With both US blindness conventions having concluded, we’re hoping for a bumper crop of listeners with interesting opinions calling into our global talk show this week.
We love a good NFB banquet address, and enjoy sitting together to listen to it intently. We don’t always agree with everything in every address, but we enjoy the care that is always taken to craft a cogent argument that makes us think.
This year’s banquet address has caused a bit of debate on social media. It is entitled “Innovation, Blindness, and the Emerging Pattern of Thought”. If you didn’t hear the address when it was delivered, it’s definitely worth a read ahead of this week’s show, at:
https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/convent/2017/banquet-speech-2017...
One of the arguments made in the address that certainly got us talking at Mosen Towers was the following:
“Far too frequently and enthusiastically, the media, the general public, and even many blind people talk about technology as though it is the thing that gives us capacity and freedom. The most commonly used cliché to describe the impact of technology on the lives of the blind is “life changing.” The problem is that use of this term oversells the difference that technology makes in our lives as compared to our sighted peers. Technology has changed the pattern
of life for all humans—not just the blind.”
So, we thought we’d open up this question for some considered discussion. As a rule, do you think technology has a greater impact on the lives of blind people than it does on the sighted? Is technology more life changing for a blind person? If so, why, or if not, why not? Have you found that people’s often far-too-limited perceptions of blindness are validated by the notion that technology is a necessary substitute for our lack of sight?
If you’re on the side of the argument that says that technology is more life-changing for blind people than the general public, what do you consider the single greatest innovation?
There’s so much to talk about, and as always, we welcome a diversity of perspectives and experiences.
A Cuppa at the Mosens can be heard live on Thursdays at 9 PM Eastern time. To find out when that is if you’re outside the US, check the Mushroom FM schedule.
And don’t just tune in, call in, since the show relies on the views and experiences of people just like you. A Cuppa at the Mosens, hosted by Bonnie and Jonathan Mosen, exclusively on Mushroom FM.
If you haven’t learned yet about our new, high-fidelity ways to participate in Mushroom FM’s live call-in show, check out the show’s web page, http://MushroomFM.com/cuppa.