Daniel Kish How I use Sonar to

navigate the world.

Vocabulary matching
1. incomprehensible

a. To find the way to get to a

place.

2. epitomize

b. A small mistake or amount

of bad luck.
c. A device used for finding
things or locating objects
by means of sound waves.
d. To be a perfect example or
representation of
something.
e. Likely to be noticed.
Unusual or Surprising.
f. Dealing with the problems
that exist in a specific
situation in a reasonable
and logical way instead of
depending on ideas and
theories.
g. impossible to understand.

3. pragmatic

4. mishap

5. sonar
6. remarkable

7. navigate

Using the vocabulary discussed, fill in the blanks with the proper words.
1. Imagining yourself as a blind person may be _incomprehensible_

because there are so many things you may not be able to do.
2. We _navigate_ this area by using an all-terrain vehicle.
3. Your singing voice is _remarkable__ and is not like any other performers

in the world.
4. I found the Titanic necklace by inventing very effective _sonar_.
5. I would not want to find myself in any _mishap_.

6. My parents are _pragmatic_ because they know that the mind can

change.
7. Blindness is thought to _epitomize_ ignorance and awareness.
Comprehension
What was his message?
What was your initial reaction to the video?
What did you think when you first saw Daniel?
What did he say about the way in which people treat and react to blind people in
society? Blindness is thought to epitomize ignorance and unawareness, hapless
exposure to the ravages of the dark unknown.

How does he compare himself to everybody else? But I was not raised to think of
myself as in any way remarkable. I have always regarded myself much like anyone
else who navigates the dark unknowns of their own challenges. Is that so
remarkable? I do not use my eyes, I use my brain.

How did Daniels parents raise him? They believed that I should grow up to enjoy the
same freedoms and responsibilities as everyone else. In their own words, I would
move out --which I did when I was 18 -- I will pay taxes -- thanks -- (Laughter) -- and
they knew the difference between love and fear. Fear immobilizes us in the face of
challenge. They knew that blindness would pose a significant challenge. I was not
raised with fear. They put my freedom first before all else, because that is what love
does.

Describe how he navigates the world. many of you may have heard me clicking as I
came onto the stage -- (Clicking) -- with my tongue. Those are flashes of sound that
go out and reflect from surfaces all around me, just like a bat's sonar, and return to
me with patterns, with pieces of information, much as light does for you. And my
brain, thanks to my parents, has been activated to form images in my visual
cortex, which we now call the imaging system, from those patterns of information,
much as your brain does. I call this process flash sonar. It is how I have learned to
see through my blindness, to navigate my journey through the dark unknowns of
my own challenges

What does he call this system? I call this process flash sonar

Do you think you could use flash sonar?

Homework Device report/proposal detailing ways in which a school or public space
could be adapted for blind people. Alternatively, you could set an essay based on the
TED talk evaluating Daniel Kish's upbringing compared to more conventional parenting
styles for blind/disabled children.