Some uplifting examples of the age we live in.

One of the great things about the proliferation of youtube and, to a lesser extent, social media is the ability to see some of the effects scientific advancements actually have on individuals, Specifically those with sensory disabilities. Not all of these are "new," some have been around for decades but I thought i'd share with you all some of the more uplifting advancements that have boggled my mind in recent years. Thanks to the internet we can see directly how these advancements affect people. Be warned, some of these videos get a bit dusty. It can be overwhelming to suddenly have senses you're not familiar with or discover what you didn't know you'd been missing.

Esight

Esight uses a combination of prescription glasses plug a digital camera and LCD display to give the legally blind (people with badly distorted vision, but not total blindness) the ability to see their surroundings clearer. eSight users can easily control color, contrast, focus, brightness and magnification. It's not exactly Georgie's visor, but we're getting close. Unfortunately these are still somewhat expensive, and not very portable yet, but someday they may significantly improve the lives of people with low vision.




Cochlear Implants
Cochlear Implants are electronic devices that essentially duplicate functions of the inner ear, allowing people that have lost their hearing or even people that have never heard sounds in their lives to finally experience it. Cochlear implants have been around for around 30 years, but have been consistently improved over that time.







Enchroma Glasses

These things amaze me. A company called Enchroma has made a pair of glasses that allow people with red/green color blindness see the colors they had problems seeing, or couldn't see at all. Color blindness usually is a result of the red and green photoreceptors of your eyes having an overlap, so the colors red and green tend to blend together. These glasses filter out specific wavelengths between green and red, thus allowing the wearer to differentiate between the two colors finally. Not only that but it allows them to see pigment combinations they've never been able to see, and apparently finally being able to see the color purple for the first time is overwhelming.









Well I hope some of these videos have been uplifting, they certainly make me optimistic about future advancements for the disabled.

a reply to: Slanter

And they, the senses, are things that most of us take for granted.

It is quite astounding really to see, in someone else that has never experienced one of them, the real effect they have on our lives.

Thanks for posting.

Why are you derailing the political thread trend with your uplifting stories?

S&F you!

a reply to: Slanter
Brought tears to my eyes.
It's funny how most of us take these things for granted, and never truly look around and appreciate the amazing world we live in

Wow! Beautiful! So nice to see a positive non political post. I'm so sick of the two gangs on the block,. Thank you

Excellent post!

There are things we take for granted as "normal" people, and to see others experience the same things for the first time is so emotional!

Its not even blindness.....just color blindness, and it makes a grown man break out emotionally. Thats interesting. The emotional response from just having greater clarity of color.

Something to think about, especially as it pertains to religious experiences and hallucinations.

a reply to: [post=21930869]bigfatfurrytexan[/pos

a trend that i've noticed with these colorblind videos is that the older people tend to have a more emotional reaction than the younger people do. Not sure why that is, maybe they've had more time to reflect on the things they're missing, or more time to fantasize about what seeing in full color would be like.