moduluxJan 4

Braille is literacy.

Many people think it can be substituted by speech synthesis, by audiobooks, by other things. It can't.

Voice is serial, it unfolds in time. It requires working memory. Braille is static. It unfolds in space, remains stable in time. It backs working memory, does not consume it. For things that require pinning down relationships (mathematics, music, programming) braile has clear advantages.

This is not to say people can't manage without it. I don't always use a braille display. But it makes things better: learning, accuracy, performance, speed.

Witholding braille from blind people is withholding literacy, it's denying capacity.

Don't fucking do that.

Show threadQuinJan 4
@modulux Fully agreed. I hardly ever use braille now that I'm done with public school, the efficiency gap is real. My top braille reading speed was 180 WPM, my screen reader reads at 910 WPM. That said, when I code, I see the code in my head in braille. It helps so much.
Show threadTimothy WynnJan 4
@TheQuinbox @modulux Heh. Your top speed in both braille and speech surpass mine. I think I'm at maybe max of 120 WPM in braille and 800 in speech.
Show threadBrodeuse LucileDTJan 5
@twynn @TheQuinbox @modulux I'm curious, do you have a braille display to read?
Show threadTimothy Wynn
@luciledt I do, yes. Purchased a used one for far cheaper than original price. It's one of the older ones that run Windows CE and starts up and shuts down within a couple seconds, far faster than modern displays today. @TheQuinbox @modulux
Jan 5 at 1:35amWeb