Feelings are currently very popular. The gut feeling seems to replace the reason-driven, fact-based knowledge, perhaps because the longing for normality is so pronounced that some of the “good old days” begin to hallucinate. But firstly, the old was not as good as one thinks, and secondly, it never comes back – at least not in the longed-for form. History sometimes repeats itself, but not congruently. So it is better to focus on a new normal. What will it look like? Hard to say. But maybe a change of perspective will help – from the outside world to the inside world?
According to new surveys, Austrians are increasingly pessimistic about their near future. Nevertheless, they describe themselves as just as happy as at the turn of the year 2019/20. In short: we are still reasonably well, but will it stay that way?
The doubt is fueled by many unanswerable questions that are in the room: What is the effect of the Omicron virus variant? How is inflation developing? Is something finally happening against climate change and the extinction of species? Views that are diffuse enough for people who have eyes to see. How do blind people feel?
The first lockdowns felt like being on a Sunday or a public holiday, ”remembers Alexander Niederwimmer (54), chairman of the Upper Austrian Association of the Blind and Visually Impaired. But that wasn’t the only thing that blind people had to adjust to very quickly. “Communication through masks has become difficult to understand,” says the man from Linz, who has been blind since he was 19. “If both interlocutors wore masks, you had to ask several times what was meant. This could lead to misunderstandings and tension. ”The distance rules also occasionally lead to problems, for example when blind people were out with assistants or companions. “There is no distance,” says Niederwimmer.
Loud auditory fog
A certain basic aggression could be heard from society, whereby: “The blind reflect the same spectrum of opinion as the sighted”, the chairman puts into perspective. You may feel more isolated lately, “but there are still a lot of people who are helpful.”
Niederwimmer avoids crowds because of overstimulation. “It takes a lot of concentration.” But isn’t it true that blind people hear better? “Maybe,” says Niederwimmer. “Above all, they hear more concentrated.”
“We see with our brain, not with our eyes. How an impression reaches the brain is not important, ”says US neurophysiologist Paul Bach-y-Rita, a pioneer in research into neuroplasticity. This means the enormous adaptability of the brain. Researchers at Georgetown University in Washington found with the help of magnetic resonance imaging that people who are blind from birth also use their visual center in the head when they experience tactile or acoustic stimuli.
In principle, blind people have sharper hearing, according to Brigitte Röder, psychologist at the University of Hamburg. “You have learned to use your hearing more efficiently. The blind can process speech signals more quickly and locate sound sources better. “
The orientation via sound is shown in a fascinating way using the click sonar method, which the American Daniel Kish developed and propagated in his organization “World Access for the Blind”. The principle is the same as with bats or whales. The surroundings are sounded with a sound, in this case by clicking the tongue, and from the echo blind people can recognize a rough picture of their surroundings like a flashlight. The method takes some practice, but quickly shows good results. In Austria, “Sonar Vision” is still very little widespread.
Perhaps this can also be used to derive a metaphor for the future, which is known to be what we make of it: In the future – especially on social media – we will primarily click on those pages and in those forums that are good for us; whether as an individual or as a whole.
Source: Nachrichten
