Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!think.com!yale!bunker!hcap!hnews!129!89!William.Wilson
From: William.Wilson@f89.n129.z1.fidonet.org (William Wilson)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: Re: braille reading
Message-ID: <15658@handicap.news>
Date: 15 May 91 16:59:30 GMT
Sender: wtm@bunker.isc-br.com
Reply-To: William.Wilson@f89.n129.z1.fidonet.org
Organization: FidoNet node 1:129/89 - BlinkLink, Pittsburgh PA
Lines: 45
Approved: wtm@bunker.hcap.fidonet.org

Index Number: 15658

[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

 MD> different, you read one with vision and you read the other with
 MD> your fingers.  That's the difference I see.  And, a sighted
 MD> person who reads print may be able to temporarily store
 MD> information for a couple of seconds that was input
 MD> visually--but who's to say Braille readers can't do that,

Margo,
     Not I!  In fact, I said in my message that I suspected a sensory
storage of tactile information existed just as there is iconic memory!
That is why I said we are comparing apples and oranges!
     Since with sight the total visual field is stored for the duration
of the iconic memory, it can contain as much as the eye is capable of
sensing in that amount of time.  This, like it or not, is considerably
more than even the quickest hands could cover in a similar amount of
time, so there is more available for higher level processing such as
recognition, contextual information gathering, and so on with sight!  It
is just in the nature of the beast.

 MD> what's the big deal anyway?  Isn't the purpose of reading to
 MD> comprehend and to remember at least the essence of the text for
 MD> a while--longer than a few seconds in many cases?

No, I don't think it is in many cases, I think it is in all cases!  I
guess that is why I ended my message saying almost exactly that and
stating how I did much better in school after losing my sight than I had
done as a visual reader!
     Likewise, I said in my message how difficult it would be to conduct
a valid experiment comparing braille and print reading, so except for
me believing  that a greater amount of information put
into sensory storage could result in a larger amount available for short
term memory, and thus even long term memory if desired, we agree on
everything.
    That's a high enough percentage for me Margo, so I'm done with this
one!
                                                        Willie

... BlinkTalk, Dr. Deb and Silver in Pittsburgh!

--
Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!129!89!William.Wilson
Internet: William.Wilson@f89.n129.z1.fidonet.org