VISUAL MIND

Have you ever thought about your life without your eyes, would it be the same? This is a question one may ask, but how do people that are visually impaired see this world. How about their reality, is it the same as the people who see the world through eyes? Will there ever be a way to make them see again through their eyes, and more important, is this really what they want to happen. Can we really say that this is a better world when we see it through our eyes? Visual impairment has always existed in humans since before we could document its existence. In that era people with visual impairment were seen as helpless and dependent on others, but it wasnt until 1260 that this perception started to change. King Louis the Ninth of France established one of the first institutions for these people, thanks to this event Braille was created. Little by little this perception was changed more and more institutions, books; even federations were created so that these people got more attention from society. One of the most important advances is the incorporation of educational programs, laws and the inclusion of partial blindness in account. All of this leaves us in modern society where research is being done to aide these people in their daily lives. Technology has been created to help out or facilitate our adaptation to the ambience and to satisfy peoples needs. History has made its progress with people who have any visual impairment. Technology has reached the point where cameras covert digital bits of visual information into sounds that express them through earphones, which are then placed into the ears of the person using these glasses, showing them their surroundings with colors, forms, dept, etc. All these accessories that are created lead us to what some call an ideal person. Nowadays, the so-called advances in technology determine how we learn, how we communicate and especially how we live. The specialized technology for people with visual impairment makes them look every day more similar to those who see through fully functional eyes. Technology has progressed a lot these past years. We can now say that these people are really close to having natural eyes. We now know it has the power to substitute many parts of us; and even worst is knowing that the day when it replaces us is not far away, the same day when we are considered their accessory and its new companion. If you though it couldnt get even more unfavorable, in this moment the new visual impairment tech is only for those who have the economic power to buy them, like Bill Gates, leaving the rest of the world at the mercy of their innocent world. The real problem is being solved; we are really helping include these people in society.

Is technology really what these people need? People who were born with visual impairment have already created a world of their own; giving them sight would be as terrible and wonderful as losing it. For those who lost their sight after their birth have some trouble embracing their new lives this way, but finally learn how to live their lives in what people badly call black. Would we really want to depend on these advances, will they really show us what we want to see, because a chair is not only a chair, it could be much more. Black is not just black, it is quite the opposite. That real question was never so easy; can we really call it black, what if everything your eyes see is just light and darkness. What if I told you that when we are born, we dont have the ability to see what is around us, you need to understand what is around you to see it. Understanding the world isnt a job for our eyes, it is the delight of our experience, the interaction of bodies, minds and souls. I invite you to close your eyes and enjoy the colors of sound, the tones of breezes touching your cheeks. Do we really have to depend on this new implanted reality, or can we trust how we see this universe, how weve seen it from the beginning of history, through our imagination.

VICTOR MANUEL PATIO SUREZ