Hello Gary:
I certainly agree with you. We need more good tactile illustrations and
models. Fortunately, technology is making great strides in this area. We can
now easily have very nice tactile materials that are also in color and if a
big poster sized page is needed, no problem. A small RP machine can be had
for under $15,000 that will make usable models.
I also agree with Mike. Its too bad that schools are going to virtual
labs for science experiments. Long live the hands on experiment.
Regards,
Robert
----- Original Message -----
From: "Gary Wunder" <gwunder@earthlink.net>
To: "Mike Freeman" <k7uij@panix.com>; "Curtis Chong"
<curtischong@earthlink.net>; "'David Andrews'" <dandrews@visi.com>;
"'Michael Barber'" <m.barber@mchsi.com>; "'Jim Barbour'" <jbar@barcore.com>;
"'Bryan Bashin'" <bashin@calweb.com>; "'Brian Buhrow'" <buhrow@nfbcal.org>;
"'Sarah Cranston'" <skhye@earthlink.net>; "'Tim Elder'"
<tim@timeldermusic.com>; "'Sunish Gupta'" <supergupta@hotmail.com>; "'Steve
Jacobson'" <steve.jacobson@visi.com>; "'Robert Jaquiss'"
<rjaquiss@earthlink.net>; "'Tom Ley'" <RiveraLey@Verizon.net>; "'Wes
Majerus'" <wmajerus@nfb.org>; "'Matt McCubbin'" <mgoalball@gmail.com>;
"'John Miller'" <jmiller@ucsd.edu>; "'Dr. Abraham Nemeth'"
<anemeth@talkamerica.net>; "'Tony Olivero'" <tolivero@nfb.org>; "'Sachin
Pavithran'" <sachin.pavithran@usu.edu>; "'Lloyd Rasmussen'"
<lras@sprynet.com>; "'Richard ring'" <ring2@earthlink.net>; "'Karl Smith'"
<karl@axistech.net>; "'Anne Taylor'" <ataylor@nfb.org>; "'D. Curtis
Willoughby'" <ka0vba@dimcom.net>; "'David Wright'"
<gymnastdave@sbcglobal.net>; "Cary Supalo" <cas380@psu.edu>
Sent: Sunday, January 03, 2010 4:43 PM
Subject: Re: Invention/Idea to help aid the blind.....
> Hello Mike and fellow members of the committee. I'm not sure how
> widespread the technology being proposed could be used, but I am
> absolutely certain that we have to go beyond audio representations as
> provided by sighted readers in really understanding what sighted people
> see and use on a daily basis. Somehow we have to become innovative enough
> to grasp intuitively what sighted people grasp when they look at a
> picture. For me the problem isn't that a picture is worth a thousand
> words. For me the problem is that 1000 words take too long and in
> adequately convey what is so wonderfully demonstrated by a well drawn
> graph. In many respects, I think that the challenge which was being
> addressed by Lewis braille is much the same as the one we are trying to
> address today as things become more and more visual and we need, for lack
> of other alternatives at the moment, a way to tactually take in what
> sighted people get with their eyes. It seems most unlikely that I will
> ever be able to appreciate with my fingers what people appreciate with
> their eyes when they look at the Mona Lisa, but I think we have to get
> beyond the point where our ability to appreciate things we cannot directly
> observe must be communicated by a third person who is limited not only by
> his own perception but by the limitations of the spoken word.
>
> Gary
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Sun Dec 02 2012 - 01:30:04 PST