The Blind Experiment

THE BLIND EXPERIMENT

After watching a blind man walk down a flight of stairs, go outside the building, and walk across the street, I was fascinated, wondering  how I would manage if I were blind. I decided to see if I could go through a day as a blind person. I knew I couldn’t spend the whole day blind, but I would try to do at least some everyday things without the aid of my sight. My first experiment was in the shower. I figured that it would be a time-saver if I could take my shower and shave at the same time. If I could pull that off, I wouldn’t have to worry about a steamed-up mirror when I was finished. Actually, the first try went pretty well. I found that I could get a good shave by feeling for rough places and then going over them with the razor: no great accomplishment with modern razors.

I wondered how blind people could walk down stairs without tripping and falling. I found that by using the back of my heel, I could feel for the end of each stair tread then slowly put my weight down. After a while, using this method, I could walk down stairs at a pretty good pace. My next experiment: preparing a sandwich and a glass of milk for lunch. How did I know which jar I was picking up? By opening and using the old snozolla, that’s how. The whole process took some time, but I finally got through it. I knew when to stop pouring the milk by holding my finger over the edge and stopping when the milk reached my finger. As I got better at each task, my experiments lasted longer and longer. I stopped after two weeks.

I discovered that blind people must lead a much more structured life than the sighted. For instance, a blind person has to know where exactly the toothpaste is, or be in for a nasty shock if he picked up a tube of hand lotion or Preparation-H instead (I myself have done that in the dark).  I understand now how being blind, while definetely not a picnic in the park, can have its up side. Fortunately, other senses take over and compensate for the lack of sight. The senses of smell, touch, and hearing are greatly enhanced. The sense of taste, at least in my little experience, is weakened for instance, I could not tell the difference between a slice of apple and a slice of pear. I imagine that would not be a permanent problem for the blind since the senses of smell and touch would eventually compensate. The results of my experiments make me feel fairly confident that if I were to be struck blind, I will be able to cope with it and still be a happy, productive person.