How does it feel to walk through a site without your sight?
Today in class we had to pair up with someone to experience blindness by blinding folding ourselves. Our mission was to walk through a park nearby our school blindfolded and our partner, will be the guide, giving us directions such as, left, right, straight, up, down, straight, etc. After we succeed in walking through the park, we then change positions - the blindfolded becomes the guide and vice versa.
Below are my reflections of both roles:
Blind role
As I navigated the park without sight, I felt as if the only things that existed were my guide's, Phil, voice and the park. Other people and their voices did not matter. They were distractions that will take my focus away from walking through the park. It wasn't frustrating relying on Phil and I did not feel helpless. I trusted Phil. However, I think the frustration, helplessness, and trust are very relative because it depends on who is my guide. If I did not have a chance to choose my guide, and I was assigned a person who I didn't know, my trust for that person would not be as much as I had for Phil. In the beginning, I wan't able to walk at my open space because I felt unsafe. Although I knew that I was "safe" because Phil was giving me directions to walk in the right way, I didn't know exactly where I was going. Later, my pace sped up as I felt less insecure but still not at my normal pace. I think the most difficult part of the journey was when I had to walk on the pathway. The pathway was made up of stones, so it wasn't really flat, which makes me feel unbalanced as I walked. If I was not blindfolded when I walked on the pathway, it would just be a piece of cake because I know what to expect and my body involuntarily balances myself as I walk on the pathway.
As I walked through the park, I did not really use my "mind's eye". I wasn't trying to walk through the park by remembering how the landscape of the park was. I couldn't really visualize where I was except where I was stepping on because I could feel the touch of the grass or the pathway. The other sense that I used while I was blindfolded were mainly my auditory perception, because I had to listen to Phil's direction in order to go through the park. If Phil wasn't guiding me, I might be relying on my cutaneous perception the most to feel where I was going. I think the statement "Knowledge is the true organ of sight, not the eyes" means that we "see" and understand things through our knowledge. Although we actually look at things through our eyes, it's our knowledge that is processing what we're seeing at the moment and helps us understand what we see.
Guide Role
As I helped Phil walk through the park, the only concern that I had was that my directions were correct so that Phil wouldn't bump or hit into anything. So other than keeping an eye on Phil, I also had to pay attention what was in front of him and where I should direct him to. It wasn't really frustrating to explain the directions to Phil even if I knew that it would be so easy if he could only see, but I think this is relative because Phil is a good friend of mine. If I were to explain something as easy to a person who I didn't know and I was busy at the moment, I would be frustrated. In addition, Phil listened to my instructions and he trusted me because we are good friends. I think the most difficult part in helping Phil was giving the right directions, because I used the method of clock, such as 12 o' clock is to go straight and 3 o' clock is to turn right, etc. It was difficult for me because sometimes I was confused with 11 o' clock and 1 o' clock so there were times when I directed Phil in the wrong way. I think he would be able to walk through the park without my help by feeling the objects around him, such as the grass and the trees. However, it would be a difficult and long process.
I did not find myself in any dangerous situations. However, if there were any and Phil had been able to see, it would be less dangerous because Phil can avoid the dangerous objects as he sees that he is going to bump into the objects. Seeing is critical to knowing and understanding because seeing gives us a more vivid image of what we're supposed to know and understand. In addition, some things are difficult to be known or understood by not seeing especially with things that one has not seen before. For example, if I had not seen blue before and I am not able to see it, I cannot feel, smell, hear, or touch blue. It would be very difficult for me to know and understand what blue is. To describe a cat to a blind person, I can say that a cat is a smaller version of a tiger but it is not as fierce and it is a pet that can be kept at home. Instead of roaring, a cat meows. Riding a bike is like riding a motorbike but we have to pedal in order for the bike to move. A sunset is the opposite of a sunrise. The sun looks as if it is descending and the color of the portion of the sky looks dark orange as the sun sets.
As I walked through the park, I did not really use my "mind's eye". I wasn't trying to walk through the park by remembering how the landscape of the park was. I couldn't really visualize where I was except where I was stepping on because I could feel the touch of the grass or the pathway. The other sense that I used while I was blindfolded were mainly my auditory perception, because I had to listen to Phil's direction in order to go through the park. If Phil wasn't guiding me, I might be relying on my cutaneous perception the most to feel where I was going. I think the statement "Knowledge is the true organ of sight, not the eyes" means that we "see" and understand things through our knowledge. Although we actually look at things through our eyes, it's our knowledge that is processing what we're seeing at the moment and helps us understand what we see.
Guide Role
As I helped Phil walk through the park, the only concern that I had was that my directions were correct so that Phil wouldn't bump or hit into anything. So other than keeping an eye on Phil, I also had to pay attention what was in front of him and where I should direct him to. It wasn't really frustrating to explain the directions to Phil even if I knew that it would be so easy if he could only see, but I think this is relative because Phil is a good friend of mine. If I were to explain something as easy to a person who I didn't know and I was busy at the moment, I would be frustrated. In addition, Phil listened to my instructions and he trusted me because we are good friends. I think the most difficult part in helping Phil was giving the right directions, because I used the method of clock, such as 12 o' clock is to go straight and 3 o' clock is to turn right, etc. It was difficult for me because sometimes I was confused with 11 o' clock and 1 o' clock so there were times when I directed Phil in the wrong way. I think he would be able to walk through the park without my help by feeling the objects around him, such as the grass and the trees. However, it would be a difficult and long process.
I did not find myself in any dangerous situations. However, if there were any and Phil had been able to see, it would be less dangerous because Phil can avoid the dangerous objects as he sees that he is going to bump into the objects. Seeing is critical to knowing and understanding because seeing gives us a more vivid image of what we're supposed to know and understand. In addition, some things are difficult to be known or understood by not seeing especially with things that one has not seen before. For example, if I had not seen blue before and I am not able to see it, I cannot feel, smell, hear, or touch blue. It would be very difficult for me to know and understand what blue is. To describe a cat to a blind person, I can say that a cat is a smaller version of a tiger but it is not as fierce and it is a pet that can be kept at home. Instead of roaring, a cat meows. Riding a bike is like riding a motorbike but we have to pedal in order for the bike to move. A sunset is the opposite of a sunrise. The sun looks as if it is descending and the color of the portion of the sky looks dark orange as the sun sets.
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