Seems that Braille, the system of raised bumps that allows blind people to both read and write, is celebrating its 200th anniversary. As a sighted person it is impossible to comprehend the importance of this... and so I would recommend you read David Blunkett's article commemorating this achievement over on the BBC news website. I'm no fan of Blunkett's - I share few of his political views, and his personal life looks a bit suspect too, but you have to admire the scale of his achievement, having been, to the best of my knowledge, the first blind person to hold a major political post (he was Home Secretary for a while) here in the UK. When Blunkett compares the battering his fingertips have taken over the years with a sighted person getting cataracts, it really brings things home. Whatever you think of the man then, his article is worth a read.
No comments:
Post a Comment