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What it's like to go blind (2015)

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Re: What it's like to go blind (2015)

#41

Post by Mezzie »

seized wrote: post #39
interestica wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What type of lenses caused that scarring? Improper fit?

Rigid gas permeable lenses can loses their coatings, and allergies/sensitivities to the preservatives in most cleaning solutions can develop over time. Both caused me problems, luckily a year of wearing glasses allowed me to recover. Now I only use hydrogen peroxide based cleaning solutions without extra ingredients. Much better, except for global supply chain problems right now....

This is why I wish I could afford ICL surgery. I'm a -20 with some astigmatism and RGPs are my only option for 20/20 vision. Glasses (even high index lenses) are heavy and only get me to about 20/50 or 20/60. If I develop a sensitivity I'm screwed.

And the RGP market is so small that sourcing alternative solutions sucks - if Boston doesn't work for you good luck I guess.

Re: What it's like to go blind (2015)

#42

Post by thr0wawaytoday9 »

nivenkos wrote: post #15

I'm partially blind in one eye from cornea scarring from contact lenses, and it really sucks. The light sensitivity is the worst part.

I'm blind in one eye almost since birth (had blurry vision until 10, then gone, am now mid 40s) and on a daily basis I couldn't care less and don't even notice! I can do everything I want and do sports and everything, the only slight issue is I'm sometimes a bit worried if I were ever to loose sight in my one good eye! But that's the only thing. I actually wear robust glasses just to protect my good eye :) - hope you (and others) figure it out, and I feel sorry for people with no vision at all.

Re: What it's like to go blind (2015)

#43

Post by kranner »

hellweaver666 wrote: post #18

If this interests you theres a great book called "Touching the Rock" by John Hull which has a similar real-life account of going blind. There is also a virtual experience based on the same book for the Meta Quest which is pretty interesting.

Another one is Beyond Vision by Allan Jones[1]. He dealt with it partially by cultivating an Advaita meditation practice.

[1] https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/36627585

Re: What it's like to go blind (2015)

#44

Post by highhedgehog »

ClawsOnPaws wrote: post #29

I haven't gone blind, but I have been blind since birth. I think especially in the realm of technology, there's very little I can't do. I write code for my dayjob, I write different code for fun, and even do some audio engineering and music production. I can also ride bikes. I have to know the area well of course, and be prepared for the inevitable accident, but I had a ton of fun doing it as a kid. Also climbing tre…

Have you ever used the app BeMyEyes? It looks like a very nice project. I've subscribed but never had a chance of using it

Re: What it's like to go blind (2015)

#45

Post by nivenkos »

interestica wrote: post #31
nivenkos wrote: post #15

I'm partially blind in one eye from cornea scarring from contact lenses, and it really sucks. The light sensitivity is the worst part.

What type of lenses caused that scarring? Improper fit?

It was really random - they were dailies, and just one set one day became really painful after a few hours outside. They were in a box I had kept but not opened for many months, but sealed obviously.

At first I thought it was "just" a migraine (but incredibly painful) so I didn't go to the doctor or really notice that much until over a month later.

It's only really noticeable if I close my other eye and try to read stuff that would be right in the centre of the eye. But the worst part is looking at bright white screens e.g. Google Docs background etc. is really disorienting.

Re: What it's like to go blind (2015)

#46

Post by rendall »

rendall wrote: post #19
NovaDudely wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep, it is the same thinking that runs heavily in the conspiracy theory crowd. Anything that they even vaguely suspect as evidence is proof of the theory. It is a shame that we are now in the position of having to think like this but that is the new world we are in now.

I remember several years back there was what I can only describe as a moral panic about "machine intelligence-driven", "automated" YouTube videos for children. The idea was that there were myriad channels using AI to pump out low-quality content, and that much of this content was bizarre and completely inappropriate for children. I was interested in the process of how someone could use AI to create content and, as is…

... the connection there being that undue paranoia and accusations about AI generated content has been around for a little while already.

Re: What it's like to go blind (2015)

#48

Post by jodrellblank »

PostOnce wrote: post #4

I recently had a thought about LLMs and vision models. Unlike ever before, the blind can now listen to a description of the world around them, with no other person required. The computer can just tell them what is around them. I don't know if that's worth anything or would have too much hallucinated information, but it does seem worth exploring.

iPhone does that with builtin magnifier and voiceover features, demonstrated by Kristy Viers here: https://youtu.be/8CAafjodkyE?t=57

Re: What it's like to go blind (2015)

#49

Post by nkozyra »

rendall wrote: post #9
nkozyra wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

New monetization strategy, I presume ... I'm expecting a great deal of chatbot-style generated content to start flooding in and the timeframe for cashing in on it is pretty low.

The article is from 2015, so, not this article. Perhaps I have been lucky, but I have seen far more accusations of using AI to generate writing than I have seen of obviously generated writing.

> The article is from 2015, so, not this article.

I didn't mean this article specifically, but it can absolutely be done. Make the LLM the "reader" and have them retell the story like low-quality blogspam that still generates clicks and gets promoted by Google Now-type features.

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