
An Autobiography of a Blind Programmer - edtechdev
https://www.parhamdoustdar.com/2016/03/27/autobiography-blind-programmer/
======
fao_
> As for mathematics and theoretical subjects ... there was no way of learning
> them for me.

That's extremely saddening, since to me those are some of the subjects that I
have really enjoyed in the past. The idea that there is no way for blind
people to learn these subjects either at all or without great difficulty is
rather appauling. However I'm not really sure of what a solution to this could
be.

EDIT: Actually, given that most of mathematics was written down until (I
think) the 1400s, and the person said their screenreader was around 520 words
per second, would one possible solution be to have mathematics papers written
down, with all the symbols reduced in some way to plain english.

It would make things marginally slower, but if the person can listen at that
speed that I would say there should be a chance for it to work.

~~~
parham90
Hey,

Thanks a lot for going through the article! :-)

You should keep a few things in mind about what I said regarding the
accessibility of math content:

\- I am in Iran. A lot of the assistive technology (other than software) is
not available to me. I have no idea what people have in the United States, but
I know blind people who have been very successful in mathematics. So, there is
definitely a way. You just have to be in the right place.

\- At the time I was in university (that is 2008-2010) screen readers and
accessibility were not as advanced. There was also no concept of MathML back
then. Things are improving though.

With all that said, math content is still not as accessible to blind people as
it is to their sighted counterparts. But with the right people, you can
circumvent the lack of support.

~~~
lake99
I don't know why, but you have been shadowbanned, likely by some automated
process. I vouched for each comment of yours. Hopefully, if enough people do
it, everyone else will be able to read your comments too.

Go here for more information: [https://blog.ycombinator.com/two-hn-
announcements](https://blog.ycombinator.com/two-hn-announcements)

~~~
parham90
That seems to be fixed now?

~~~
lake99
I think so. Maybe the system now automatically shadowbans new users and relies
on others to vouch for them to make them active.

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swiley
That was definitely one of the more readable articles on the front page. IMO
if more web developers where blind like this guy then maybe the web would be
more readable.

~~~
jacquesm
It's the one reason I positively hate all the eye candy and executable pages
on the web. Accessibility went right out the window at some point, but it was
actually a cornerstone of the web that the _reader_ should determine what a
page should look (or sound) like.

Now, you _could_ of course craft a page that would still work well on screen
readers and that at the same time does the whole dog-and-pony show on more
capable browsers. But in practice that doesn't really happen.

Many pages which are in fact just text pages once rendered simply won't render
or will render very badly with javascript off.

~~~
parham90
I personally find it unfair to make the whole web seem bland to a majority of
people, so that a minority would find it easy to access. However, I believe
that teaching developers about their responsibility to their fellow human
beings, even in theory, would go a long way in reducing stuff that looks well,
but is not usable to the blind.

What you mentioned about accessibility features being available but not being
used in practice is not only in the web. You get the same thing in Android and
IOS applications as well. I have always wondered about how we can fix this,
but to be honest, I have never found a solution, sadly.

~~~
swiley
No, honestly this is more readable for sited people too (speaking as one). I
am 100% for a "bland" web.

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trengrj
Would love to hear more about how he interacts with his computer day to day
and what sort of software he uses to get through the mess that is web 2.0.

~~~
rpgmaker
Me too, he never said how he manages to actually write and test his code.
Going blind it's one of my nightmare scenarios not only because I won't be
able to see but because I just don't know how I will be able to keep coding
(and earn money) after that. I have even thought about using my PC/phone as if
I were blind for about a month or so, that way if I lose my eyesight at some
point I will already know how to navigate my system and the shock wouldn't be
so great. _That_ is how much I dread that relatively unlikely scenario.

------
jacquesm
> Having a screen reader that reads at about 520 words per minute is a
> blessing when you are gathering knowledge.

That's so fast it is incredible. I'm really quite shocked at that speed, is
that a regular speed for a blind person to be using their screenreader at?

~~~
Razengan
Apparently if you're poor or lacking in one of the body's basic senses, the
others are heightened to make up for it? Maybe by not having to process the
immense data that must be required by vision, they're able to dedicate more of
their brain's "bandwidth" to processing a more intensive stream of aural data.
:)

~~~
xenadu02
No, you just have to practice.

I'm not blind. I listen to all podcasts at 2x speed and I can't stand to go
back to "normal" speed because it's so slow. While doing accessibility testing
I've found myself turning the voiceover prompts faster and faster because I
very quickly get used to it.

If you have an iOS device, set your home button triple click to bring up a
shortcut menu and put Voiceover in as one of the options (inverse colors is
another good one). Test your own app in Voiceover mode. Close your eyes and
navigate around. You'll be surprised at how quickly you figure it out... and
what rough edges your app has.

~~~
agumonkey
Being blind is just the most efficient way to improve focus. You are back
against the wall, no other alternative to pursue. I don't say it loud but I
somehow envy them. The see more than me.

~~~
parham90
I agree. Yoshiro Nakamatsu claims that he invents things while submerging
himself under water. While I'm not sure if he's telling the truth, one thing
everyone agrees on is your well-said statement. We perform best when under
immense pressure, when our fight-or-flight response activates.

~~~
agumonkey
More than 'immense' pressure, it's regular and high enough desire. When I
fubared my filesystem, I suddenly spent 4 hours very carefully reading man
pages. Usually after 15min I quit.

~~~
parham90
You are right.

On a different note, I'm glad I got to know insightful people on HN through my
post. You guys are helping me know more about myself through your interesting
comments. Thank you.

~~~
agumonkey
Happy to have a positive effect on you but I'm really just an average guy
(even though my ego likes to think otherwise).

