Click and See

With nobody actually reading this, it's kinda like talking to yourself. I quite like it.

Well I watched this great programme last night about a 14 year old lad, Ben Underwood, who was totally blind after losing his sight to cancer. By making a clicking sound with his mouth, he measured the echo's that bounced back (like a submarine radar) to create a picture of his surroundings. It was quite unbelievable. He rode his bike, roller bladed, walked to school... and with no help from anybody. He basically walked around unaided and was totally against using a white stick and what that stick represented. Unfortunately after looking into it a bit, Ben died in January 2009 at the age of 16. Very sad but I'm sure his story will live on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLziFMF4DHA

To lose your sight is a harrowing and difficult thing to imagine. As a designer especially, everything about the person I am is based on visuals. A scary thought and one I don't like to dwell on for too long. This guy however had no fear, he was truly amazing and just reminds me that we, as humans, are capable of so much more if pushed to the limit.

This kind of ties in with another amazing person, Stephen Wiltshire. I saw his programme a while back and have just received some of his prints for my birthday. He is an artist and is also autistic. He has an amazing photographic memory. He only needs to view a scene for several minutes before going away and drawing it with pin-point accuracy. The programme showed how he took a helicopter ride over London then went back to a gallery to draw the whole aerial view from memory. A wonder to behold and another example of the fact that we all do not use our brain to full capacity. To think that maybe we could all possess that skill yet haven't gained the ability to unlock it is a mind boggling thought.

www.stephenwiltshire.co.uk