UBER CHRONICLES: TALKING SO WELL

Uber driver: “So, what are you studying at COD?”

Me: “I teach college writing.”

“Oh, that is so nice. My friend from Adam from church is blind, do you know him?”

“No.”

“So, how long have you been blind?”

“Me all my life.”

“Are you gonna get stem cells put in you, so you can see? My friend Adam says he wouldn’t, because he is happy with what God has given him and feels like getting his sight would be like growing a third hand or something. Do you feel that way?”

“No. Though, Oliver Sacks has done studies and found that when blind people regain their sight, they often struggle because they do not how to process all the new stimuli. They often struggle with concepts such as depth perception and are not able to identify objects until they have felt them first. As your brain grows, it learns how to process the stimuli it takes in. So if someone wants to get sight after many years of not having it, the brain would not know what to do with all the extra stimuli, and what context to place it all in could lead to severe depression and possibly suicide.”

“You talk so well.”