Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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Blind people of Reddit (self.Blind)
submitted by Dan19_82
I have a curiosity that I hope you don't mind me asking.
Basically I was wondering if being blind is the same as someone sighted having a mask on allowing zero light.
The reason is ask is when this happens to me I can see random shapes floating around in a fuzz of dots.
Do blind people experience this, or is the lack of a sense completely different. (like not having a sense of smell, you don't smell randomness, it's just not there, covid taught me this)
I guess someone who was sighted and now doesn't would have a better understanding but I'm curious about whether black is a concept to a blind person and seeing things in a void is still possible.
I hope this isn't seen as being inappropriate to ask.
Thanks.
Basically I was wondering if being blind is the same as someone sighted having a mask on allowing zero light.
The reason is ask is when this happens to me I can see random shapes floating around in a fuzz of dots.
Do blind people experience this, or is the lack of a sense completely different. (like not having a sense of smell, you don't smell randomness, it's just not there, covid taught me this)
I guess someone who was sighted and now doesn't would have a better understanding but I'm curious about whether black is a concept to a blind person and seeing things in a void is still possible.
I hope this isn't seen as being inappropriate to ask.
Thanks.
Laser_Lens_4 9 points 1y ago
It's different for everyone. I was born with sight, so my visual cortex developed. Now, I see a lot of noise in my right eye. I'm not sure if it's my brain doin funky things or weird signals from the retina. Either way, I wouldn't expect someone blind from birth who doesn't understand the qualia of vision to experience the same phenomenon.
je97 5 points 1y ago
In my case, I see absolutely nothing, like literally zilch. I can feel my eyes when I have hey fever so they're not numb, they just don't do anything.
Dan19_82 [OP] 3 points 1y ago
OK, thanks for replying. I kinda wondered if the part of the brain that receives the impulses from the eyes is still active even though nothing is received, so instead you still experience the same thing I would of if I remove all light.
It must be very different then. Do you mind if I ask if you went blind or where always blind?
It must be very different then. Do you mind if I ask if you went blind or where always blind?
KillerLag 1 points 1y ago
The visual cortex of the brain can be repurposed for other tasks when someone experiences vision loss.
https://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/brail.html
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3667661/
The articles are a bit old, but the research indicates that the brain uses the visual cortex to read braille.
https://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/brail.html
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3667661/
The articles are a bit old, but the research indicates that the brain uses the visual cortex to read braille.
garlic-lover 3 points 1y ago
I lost my sight at 54 years of age and I can only make out a little bit of motion on the far left side but as for what I can see, it's mostly dark with slow moving splotches of color regardless of what the lighting around me is like.
rumster 1 points 1y ago
love your name and I love garlic!
garlic-lover 1 points 1y ago
Thanks! Garlic goes with everything and you can never have too much garlic. LOL
rumster 1 points 1y ago
absolutely - been putting it on my sandwiches and burgers as of late. Have you ever have the garlic spread? Its in like a tube for toothpaste in the veg/fruit area of the store. The spread is amazing on burgers!
garlic-lover 1 points 1y ago
No, I haven't come across it. I usually buy a large bag of heads of garlic and roast them myself.
AFieldinCalifornia 1 points 1y ago
🤦♂️
XVWDVW 1 points 1y ago
I think there are many many types and levels of perception that are equated with blindness.
I am blind in one eye due to a retinal detachment and see 20/20 with the other. Complete loss of vision due to the detachment took years and what started out as some dark areas and some blurry and some flashing areas, gradually went to more grey and then more dark until one day I could not even perceive the light of the sun. I did not even know it was gone until I was at a semi annual eye exam because by then my brain had “tuned out that eye and I could only focus on the detached eye by closing the other one.
As far as the floating stuff you see when you close your eyes, I am sure there are people who can explain that better than me, but have always seen little squiggly tube looking things, but no longer see them if I focus on my detached eye.
When I first started experiencing my retina detaching it showed up as a snowstorm of little translucent doughnuts in my vision. That was bleeding inside my eye and those were blood cells. I have never really been clear how you can see something INSIDE of your own eye, but suspect some sort of optical focus point exists having to do with the shape of the retina and maybe the vitrious fluid interacting?
In any case, I think a similar thing is happening with the shapes some see with their eyes closed. I think you are seeing stuff at a cellular level inside your eye.
Take this with a grain of salt as I go through life with about a fourth grade level of biology.
I am blind in one eye due to a retinal detachment and see 20/20 with the other. Complete loss of vision due to the detachment took years and what started out as some dark areas and some blurry and some flashing areas, gradually went to more grey and then more dark until one day I could not even perceive the light of the sun. I did not even know it was gone until I was at a semi annual eye exam because by then my brain had “tuned out that eye and I could only focus on the detached eye by closing the other one.
As far as the floating stuff you see when you close your eyes, I am sure there are people who can explain that better than me, but have always seen little squiggly tube looking things, but no longer see them if I focus on my detached eye.
When I first started experiencing my retina detaching it showed up as a snowstorm of little translucent doughnuts in my vision. That was bleeding inside my eye and those were blood cells. I have never really been clear how you can see something INSIDE of your own eye, but suspect some sort of optical focus point exists having to do with the shape of the retina and maybe the vitrious fluid interacting?
In any case, I think a similar thing is happening with the shapes some see with their eyes closed. I think you are seeing stuff at a cellular level inside your eye.
Take this with a grain of salt as I go through life with about a fourth grade level of biology.
silentstone7 1 points 1y ago
This. I'm not a scientist but I'm pretty sure those little squiggly shapes or "floaters" people sometimes see with our without their eyes closed are proteins floating in the fluid inside your eyeballs. If your eyes are moving around, they move more and if you focus on one thing, they settle down as they literally sink in the fluid in your eye. I'm basing this on personal experience and a vague memory from high school biology though, so feel free to disagree or correct me if you know more.
B_Bussen 1 points 1y ago
it just isn't there. My sister use to tell me I saw black. I tried to explain I saw nothing. I finally asked her what she could see with her elbow, she said nothing, and I said that is what I see. I use to have light perception long long ago. As I've never seen, I picture everything in 3 d. Just like I'm touching it, a model of the shuttle, for example. I have no concept of color, clouds, stars and so forth.
NeuroticNomad 1 points 1y ago
The "what we see" part is different for everyone because of a myriad of reasons, but the "what we don't see" part was described to me this way (and it seems to feel correct for me):
Put your hands behind your back. What do your hands see? Wave them around. REALLY point the palms at things. Make them concentrate REALLY HARD.
Do your hands see black? No.
What about the back of your head. What can you see out of the back of your head?
Is it black? Still no.
The idea of "seeing black" with these things feels like silly questions because you've never seen out of the palms of your hands or out of the back of your head. It's not black -- or even "nothing". It's less than nothing... it's just "I can't see through my hands" level of not seeing.
It's an indescribable non-absence/non-presence of sight in the parts of my eyes that are blind.
YMMV
Put your hands behind your back. What do your hands see? Wave them around. REALLY point the palms at things. Make them concentrate REALLY HARD.
Do your hands see black? No.
What about the back of your head. What can you see out of the back of your head?
Is it black? Still no.
The idea of "seeing black" with these things feels like silly questions because you've never seen out of the palms of your hands or out of the back of your head. It's not black -- or even "nothing". It's less than nothing... it's just "I can't see through my hands" level of not seeing.
It's an indescribable non-absence/non-presence of sight in the parts of my eyes that are blind.
YMMV
Dan19_82 [OP] 1 points 1y ago
Thanks, I guess I wondered because the fingers never had a visual cortex, I guess I wondered if it was irrelevant what part of the body can't see or isn't connected to this.
For instance you don't see with your eyes, you see with your brain the eyes are just the conveyor of information.
I just wondered if it meant that blind people could still use a seeing part of the brain but without a signal too it. In doing so I wondered if the visual cortex compensated by making a black or fuzz.
Now I'm wondering if the fuzz I see with my eyes closed is actually my eye nerves still sending information of sorts but of black and speckles.
For instance you don't see with your eyes, you see with your brain the eyes are just the conveyor of information.
I just wondered if it meant that blind people could still use a seeing part of the brain but without a signal too it. In doing so I wondered if the visual cortex compensated by making a black or fuzz.
Now I'm wondering if the fuzz I see with my eyes closed is actually my eye nerves still sending information of sorts but of black and speckles.
NeuroticNomad 1 points 1y ago
Oh! I think I understand what you are asking.
If I had to guess, I'd say its a little of both. Your eyes still seeing AND a bit of "phantom limb" phenomenon.
As for the first part: I know in the parts of my eyes that I can still see through, I can see light through my eyelids. (With your eyes closed, point your face at a lamp and when you put your hand in front of your face, you can see the change though your eyelids.)
For the second part: Even fully sighed people don't REALLY see everything with their eyes. Your brain ignores some parts (like the fact that your nose is in your vision field ALL the time) and it fills in some blanks with what it saw a few seconds ago, and with established memories. This is why so many accidents happen within 10 miles of home and "the car came out of nowhere" -- because your brain was doing the job of your eyes and didn't draw that car in place. Upgrade your graphics card in your head and it'll be ok. lol.
If I had to guess, I'd say its a little of both. Your eyes still seeing AND a bit of "phantom limb" phenomenon.
As for the first part: I know in the parts of my eyes that I can still see through, I can see light through my eyelids. (With your eyes closed, point your face at a lamp and when you put your hand in front of your face, you can see the change though your eyelids.)
For the second part: Even fully sighed people don't REALLY see everything with their eyes. Your brain ignores some parts (like the fact that your nose is in your vision field ALL the time) and it fills in some blanks with what it saw a few seconds ago, and with established memories. This is why so many accidents happen within 10 miles of home and "the car came out of nowhere" -- because your brain was doing the job of your eyes and didn't draw that car in place. Upgrade your graphics card in your head and it'll be ok. lol.
[deleted] 1 points 1y ago
[deleted]
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