...was blind, but now...
2003-08-30 00:51:07.221294+00 by
Dan Lyke
5 comments
Must read: After being blind for 43 years Mike May has an operation that restores his sight. He keeps a journal. There's a nice edited set of excerpts at Guardian Unlimited:
It is quite unsettling looking into someone's eyes, especially when
you aren't used to it. When Ms DC to Denver casually leaned close
enough, I couldn't even stammer out the answer that her eyes were
blue. I might have been less shocked if she had taken her shirt
off and asked what I could see. I had never seen someone's eyes
other than those of my family and it was very disconcerting.
Although I was tongue-tied, she was very sweet about it and
probably didn't notice I was flustered.
This was a very intimate experience and I can't fathom how sighted
people go around seeing each other's eyes without being flustered
too.
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comments in ascending chronological order (reverse):
#Comment Re: made: 2003-08-30 19:06:20.517128+00 by:
Diane Reese
This was a very intimate experience and I can't fathom how sighted people go around seeing each other's eyes without being flustered too.
Some sighted people (including yours truly) also find eye-gazing a remarkably intimate experience, and sometimes have a discomfort about it, just as Mike May has. I also understand that in some cultures it is extremely impolite to look a non-family-member in the eye (at least for more than a glance).
His observations are fascinating; I'm so glad he's been writing about his observations and is insightful enough to reflect on what he's experiencing. Thanks for the pointers, Dan.
#Comment Re: [Entry #6478] Re: made: 2003-08-30 23:06:04.054368+00 by:
Shawn
And some of us don't find it that terribly an intimate experience, yet also
don't normally look into others' eyes. Contrary to popular belief, for
some of us this has no relation to the honesty or importance of what we are
saying at the time.
#Comment Re: ...was blind, but now... made: 2003-08-31 09:23:58.108969+00 by:
Pete
Watching people's mouths instead of their eyes during conversation is a marker for autism and Asperger's.
#Comment Re: ...was blind, but now... made: 2003-08-31 12:34:12.979791+00 by:
Larry Burton
I started watching people's mouths instead of their eyes during conversations after I lost enough of my hearing to make following a conversation with moderate background noise difficult.
#Comment Re: ...was blind, but now... made: 2003-08-31 20:09:35.315357+00 by:
ebradway
First, I tried looking down and if it was a woman, a low cut top would be even more distracting. It was easiest to close my eyes or tune out the visual input. This was necessary often in order to pay attention to what they were saying.
Not to make light of Mike's experience. It is incredibly interesting to read his journal. And very uplifting to hear about his experiences - as if a very young child were erudite enough to really describe his wonder at experiencing the world.