Online Tutorial Task 2

Blindness

Photo by Oscar Keys on Unsplash

I went to the nearby beach to take a stroll while blindfolded myself. My dad was right beside, accompanying me to ensure my safety while I was carrying this task.

When I took a deep breath, the briny breeze somehow had quite a soothing organic fragrance. My nose was energized by its diversity as well as richness. It contained the pelagic scent of the salty waves, the earthy cologne of the trees and the smell of dry sand retaining the heat of the sun.

The gentle waves and wind wafted the sound of music to my ears. The repetitive lovely swirling rhythm was created when the waves were smashing onto the shore. Furthermore, the breeze made a rustling sound while it swayed through my hair and body. It was relaxing and consoling listening to the loop of the harmonious music from the mother nature itself.

While wandering around, I could feel the sand going through each of my toes. The texture was fluffy yet gritty. I felt like I was being closely embracing into the hug of the sand when I felt the warmth from the sand itself. The cool water and humid sea air were a bonus for the final sensational touch. Sometimes, when the waves retreated, I felt like I was being drifted away (by the force) as well alongside with them as if I was a part of them at that very moment.

My tongue captured the salt circulating in the windy air when I opened my mouth wide. It was a salty and spicy taste. When I took a sip of my own water, the beach somehow contributed in making the water felt even more refreshing.

Throughout the task, without the presence of vision, I was afraid to take every single step because it felt like moving towards into an unknown dimension. Every step I took was slow, unsteady and uncertain. I decided to use touch to shield myself in avoiding getting any injuries. The sense of hearing and touch were essentially the most helpful sensories which allowed me to determine the direction that I was heading and getting a knack of things occurring around my surroundings. For instance, when I heard the sound of waves getting closer or when I felt the humidity of the waves, I immediately turned to another way. However, without vision, it was utterly not easy to interpret the environment. In my imaginary vision, I thought I was walking in a straight line all along. In reality, when I took off my blindfold then looked back at the video taken by my dad who was walking with me, I was acting like a drunk person and was always off the route.

In addition, I also experienced sensory adaptation in which after I have smelled the sea breeze for a while, I was not able to make out much from the smell and my discriminatory abilities were hindered.

In the meantime, I also sat down and did a small blind taste test on Pepsi and Cola. To my surprise, I had a hard time distinguishing both of the soft drinks. Normally, when I was able to make use of my sense of vision, Pepsi and Cola tasted different with Cola having a sweeter taste which is in my favour. However, in this test, both beverages had the exact same taste which confused me. This made me realized Coke’s victory is a triumph of branding over flavour.

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Reflection:

Usually, when I am using my sense of vision, I tend to only focus on the objects as an entity while neglecting the minor intricacies of the subjects. Thus, sometimes, it seems to be difficult to take full concentration on executing something because I will get distracted easily by the multifarious options present around me. Yet, by carrying out this short tutorial task, I was able to acquire the finest details of the items and activities unfolding around me.

Our five senses which comprised of sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell appear to be operating individually, like five distinct methods that which assist us in interpreting the world. In fact, they cooperate intimately to help the brain in having better comprehensions as well as perception of its surroundings.

If one of the senses is permanently damaged, the perception of all other organs would be strengthened to the fullest in order to substitute that one sensory organ that has lost its initial function. Perception will then be attained via the combined efforts of all the other senses with a greater degree of strength. We habituate ourselves to fit into the environment.

Nevertheless, there could be nothing more discombobulating than losing our vision. It flips the world upside down. The freedom that we once have taken for granted has been shattered and disrupted; one's former existence turns out to be as distant as current life. The conundrum is that it is not only one or two items that we need to take time to relearn and adapt, it is literally everything.

In order to recognize what they have gone through, we only need to put ourselves in their shoes and spend an hour, experiencing that moment. This is when we realize their struggles. Simply giving a glimpse to the surrounding around us will make us appreciate how imperative our visual system is. Therefore, I truly admire the resilience and perseverance within the disabled individuals.

References (Websites):

• Blind to Billionaire. (2019, March 4). What it’s Like at the Beach for a Blind Person: My Likes and Frustrations [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUEZt2u8CKA

• Edison, T. [The Tommy Edison Experience]. (2016, August 3). Who Can Walk A Straighter Line Blind? (Collab feat. Molly Burke) [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=XACIdjL38Ts