Life Question 16

[Ayshela]

Noting the interest in Salinye's Life Question series, and following up discussion with a friend, i phoned Sal to suggest this question. Posted here with her permission...

 

 

Your Scenario: You've been diagnosed with a life threatening illness, for which there are only two effective medications. The side effect of one is blindness, the side effect of the other is deafness.

 

What would you choose, and why?

[Solivagus]

I would choose deafness. If I were blind it would take me many years to master the art of seeing with my other senses, many years which I must spend away from the Pen and all of its wonders. I could not bear that. If I were deaf though, I could still come here.

 

(Sounds like a bit of a crawling answer? Maybe, but it's the truth nonetheless.)

[Appy]

wow, ditto Solivagus

 

 

broadening the reason a bit further to still being able to use a computer to its full(-ish) extent when deaf...

 

Ofcourse, I hope no one ever has to make that choice! http://www.themightypen.net/public/style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif

Edited November 3, 2004 by Appy

[drummondo]

I couldn't live without music

 

I could, however, still play guitar when blind.

 

EDIT: So I choose blindness

Edited November 3, 2004 by drummondo

[Regel]

The dilema is the same as a leg hold trap. Escape at what price? You escape death at the loss of some of senses. Your eye sight is dead or your hearing is dead, part of you is still dead.The question to me is have you escaped anything? Eventually we will all die. Illness is something we all eventually die of. The span of ones life is not always as important as the quality of that life. I have known people who would chose to live (and die) with the illness. I have reached a point in my life where this doesn't offend my sensibilties. So that makes 2 for deafness 1 for blindness and 1 for acceptance.

[Zadown]

Heh, that's easy - deafness. I'd still operate at 95% effeciency at the computer and what's best, I could finally get rid of my cell phone. Of course, talking with RL friends would get kinda difficult.

[Ayshela]

*nods* Regel - that was why the question was not which would you choose, but WHAT would you choose? there are definitely more than two options available and i deliberately left every one of them open.

 

my answer to this question is a bit more complex than for most in this series, so i'll have to answer this later when i have a bit more time.

[Mira]

My feelings are exactly the same as drummondo's. Can't really play an instrument without the ability to hear.

[Valdar and Astralis]

Almost like Zadown, I spend long periods with nothing but the computer fan in my ears -- Deafness, I'd say. Besides, deafness does not necessarily lead to a degradement of lifestyle -- Hearing aids are common. Technology to remedy the lack of hearing is far more complete (sadly) than that to sight.

[Peredhil]

Deaf.

 

If I can read, I have worlds in my mind. I "hear" your voices here as I read your posts. I'd not be deprived of my online family and friends.

[Katzaniel]

I would choose blindness.

 

There are programs available to read text from a screen. A keyboard is all I'd need to write to the screen. Of course it would take some learning to survive, but so would deafness. I would not lose you guys either way.

 

However, loss of hearing makes communication in the everyday world much worse (I think) than loss of sight. Someone calls your name. A friend sees you and wants to chat. A teacher makes a lecture - usually they say everything they write, and more. A tape recorder could replace a pad of paper for that and for reminders.

 

I have always been fascinated with blindness and darkness; perhaps I would survive better than some others, for I have been doing everyday things in the dark since I was very young. Making my way to my basement bedroom. Using the bathroom. Finding a desired object. My writing as Jaqui was a way to exercise this strange fascination.

 

I would miss reading, but there are audio books, and the writing on this website alone could satisfy me for a lifetime, if I found a decent enough text-to-speech converter (and I'm certain they exist). On the other hand, as others have said, there is no substitute for music.

 

So... I choose blindness, too. Definitely over death. And over deafness too.

[reverie]

~I choose blindness...

 

I can't survive without sound... My best creative moments come form sound...

 

And it would be hard to live without song...

 

yes definetly blindness... plus I kinda like the dark...

 

 

rev...

Edited November 3, 2004 by reverie

[Finnius]

Wow...

 

Y'know, I love and hate these questions. Love 'em because they make me think, hate 'em for the same reason. Not really a violent, loathing kind of hate, more an annoyance kind. Anywho, I'm rambling. On to the question!

 

Well, seeing as it's life threatening, I'd have to assume that this means it's not necessarily deadly. I think, for as long as I could, I'd try to tough it out. Hope for remission, or that I could learn to cope.

 

For two reasons, I'd do this: First and foremost, I'm a writer. Blindness is not very conducive to that, although I could dictate and/or improve my typing. (Which isn't bad, mind you, but I do still slip up more often than I'd like.) The writing, though, isn't really what would bother me most... it's the things I'd miss.

 

Seeing a certain someone smile, or watching a sunset, being able to draw Popey Ramone doodles... don't ask, just assume they're funny.

 

Then, there's the fact that I love music. I'm classically trained, and do still (occasionally) play. Now, deafness didn't stop Beethoven... but I'm no Beethoven.

 

Aside from which, many of the things I love come from hearing the responses I get when I crack a (usually pretty cheesey) joke for a loved one. I love the sound of laughter, (Well... most laughter. This one guy at work just sounds psychotic.) and I want to hear (when I finally have 'em) my childrens' first words.

 

In the end, I'm not sure I could choose. I think I'd swing deafness, just because, as has been previously mentioned, treatment for hearing is much farther along than that for sight.

 

But I'm not sure. Seriously.

 

The end.

[Lady Celes Crusader]

I'll definatly choose deafness over blindness because all my studies are around keen vision and that there's so many technological innovations that can ease your communications with your peers.

 

Also, I did have a deaf friend and she was able to communicate with us without the sign language and she lead a normal life besides the fact that she was deaf.

[Gryphon]

My first impulse is to say I'd rather be deaf.

 

Truth is that after giving it some thought both are fairly terrifying, but I imagine I could do without sound (or rely on the previously mentioned hearing aid devices for the auraly impared)...

 

However I know having spent most of my life needing glasses that being unable to see is a comparitively scary thing to me.

 

I dont mean that in the sence that I need light at night or I panic... I'm at home in dark that I can make go away if I need it to. Its the lack of control that gets me.

 

So I think that being deaf would have the edge on what I'd prefer.

[Yui-chan]

Given no choice, I would choose to be deaf before I'd choose to be blind, just like a number of you. My reasons aren't terribly complicated, either. My first thought was that I need my eyes to draw and paint, but that's really minor compared to other reasons why I could not be blind. I couldn't live without being able to see the beautiful and interesting things around me, and that's the long and short of it. I'm too inclined to internal dialogues of pessimism, self-criticism and general unrest to be left in the dark with myself all my life. I think it would either make me miserable or make me a misery to be around, and both are states I most definitely don't aspire to.

 

I would miss music and voices very, very much, but I'm quite certain that I could live with the memory of them. I'm not as certain that I could live without a daily influx of light. The darkness would get too deep.

 

Pondering,

~Yui

[Vanessa]

I would choose deafness. That way I wouldn't have to listen to the endless rain that this country seems to have!

[cryptomancer]

In meditation I shut out the information fro my eyes, I use my other sences to find identify the things around me. Both paths would take a lot of strength to walk, a lot of control and learning to master the intricacies of life without the use of eyes or ears. My preferred choice, I could still work either way, Beauty will still show herself to me regardless of how I percieve her. But all of me life I have sought to see, I am a very visual person, I can meditate with loud music playing, I cannot meditate with my eyes open. I would choose deafness.

 

[Mynx]

In honesty? I think I would rather be blind.

If I lost my sight, I would still have my other senses to train and build, and I know I have friends and family who would help me.

But losing the ability to hear is a surreal feeling I do not like.

Without my eyes I still have memories. But I would not bode well without my ears.

I choose a world of darkness over a world of silence

[The Big Pointy One]

I've often pondered this situation myself. What would I do if I had to choose between blindness or deafness. Or rather, which would I rather be? Blind or deaf? Most people (as seen above) would lean towards deafness, as would I. I mean, it's easier. I play a lot of video games, I'm on the computer lots, there's lots of beautiful things in the world (nature, stars, girls, etc...) and just in general it'd be easier. However, although I'm not very knowledged in the area, the thing I think I love the most is music. I can't stand silence. I mean, I barely speak as it is, not being able to listen? I'd go insane. I also look at this way... my vision's going as it is. I don't the day will come when I will probably be unable to see, or barely see. The same could probably be said for my hearing too. In any case, I'm always crashing into stuff anyways, so it probably wouldn't be that different. Plus, I noticed no one seemed to mention that the advantage to being blind is that it'd remove probably any biases a person may have on other people. You'd have to learn to judge people by the sound of their voice, and their character just from speaking with them. I'll admit, there has been lots of times when I've judged people from their appearance. Technically, that's not wrong, because it's your right to choose who you associate yourself with; however, I think it is wrong to make that decision based on appearance alone. If I couldn't see people, I'd find out what they are like as a person much easier. I think it'd be easier to find a person I could stand being with (I'm leaning in the direction of soul mate here, as I'm sure many can tell)

 

Anyways, long story short... deafness would suck. I'll take blindness. Go music! ^.^

[Ayshela]

this question actually came about from a couple discussions with friends, and i was a bit startled to realize that my answer changed as i thought about the question.

 

My initial answer was that i would choose blindness, because in hazardous situations i can *hear* full sphere, i can tell where someone is and with a fair degree of accuracy even what they're doing, as long as i can hear them. Even with excellent peripheral vision, however, i cannot *see* that full sphere, so i have found that i do better blindfolded than earmuffed, so to speak.

 

And yet, in considering the question, i had to concede that i've finally hit a point in my life where hazardous situations are few and far between and i don't *need* to know where everyone is around me on a second to second basis. That being the case, while i would certainly miss my music and there are things i would regret never being able to hear someone say again.. subtle gestures, facial expressions, shifts in body posture or tension levels, sunrises, sunsets, one shaft of light through the clouds, that one perfect raindrop in the center of a leaf - these things cannot be detected with the other senses, or at the very least not readily if at all. Much of my information gathering about the world about me does come from what i hear, but i would lose *so* much more not being able to see!

 

Given the situation at hand, i'd probably wait it out and see if it did become definitely deadly. If it did, though, i believe i'd choose deafness, much to my surprise.

[Salinye]

This is a very hard decision, however, I think I'd have to choose deafness. Having danced for years and years, my soul would sorely miss the sound of music, and I can't hardly explain the feeling at the thought of not hearing my children's laughter or my husbands sweet words of devotion.

 

However...

 

The thought of not seeing my children grow, seeing the look on my husbands face when he tells me he loves me, or simply seeing the sun set into the ocean feels like a greater loss.

 

Not by much, though.

 

Great question, 'Shela.

 

~Salinye

[Noc]

Having actually wandered about amidst the company of such people before, guided only by will yet at the same time living wholeheartedly with disabilities in normal lives; It leads me to wonder that what we see hear or feel are just mere illusions beset by a constant false sense of security.

 

That is indeed a tough question to answer in confidence, but sequentially I would have to speculate that being neither blind nor deaf wouldn't really matter to me. Will is so much stronger then petty needs.