General Question

ibadt's avatar

If you were born blind, what do you dream?

Asked by ibadt (189points) February 22nd, 2009

I’ve always wondered what the dreams of people who have been blind since birth are like. Are they just auditory? Probably a really dumb question, but I don’t know anyone who is blind so I’ve never been able to ask anyone.

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15 Answers

psyla's avatar

We dream in sound only.

Hey! How is anyone going to read your post if they’re blind?

mrswho's avatar

Can the blind fluther? Do they have some sort of software to help them?

psyla's avatar

Google “verbal fluther software for the blind”.

Bluefreedom's avatar

First off, I don’t think your question is dumb at all and here is an addition to what @psyla said above:

Yes, blind people do dream. What they see in their dreams depends on how much they could ever see. If someone has been totally blind since birth, they only have auditory dreams.

Those who are born blind or become blind before the age of five do not see in their dreams. Nevertheless, their dreams are just as rich in narrative and detail as in sighted people.

psyla's avatar

I agree that this is an excellent question. Other senses become more acute in the blind so I imagine the intricacy of sound they must hear in their dreams. Also their sense of touch in dreams must also be enhanced.

90s_kid's avatar

That would be cool.

futurelaker88's avatar

not just dream, what do they do when they “picture something” in their head!!! like if someone says “elephant” what happens? do they have to think of it by hearing it? it’s weird! or if they say “sit down in that chair” do they visualize it by going throught the motion and FEEL of the chair? it’s gotta be so different…everything! or when u think about how to spell a word!! they can’t picture the word in their head, or the letters! how do they do anything!

LouisianaGirl's avatar

I guess they just create pictures in their minds based on the sounds they hear around them i dont know now im going to wonder about that.

essieness's avatar

Great question! I’ve never thought of it!

psyla's avatar

Maybe they see things like pictographs or heiroglyphics, if they’re even able to imagine a visual form. I doubt if they can imagine what it’s like to see.

MacBean's avatar

Can the blind fluther?

The blind can do pretty much anything, except see. My friend Chris is blind and is a far more capable person than the majority of the sighted people I know.

tabbycat's avatar

Just because a person is blind doesn’t mean they don’t have a sense of the physical world. They still have the sense of touch, and a sense of what three-dimensional objects are like, even if they can’t see them.

I have had several friends who were blind, including a couple for which I have boundless admiration. My first blind friend was a little girl about seven or eight that I knew when I was about twelve. I remember going to a parade with her. I tried to give a running commentary, and I remember that as an equestrian group was going by, she asked me, “What color are the horses?” She was blind since birth, and I have always wondered what her idea of colors was. How did it affect her when I told her the horses were black?

JohnnyM's avatar

about being able to see…

LouisianaGirl's avatar

I`m with JohnnyM

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