> time
> > the corollary is that deafness may reinforce the *experience* of visualism
> > so that the visual is *always* real. That is why I felt that some
> > impairments were very important in examining what we call 'material
> > reality', and not because I happen to be deaf myself.
> >
>
> This is a very interesting point and one I haven't thought about. Perhaps
> having such an 'impairment' gives someone a different relationship with the
> sayable and visible.
>
Just a quick note - there is a lot of evidence to this effect. For
instance, a recent study reports on individuals who became aphasic after
strokes. Their success in separating liars from truthtellers was much
higher than a carefully matched control group's. They were especally
successful when they could not hear the words being said, but could see
the facial and body expression. The theory is that, without the
distraction of acquiring information through words, they were better able
to discern other kinds of signifiers
This kind of compensatory enhancement seems to be known in the medical
literature but seems to remain unexplored in the disability studies
literature. Of course, there is a danger of exaggerating or romanticizing
compensatory skills - nor will everyone in a disability group develop
them.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|