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Different Strokes for Different Folks
If you had to choose which one of your five senses you could least live without, chances are most of you would pick sight. Or at least, so says this anything-but-scientific survey I ran on Twitter a few years ago. Between sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste, sight appeared to be the sense the majority of us rely upon the most on a daily basis.
When people think about disabilities and especially how they would deal with acquiring one, blindness is the impairment that typically freaks people out the most. As an example, a study published in 2011 by the Environics Research Group showed that seven out of ten Canadians say they fear losing their vision more than losing the use of their legs or hearing. One-third said they would sell everything they owned if that could save their eyesight. And yet, speaking with blind friends, colleagues and acquaintances, the consensus seems to be that it’s not such a big deal. It’s a condition. And as with most conditions, one that people can learn to live with it.
In western cultures, we associate the act of someone looking at us as a validation that we have their full attention while we speak. Indeed, most Westerners consider eye contact an essential component of social interactions, a demonstration of interest and engagement in the conversation. Communicating with someone who doesn’t maintain regular eye contact will…
