Media isn't actually a "thing." It has the same etymological root as "medium"--the size between "small" and "large" as well as "psychic medium." Media, in other words, has no real substance of its own. It's the thing that's in between speaking and hearing; transmission and reception.
By way of articles, studies, and a couple of polls and links, this blog examines the significance of media in American culture. Post your thoughts after the jump.
I found this passage very interesting and really made me think. I never really thought of how I see things as opposed to the way someone else might who has never seen before. I don’t really remember the process of learning how to see because I was so young but someone older who has been blind their whole life have to learn just like a baby would. This point really stood out to me; the author compares a person newly able to see to a newborn baby. This makes a person with new vision seem more helpless then they were when they couldn’t see at all. The way that they saw things but it didn’t mean anything because they have never seen it before and made a connection. The objects they once new are now a whole new object which can be confusing. I never have to think about what I’m looking at or how far away it is, I just know. This passage made me think of the concept of depth and size and reality vs. a picture. I don’t see everything as a picture because I am used to knowing my surroundings and knowing what is around me even though I cant see it. For someone who just gained vision, reality is what he or she can see, which is a picture. I also found it interesting that some people who gained sight after being blind didn’t like being able to see. I can understand that because everything they have learned throughout their life they have to relearn. Reality may look nothing like they thought which could be upsetting. Also, as stated in the passage, it is extremely difficult to learn how to use sight, which is something I could never relate to because I have always had my sight and taken it for granted. I never realized how beautiful the world is with all the shapes and colors. It really is amazing that I have the ability to see these wonders everyday while other will never know how beautiful the world can really be. I can see how color is the first thing people learn when first gaining sight because it is so magnificent and makes the world brighter, and less colorful objects seem dull and disappointing.
Jackson Yerrick Brad Romans English 101- “Seeing” by Annie Dillard 24 September 2013
I found this article to be fascinating! Clearly different people have different forms of comfort depending on what feels right to them. “Seeing” touches a very extreme topic of comfort for the average human being. Sight seems to be the most crucial sense that we, as humans possess. However, some people who have been blinded by cataracts since birth are not a fan of having a sense of sight at all. When people are used to doing something or operating in a certain way, it causes a problem when there is a drastic change to their daily routine. For someone who has had sight for their entire lives, it would be preposterous for them to choose to relinquish this sense of sight. But, as a coin always has two sides, the reverse is also true. People who have been blinded since birth from cataracts would likely find the sense of sight to be too overwhelming, especially when the change pretty much happens all at once. It’s like the old saying, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.” I think this is the same with these patients who have been medically given the sense of sight. The water is a great resource for the horse, and the sight is a great resource for the human, but if neither one is ready to take in the great resource, then it cannot be forced upon them. Doctors have said for decades, maybe even centuries that the loss of one of the major senses causes the other senses to compensate so that the human can still function properly. So by the time a person gets old enough to keep a routine going in his or her life, it becomes very difficult for that person to reverse gears and start to learn everything all over again, but with a new ball thrown into the juggling act. People who have gone through the surgery are faced with a whole new world filled with depth, height, and color. Annie Dillard mentions a couple of different patients who choose to remain in their world without sight even though they have gone through the operation that allows them to see things clearly and for the first time. I understand where they are coming from, though I have never been blind myself. The fifteen-year-old that Dillard mentions in the article preferred to go back to the asylum because the rapid change from blind to seeing was too much for him to handle. His sense of comfort had been destroyed by a major change in his life that was too overwhelming for him to handle. In the same section of the article, there was a dad who had hoped for great results after his daughter went through the surgery. He was devastated to see that his daughter was closing her eyes constantly as she walked around the house because she is more comfortable when she “relapses into her formal state of total blindness. Change can be a hard thing for many people, especially when the change is as drastic as one’s sense of sight. Some people choose to try something new and explore a world totally different that what they are used to. But for a lot of people, the change from total blindness to having the ability to see is just too much for them to handle. It all depends on where someone’s comfort zone lies, and if they are ready to try something intense and new.
It is a scary thought, to not be able to see. Considering that sight is one of our five senses, it is quite clear that we would be lost without it, both theoretically and literally. What struck me as the most surprising was the reaction of the woman whose attention was first caught by her own hands. The fact that something that you had your entire life, that you always subconsciously knew was there, could be so breathtakingly new to you, completely caught me by surprise. The first thing that this woman’s reaction made me think of is someone recovering from an injury that had made them immobile. It made me think of this because when a person begins to be able to have use of their body again, it is a magical moment for them and for the people around them. Much to the same degree, even though this woman had full use of her hands prior to herself being able to see, her reaction was as if she hadn’t had them before, and was almost surprised that they even existed. In this way, I believe that though sight is not really a limb, per se, that sight is most certainly a way in which your body takes information and allows you to judge what it is that is around you. This reading also made me feel quite a bit sad for the author. Much like Annie Dillard, I would also want to see the world in the way which those blind individuals first saw it. To be able to look at a tree and not just see bark and leaves and branches, but to see a tree as if it was made up of lights. It almost seems like the world has been around us for so long, and we have seen so many amazing sights, that the “ordinary” sights no longer have the ability to catch our attention the way they used to. I believe that this is the reason why photography is such a praised profession. It is the fact that not only does it reflect the artistic views of the individual, but it is also a reminder that in a day where global warming and other environmental issues are present, there is still beauty in the world.
After reading this passage by Annie Dillard I think about being blind from a completely different perspective. I would never have guessed half of the things I had read in the passage. I could not believe that “A disheartening number of them refuse to use their new vision, continuing to go over objects with their tongues, and lapsing into apathy and despair.” My first guess would be that when a blind person received the ability of sight it would be the greatest thing ever for him/her. Although according to this report it’s the exact opposite. While at the same time the article talks about how people are pleased by the sensation of color, but the rest of the time seeing is “tormentially difficult”. It seems that the biggest difficulty is that people who are new to vision have no concept of space whatsoever and they do not know what objects are because they have never seen them before. What everyone that can see takes for advantage is such a struggle for those who have never seen before. We grew up and learned with it while previously blind people have to now adjust their entire life to it. It blows my mind when Dillard says that many of these people are the happiest when they have their eyes shut. It seems they have just grown accustom to this life and until they grow accustom to vision they will always be more comfortable to having their eyes shut. What stuck to me the most in the reading was at the end when the author said “Why didn’t someone hand those newly sighted people paints and brushes from the start, when they didn’t know what anything was?” This stuck to me the most because from my perspective and many others we have always known things around us based on when we were kids being taught what everything was. So for a person that has never seen something and he or she can only use their other senses along with imagination it really interests me what they would draw an object as.
I thought this passage was a real "eye opener"! Most people would think that giving the blind sight would be a wonderful thing, but that may not be the case. For seeing people, sight is something we're gradually brought into. As infants we can only see so far in front of our faces and as we grow, so does our field of vision. When you take someone who is older and give them sight all of a sudden, there isn't anything gradual about it. It makes for a lot of confusion because their brains don't really grasp what they're seeing. I liked how she described the "tree with the lights" as her mind was adjusting to the sudden brightness she'd never know before. This definitely shows us that something that can seem so welcomed and wanted can actually be a nightmare. The passage talks about how one of the girls would close her eyes to go up and down the stairs. This made a lot of sense to me because when she was blind there was no perception of depth, so now that this is thrown into play all the sudden in her adult life, it would make for a scary situation. So it shows how this gift has now made life more complicated for these people. they basically have to relearn how they do activities and such. It definitely changes how they see objects as well. Even though they can now see the object through sight, some still preferred to "see" it using their mouths. This is a way that they've always been able to see objects and now to learn to look at them and identify them would definitely prove to be difficult. especially because these objects, I'm sure, were imagined to look somewhat different than they actually do. Another thing I thought was quite interesting is how one girl, upon seeing for the first time, examined her own hand so very closely as an infant would. It shows how something so insignificant to us who see it everyday can be so interesting to someone who has never seen it. This passage has made me consider that if I were ever to have a blind child and be given the opportunity to give them sight at an older age, I would not. I think, after reading this passage, that it may be more of a curse than a blessing.
By reading Seeing by Annie Dillard I got a whole new appreciation for my ability to see. The ability to see is something we are so used to and don’t really think about all that much. I’m not saying we don’t appreciate it because I think it is something everyone is definitely thankful for, but we don’t think of all the abilities we wouldn’t have without our vision. In the very beginning of the article Annie Dillard gives examples of how people who were born blind have no real sense of how big something is or how far something is. “The room he was in… he knew to be part of the house, yet he could not conceive that the whole house could look bigger.” This is so weird to me and almost scary. To not have any conception of height or distance is weird. IF someone told me something was a foot away I would know exactly what they were talking about. But to not be able to visualize that is scary to me. I would feel so lost. In the article Dillard wrote “A house that is a mile away is thought of as nearby, but requiring the taking of a lot of steps...” The notion of really not knowing how far your going or even really where you are going is so scary to me. After reading this section of the article I have a much bigger appreciation for my ability to see and all the things I acquire because of that ability.
I found this passage very interesting and really made me think. I never really thought of how I see things as opposed to the way someone else might who has never seen before. I don’t really remember the process of learning how to see because I was so young but someone older who has been blind their whole life have to learn just like a baby would. This point really stood out to me; the author compares a person newly able to see to a newborn baby. This makes a person with new vision seem more helpless then they were when they couldn’t see at all. The way that they saw things but it didn’t mean anything because they have never seen it before and made a connection. The objects they once new are now a whole new object which can be confusing. I never have to think about what I’m looking at or how far away it is, I just know. This passage made me think of the concept of depth and size and reality vs. a picture. I don’t see everything as a picture because I am used to knowing my surroundings and knowing what is around me even though I cant see it. For someone who just gained vision, reality is what he or she can see, which is a picture. I also found it interesting that some people who gained sight after being blind didn’t like being able to see. I can understand that because everything they have learned throughout their life they have to relearn. Reality may look nothing like they thought which could be upsetting. Also, as stated in the passage, it is extremely difficult to learn how to use sight, which is something I could never relate to because I have always had my sight and taken it for granted. I never realized how beautiful the world is with all the shapes and colors. It really is amazing that I have the ability to see these wonders everyday while other will never know how beautiful the world can really be. I can see how color is the first thing people learn when first gaining sight because it is so magnificent and makes the world brighter, and less colorful objects seem dull and disappointing.
ReplyDeleteJackson Yerrick
DeleteBrad Romans
English 101- “Seeing” by Annie Dillard
24 September 2013
I found this article to be fascinating! Clearly different people have different forms of comfort depending on what feels right to them. “Seeing” touches a very extreme topic of comfort for the average human being. Sight seems to be the most crucial sense that we, as humans possess. However, some people who have been blinded by cataracts since birth are not a fan of having a sense of sight at all.
When people are used to doing something or operating in a certain way, it causes a problem when there is a drastic change to their daily routine. For someone who has had sight for their entire lives, it would be preposterous for them to choose to relinquish this sense of sight. But, as a coin always has two sides, the reverse is also true. People who have been blinded since birth from cataracts would likely find the sense of sight to be too overwhelming, especially when the change pretty much happens all at once. It’s like the old saying, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.” I think this is the same with these patients who have been medically given the sense of sight. The water is a great resource for the horse, and the sight is a great resource for the human, but if neither one is ready to take in the great resource, then it cannot be forced upon them.
Doctors have said for decades, maybe even centuries that the loss of one of the major senses causes the other senses to compensate so that the human can still function properly. So by the time a person gets old enough to keep a routine going in his or her life, it becomes very difficult for that person to reverse gears and start to learn everything all over again, but with a new ball thrown into the juggling act.
People who have gone through the surgery are faced with a whole new world filled with depth, height, and color. Annie Dillard mentions a couple of different patients who choose to remain in their world without sight even though they have gone through the operation that allows them to see things clearly and for the first time. I understand where they are coming from, though I have never been blind myself. The fifteen-year-old that Dillard mentions in the article preferred to go back to the asylum because the rapid change from blind to seeing was too much for him to handle. His sense of comfort had been destroyed by a major change in his life that was too overwhelming for him to handle. In the same section of the article, there was a dad who had hoped for great results after his daughter went through the surgery. He was devastated to see that his daughter was closing her eyes constantly as she walked around the house because she is more comfortable when she “relapses into her formal state of total blindness.
Change can be a hard thing for many people, especially when the change is as drastic as one’s sense of sight. Some people choose to try something new and explore a world totally different that what they are used to. But for a lot of people, the change from total blindness to having the ability to see is just too much for them to handle. It all depends on where someone’s comfort zone lies, and if they are ready to try something intense and new.
It is a scary thought, to not be able to see. Considering that sight is one of our five senses, it is quite clear that we would be lost without it, both theoretically and literally. What struck me as the most surprising was the reaction of the woman whose attention was first caught by her own hands. The fact that something that you had your entire life, that you always subconsciously knew was there, could be so breathtakingly new to you, completely caught me by surprise. The first thing that this woman’s reaction made me think of is someone recovering from an injury that had made them immobile. It made me think of this because when a person begins to be able to have use of their body again, it is a magical moment for them and for the people around them. Much to the same degree, even though this woman had full use of her hands prior to herself being able to see, her reaction was as if she hadn’t had them before, and was almost surprised that they even existed. In this way, I believe that though sight is not really a limb, per se, that sight is most certainly a way in which your body takes information and allows you to judge what it is that is around you. This reading also made me feel quite a bit sad for the author. Much like Annie Dillard, I would also want to see the world in the way which those blind individuals first saw it. To be able to look at a tree and not just see bark and leaves and branches, but to see a tree as if it was made up of lights. It almost seems like the world has been around us for so long, and we have seen so many amazing sights, that the “ordinary” sights no longer have the ability to catch our attention the way they used to. I believe that this is the reason why photography is such a praised profession. It is the fact that not only does it reflect the artistic views of the individual, but it is also a reminder that in a day where global warming and other environmental issues are present, there is still beauty in the world.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this passage by Annie Dillard I think about being blind from a completely different perspective. I would never have guessed half of the things I had read in the passage. I could not believe that “A disheartening number of them refuse to use their new vision, continuing to go over objects with their tongues, and lapsing into apathy and despair.” My first guess would be that when a blind person received the ability of sight it would be the greatest thing ever for him/her. Although according to this report it’s the exact opposite. While at the same time the article talks about how people are pleased by the sensation of color, but the rest of the time seeing is “tormentially difficult”. It seems that the biggest difficulty is that people who are new to vision have no concept of space whatsoever and they do not know what objects are because they have never seen them before. What everyone that can see takes for advantage is such a struggle for those who have never seen before. We grew up and learned with it while previously blind people have to now adjust their entire life to it. It blows my mind when Dillard says that many of these people are the happiest when they have their eyes shut. It seems they have just grown accustom to this life and until they grow accustom to vision they will always be more comfortable to having their eyes shut.
ReplyDeleteWhat stuck to me the most in the reading was at the end when the author said “Why didn’t someone hand those newly sighted people paints and brushes from the start, when they didn’t know what anything was?” This stuck to me the most because from my perspective and many others we have always known things around us based on when we were kids being taught what everything was. So for a person that has never seen something and he or she can only use their other senses along with imagination it really interests me what they would draw an object as.
I thought this passage was a real "eye opener"! Most people would think that giving the blind sight would be a wonderful thing, but that may not be the case. For seeing people, sight is something we're gradually brought into. As infants we can only see so far in front of our faces and as we grow, so does our field of vision. When you take someone who is older and give them sight all of a sudden, there isn't anything gradual about it. It makes for a lot of confusion because their brains don't really grasp what they're seeing. I liked how she described the "tree with the lights" as her mind was adjusting to the sudden brightness she'd never know before. This definitely shows us that something that can seem so welcomed and wanted can actually be a nightmare. The passage talks about how one of the girls would close her eyes to go up and down the stairs. This made a lot of sense to me because when she was blind there was no perception of depth, so now that this is thrown into play all the sudden in her adult life, it would make for a scary situation. So it shows how this gift has now made life more complicated for these people. they basically have to relearn how they do activities and such. It definitely changes how they see objects as well. Even though they can now see the object through sight, some still preferred to "see" it using their mouths. This is a way that they've always been able to see objects and now to learn to look at them and identify them would definitely prove to be difficult. especially because these objects, I'm sure, were imagined to look somewhat different than they actually do. Another thing I thought was quite interesting is how one girl, upon seeing for the first time, examined her own hand so very closely as an infant would. It shows how something so insignificant to us who see it everyday can be so interesting to someone who has never seen it. This passage has made me consider that if I were ever to have a blind child and be given the opportunity to give them sight at an older age, I would not. I think, after reading this passage, that it may be more of a curse than a blessing.
ReplyDeleteBy reading Seeing by Annie Dillard I got a whole new appreciation for my ability to see. The ability to see is something we are so used to and don’t really think about all that much. I’m not saying we don’t appreciate it because I think it is something everyone is definitely thankful for, but we don’t think of all the abilities we wouldn’t have without our vision. In the very beginning of the article Annie Dillard gives examples of how people who were born blind have no real sense of how big something is or how far something is. “The room he was in… he knew to be part of the house, yet he could not conceive that the whole house could look bigger.” This is so weird to me and almost scary. To not have any conception of height or distance is weird. IF someone told me something was a foot away I would know exactly what they were talking about. But to not be able to visualize that is scary to me. I would feel so lost. In the article Dillard wrote “A house that is a mile away is thought of as nearby, but requiring the taking of a lot of steps...” The notion of really not knowing how far your going or even really where you are going is so scary to me. After reading this section of the article I have a much bigger appreciation for my ability to see and all the things I acquire because of that ability.
ReplyDelete