Stevie Wonder to get bionic eye?

[Dr Mordrid]

Apparently he's volunteered to become a test subject for such an implant;

Blind soul legend STEVIE WONDER could get his sight back - thanks to new microchip technology.

The 55-year-old singer has been blind since infancy, but is in negotiations to become a guinea-pig for pioneering sight surgery.

He says, "I've been tested and there was some possibility that I could maybe be a candidate."

http://contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/mndwebpages/stevie%20wonder%20to%20get%20his%20sight

Dr. Mordrid

[Gurm]

There are several really remarkable new sight-restoring technologies available now.

The biggest problem with some of them is that if you have been blind since infancy, your brain NEVER learned how to resolve certain things. I've read some testimony from people who have had their sight restored who say it's scary, and that certain things just FREAK them out because they CAN'T resolve them - microexpressions for example. You and I can tell when someone is amused just looking at their face, but a newly-sighted person can NEVER learn that skill. It's gone forever. Also, they have trouble with iconic perception - a picture of an apple versus a real apple.

But it IS amazing, and for someone willing to struggle to overcome the challenges inherent in the procedure it can be astonishingly rewarding.

[Nowhere]

They can always turn it off?

But more seriously (but hey...they can, do they?) some conditions, Asperger syndrome for example, have something in common to what you describe, Gurm, so that means that at least there are people who can work on such things with patients who see for the first time. A matter of using higher areas of the brain than we are used to (yes, it's still a bit far to "normal, statistical" person...but better than nothing and beeing able to see is worth it, I think...)

[Gurm]

They can always turn it off?

But more seriously (but hey...they can, do they?) some conditions, Asperger syndrome for example, have something in common to what you describe, Gurm, so that means that at least there are people who can work on such things with patients who see for the first time. A matter of using higher areas of the brain than we are used to (yes, it's still a bit far to "normal, statistical" person...but better than nothing and beeing able to see is worth it, I think...)

You and I would agree on that. However, there is a HUGE percentage of the newly-sighted that want it turned off. That were comfortable and happy with their blindness. Some take to wearing black glasses again ANYWAY, except in situations where the sight would be advantageous.

It's equal parts psychological and neurological.

[Nowhere]

Hey, it's their choice after all.

And a different way of living...is the one they're used to. Somehow advantegous...

[Dr Mordrid]

This is akin to those deaf persons who severely criticize those who get cochlear implants because its somehow offensive to their "culture". Sad that they would do reverse discrimination of their own after what the deaf have overcome.

Dr. Mordrid

[Marshmallowman]

From what I have heard about some blind people gaining sight after losing in it childhoos, is that they just feel overloaded by the sensory input, and find it more disorientating than anythhing.
Which is kind of understandable, as its a big part of our brain devolopment during early childhood, missing that stage and trying to catch up when you an adult IS going to be hard, but its still amazing some people now have it as a possibilty at all... It was defintely sc-fi 20 years ago

[Gurm]

Yes, it's definitely more "sensory overload" than "oh I'm no longer part of blind culture".

[KvHagedorn]

Yeah.. if there are really people who think blindness or deafness is a "culture," we have definitely taken PCness into the insanity realm. I think they just want to retain their benefits and political clout. I can certainly see why sensory overload would be a problem for people like this.. babies don't panic, though, because they don't know any better. And think about it.. we are probably 6 or 8 years old before we start noticing really subtle things like Gurm mentions, so perhaps they should just mellow out and let their brains adjust if at all possible.

... oh, and if friends from your "blind/deaf culture" do not remain your friends after you regain your senses, one of you has got other issues to deal with.

[Gurm]

Yeah.. if there are really people who think blindness or deafness is a "culture," we have definitely taken PCness into the insanity realm. I think they just want to retain their benefits and political clout.

That's certainly a component of it. They feel that deaf people becoming "un-deaf" weakens what they've fought so hard for, sort of a "well gee we can just fix everyone and then we won't NEED teletype". But it's also a loss of support. The deaf community is very supportive of one another, and they fear degradation of that support system. However, it's ridiculous to take it to the extreme of ostracising someone for getting their hearing back. Geeeez.

I can certainly see why sensory overload would be a problem for people like this.. babies don't panic, though, because they don't know any better. And think about it.. we are probably 6 or 8 years old before we start noticing really subtle things like Gurm mentions, so perhaps they should just mellow out and let their brains adjust if at all possible.

Actually there are certain things that we can NEVER learn if we don't learn it as a baby. This is one of them. Language inflections are another - if you're brough up in the USA, you will NEVER (with rare exceptions, clearly) be able to hear all the various inflections present in Chinese speech. And vice versa. Why do you think that a lot of orientals mix up their R's and L's in English? It's not stupidity - they just LITERALLY can't hear the difference between the two sounds. Their brains have lost the ability to distinguish those sounds from one another.

... oh, and if friends from your "blind/deaf culture" do not remain your friends after you regain your senses, one of you has got other issues to deal with.

Yep. I love how people claim to be "completely at ease" with their disabilities, but then pull crap like this. Clearly they weren't so "at ease" as they claimed, eh?