Disclaimer: I am not blind and have not lost my vision.

I had an illness awhile back that made it very difficult for me to read. All of the words on the page would move around making it very challenging.

I love reading and decided I would try to learn braille. As a sighted person, it took me about 5 hours over 2 days to memorize all of the level 2 conjunctions required to read the most common braille (using my vision).

I was impressed that it was much less difficult than I anticipated and excited to try actually reading braille, I ordered an Innovision Braille Me display for about $500.

I absolutely love it and use it before bed to read in the dark with my eyes closed as I fall asleep.

That said, I think it would have taken me much longer to learn to read braille if I had already lost my vision.

I would recommend getting a phone app that will help you memorize braille characters just so you can see how quickly you can pick it up.

Hope this helps!

I think being proactive is great. If you are in the US, you might want to look around for organizations or agencies that provide support to those who are Blind/Low Vision that might be able to answer more specific questions or refer you to providers who specialize in this area (you could start with the National Federation for the Blind or google "blind low vision support in \[insert your state here\]").

Having an understanding of Braille could definitely help you, but there are also other skills you might want to look into such as understanding how to use screen readers and other technology-based accessibility supports. Many times it is helpful to identify the need and then look for a solution. So, not necessarily "what do I need to know if I am blind" but "reading aids for vision impairment/blind" or "navigation aids for vision impairment/blind". Google does best with specifics :)

I wish you the best of luck!

u/AutomaticChair9 and u/jcbbjjttt both gave good reasons to learn Braille. I upvoted them both even though I disagree.

I haven't learned Braille and don't intend to. I don't see a need for it.

Screen reading software reads any web page aloud. Smart phones read any text message aloud. There are podcasts and audio books and Alexa and Siri. I can't think of a single book, blog, or magazine article that I'd need to know Braille to read. Honestly, even finding a copy of a book in Braille is too much work when a few keystrokes gets me to a spoken version of anything I want to read in 30 seconds.

There are even apps that translate Braille into English. Just point your phone at a sign in Braille and listen to the English translation.

I think learning Braille is wonderful. Learning another language is good for your brain the same way exercising is good for your heart. It fires up rusty neurons and makes new neural connections and has been shown to guard against Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease. I'm not discouraging you. There are many good reasons to learn Braille, but utility just isn't one of them.

Instead, I'd suggest you find out where to get a white cane, a guide dog, a talking alarm clock, and other assistive devices. You might not need them today but there's peace of mind knowing where to get them when you do. Those, in my opinion, are more practical ways to prepare than learning Braille.

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Braille is useful for labelling things, but in my day to day, I only use it for typing as my state won't give me a braille display since I'm too disabled to work.

I agree that getting comfortable with the zoom and screen reading features of your existing devices is more important. Even if you never go blind, it's knowledge that you can use to help family members or maybe in the future if your vision gets worse but not fully blind.

Best case scenario, you learned a useful skill that you don't technically need. A good enough reason as any.

Percentages are fun! 70 percent of us blind people are unemployed. 90 percent of people who are working are Braille literate. Only 10 percent of those who should be learning Braille are learning it.