Louis Braille was born 204 years ago today - Want to learn Braille in about 5 minutes?

[underpants]

Last edited Sat Jan 4, 2014, 05:58 PM - Edit history (1)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Braille
Louis Braille (About this sound pronunciation (help·info), /ˈbreɪl/, French: [lwi bʁɑj]; 4 January 1809 – 6 January 1852) was the inventor of braille, a system of reading and writing used by people who are blind or visually impaired. As a small child, Braille was blinded in an accident; as a boy he developed a mastery over that blindness; and as a young man – still a student at school – he created a revolutionary form of communication that transcended blindness and transformed the lives of millions of persons. Almost two centuries later, the braille system remains an invaluable tool of learning and communication for the blind, and it has been adapted for languages worldwide.


There are 6 spots in a Braille character.
1, 2, 3 going down the left side and 4, 5, 6 going down the right side

1 4
2 5
3 6

Look at a through j ----then look at l through t. They are the same except that k through t have a bump in the #3 spot (bottom left).
u through z are the same but with a bump in the #3 and #6 spots with the exception of w that is an American invention as there was no w in the French alphabet when Braille invented it.

"e' goes the Earth - "I" goes to the sky.

That's Braille.

[Savannahmann]

1. I've always thought Braille was cool.

The one thing I've never been able to figure out is this. Why do they put Braille on drive through ATM's?

[RC]

3. You've never noticed those drivers that don't seem to see other drivers around them -

Pull out in front of other drivers, run stop signs and sometimes red lights. Scatter pedestrians in the cross walks. That Braille is for those people.

[1000words]

5. Perhaps this answers your question:

Am I foreseeing an emerging market for service dog chauffeurs?

[jtuck004]

17. This just makes me angry. Our terrier lost our Impala to a kid with a Camaro racing for pink slips.

My car was fast enough. The problem? Dogs are color blind. So when the light changed to green, he just sat there...

[1000words]

19. LMAO

Nicely done.

[adirondacker]

25. Touche!

I needed that!

[underpants]

6. So that the blind and vision impaired can be driven to ATM's but still have privacy

otherwise their finances would be vulnerable.

[TexasProgresive]

9. Not all ATM are drive up

There are ATMs in stores and other places where a blind person could walk. Why would the ATM manufacturers make one case with braille and one without-now that would make no sense. My dear blind step-mother (may she rest in peace) would throw an unholy fit if she approached one of these machines and she was unable to use it.

[Orrex]

10. Three main reasons, off the top of my head.

1. A pedestrian can use most drive-thru ATMs. My town has about 500 drive-thru ATMs and about 3 walk-up versions.
2. A blind person in a taxi might ask to stop at an ATM and might not want to give their card & pin to the driver.
3. It's cheaper to build one model of ATM than to build a separate walk-up only and a separate drive-thru-only model.

[Cirque du So-What]

21. Your post reminds me of an old George Carlin riff

where he imagined putting on very dark glasses, attaching two white-and-red canes at outward-facing angles to the front of his car, and driving very slowly while sitting very rigidly in the seat. That would certainly get my attention!

[burnsei sensei]

27. They do it because sometimes,

blind people will walk through the drive-through lane if there are no cars around and if there is no ATM next to the door.

[spanone]

2. k&r...

[underpants]

7. Welcome to DU

[KitSileya]

8. Once upon a time I could read Braille with my fingers.

I used to get notes and letters in Braille from my patrol leader in Girl scouts, and therefore I learned how to read it. She was blind. Braille was quite a big advantage to our patrol when we participated in competitions etc - we could communicate secretly in a way most other troops couldn't. Scouting in Norway is extremely outdoors oriented (not to mention co-ed) so we were out every other weekend sleeping under the open sky (or more often a tarp, given Norwegian weather!) and figuring out routes to take etc. Had to translate the handbook to Braille too, of course. I should get out the letters she sent me back then, and give it a go... Tho' these days I spend more time with hiragana and katagana, as I'm trying to learn Japanese!

[underpants]

14. Yes it takes and incredible amount of focus

I went under the sleep shade for 2 weeks when I started my new job. I had an hour of Braille everyday. I got to be okay at it but my mind was exhausted at the end of each hour session.

[TexasProgresive]

11. The code may be easy

but have you ever tried it in an elevator or restroom sign with your eyes closed. My fingers must not be sensitive enough because it just doesn't work for me. My step mother went blind at 21, she used a guide dog and her braille reading was phenomenal. She would get magazines in braille. her had would fly across the pages.

[underpants]

15. Yes I have

See post above about my learning Braille.

I tried to read some of the room signs at work and was really confused. "Oh that's contracted Braille" I was told. I literally threw up my hands. LOTS of focus needed as state above.

[indie9197]

26. I always wondered how a blind person

would know where the signs are. I have never seen one used.

[James48]

12. Umm.. 204 years?

1809 to 2013 is 204 years, right?

[underpants]

13. 204 right

what did you think I posted, 104?

Thank you DU Edit

[KitSileya]

20. I think it's 205

We're in 2014 now, you know. 1809 to 2014.

[underpants]

23. Your math is stronger than mine

[SheilaT]

16. I am under the impression that learning to read braille

with the fingers is something best accomplished when fairly young. Adults, as I understand it, especially those past middle age, probably won't have the fingertip sensitivity to learn it.

[jtuck004]

18. Thank you for that! n/t

[Cirque du So-What]

22. Louis Braille's birthday

must be why NPR made mention yesterday of devices connected to computers, tablets & smart phone that provide a Braille output in the form of pins that rise up to form the letters. They're quite expensive, running up to $6,000 and beyond. It's a shame that economies of scale or subsidies can't bring the price down into a more affordable range.

[underpants]

24. JAWS is the software that reads the computer to them

Amazing technology - it reads options (like means on websites) that they control on the keyboard.

Apple, I am told, designs all new products from the beginning with the blind and low vision people being considered. Android farmed it out. Apple is a big favorite in the blind community.