot faster, I imagine!

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natebosch natebosch
 
December 16, 2008 03:08 PM
I would definitely miss music, but I feel like would be much more functional as a deaf person than blind. I'd still be able to work since I don't need to hear to code, and I'd rather be able to see my family and friends than hear them. (especially when they won't shut up)

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shareme shareme
 
December 16, 2008 03:35 PM
blind as you cannot really replace the depth and beauty of human music

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dustyr dustyr
 
February 20, 2009 05:03 AM
Nor could you replace the infinite variety found in the visible spectrum. human visual arts are, surely, just as complex and beautiful.

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nativenerd nativenerd
 
December 16, 2008 04:26 PM
I would have to go with deaf. I truely enjoy reading, and while yes I would miss music, you could at least get by a bit easier and "hear" through vibration.

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iamsolucky iamsolucky
 
December 16, 2008 04:36 PM
I would rather choose to be deaf. I want to see the world, the people touching me, the people loving me. Well, you can also talk eye to eye with them. Really its so lovely to see the world.

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rainierez rainierez
 
December 16, 2008 04:53 PM
deaf

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bthj872gv bthj872gv
 
December 17, 2008 05:18 AM
I rather be deaf. There is a huge world out there and there is still much to see.

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