Journal: 3-8

Living Deaf or Blind

   I did some research about how the Nook has affected the recent sales of actual books. Although I didnt come across any facts, I ran into alot of opinions about the matter. The opinions usually consisted of negativity towards the advancement of electronic books over actual books. People said that it also caused many bookstores to close around the nation. Although I didn't find many facts about the topic, I found a poll regarding the topic of how people think Nooks affect the sales of new and used books. I found the chart very interesting and telling.

     This past week we talked about the affects of the internet on the youth of America in positive and negative ways. We also started to watch a documentary about a family of deaf people who were going through a dilema. Their daughter wants to receive an implant for her to hear bu they have mixed feelings about the surgery and how it will affect their life over all. Also, we discussed what we would do if we were deaf or blind and whether we would want the surgery to see or hear again.

     In my opinion, I would not want to restore my hearing or sight if I were deaf or blind. I feel as though going from not having a sense to fully having a sense would be a challenge and overwhleming for me. I can imagine that people who go through this kind of surgery come out feeling very scared and with mixed feelings about whether they really should have gone through the with surgery afterall. I would feel like a stranger to an all knowing world and like my new sense would cripple me.

     I one time saw this episode on TV regarding a blind man who had decided to go through with surgery to repair his eye sight after being blind all his life. When he was first able to see he saw his wife for the first time but everything else seemed so strange and foreign to him. He wasn't able to recognize what things were that babies could figure out the purpose of and he had problems with depth perception. He expressed regret in getting the surgery because he was so overwhlemed by his sense of sight.

    I end today with a question: what are other opinions on the topic of being deaf or blind?

"Five Senses Icons | Royalty Free Stock Vector Art Illustration | IStockphoto.com." Stock Photography: Search Royalty Free Images & Photos | IStockphoto.com. Web. 27 Mar. 2011. <http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-illustration-7938700-five-senses-icons.php>.

"How Deaf People Think." Today I Found Out. Web. 27 Mar. 2011. <http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2010/07/how-deaf-people-think/>.

Steiner, Ina. "Sellers Say EBook Readers Impact Book Sales." Free News and Resources for Online Auction Users. Web. 27 Mar. 2011. <http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y10/m10/i18/s01>.