TDDPirate’s Ideas

One of the Free Software clubs in Israel (there are several such clubs, some of them organize Linux related lectures, others speak about Perl, and yet others do Python) wants to start making available from its Web site the audio recordings of lectures organized by it.

Of course, I am screaming murder about this. Before the new service is made available, my ability to access lecture contents after the fact was equivalent to that of hearing people. I could read presentations as well as they could. Now, that the lecture recordings would be available, they would be available only to hearing people. I would be left out in the cold.

This problem currently exists with Larry Wall’s lecture in Present Continous, Future Perfect, at least until all volunteers finish transcribing it (so far, 37:53 minutes out of 72:39 have been transcribed).

Now the search for technical, attitude and organizational problems is being conducted. One of my grave sorrows is that I am the only champion of the interests of the deaf in this discussion. Other Israeli deaf software developers (both oral and signing) are still hiding in the shadows.

A TV program about the Israeli space program is now being broadcasted in TV channel 1.
Without captions.
I am very interested in the Israeli space program and would like to be able to follow this program.
But I cannot.
So I cannot relate to the Israeli achievements and the Israeli space program.
I feel very alienated.

Few years ago I bought a Nokia 9110 cellular phone-FAX, after having developed Hebrew support for it. Eventually, I upgraded to Nokia 9210i. Now Eurocomm is advertising Nokia 9300, and I am considering buying one.

However, there are two problems:

• Their ads advertise a Web site and toll free phone number. No FAX number even though the 9300 has also FAX capability and part of its target market are the deaf.
• The Web site is not effective for selling Nokia 9300 because they do not answer people who fill the online form and inquire about the product (if to judge from my experience in going through the above twice).

It is a shame to require deaf people to go in person to Eurocomm to buy this cellular phone if the normally-hearing can arrange for this without leaving their homes.

Tomorrow, Monday 9 January 2006, the organizations of and for the hearing impaired in Israel will hold a memorial event (combined with demonstration) in memory of Shmuel Katz Z”L, who was killed a month ago in a train accident, whose root cause is lack of accessibility of the train to people with hearing and sight impairments.

The memorial event will be held at 18:00 in the entrance to the Hagana train station, Tel Aviv.
Few weeks ago, I wrote about the accessibility problems of Israel Railways.

The Web site of Israel Railways is at http://www.israrail.org.il/english/index.html. They list the following E-mail address for suggestions/remarks/comments: ayariv@rail.org.il.

I wrote about the philosophical dilemma and left a dangling hint that my own answer is forthcoming.

Henry Kisor, a deaf journalist, was educated by Doris Irene Mirrielees, who used an obscure methodology of educating deaf children. Her methodology was the oral one (teach ‘em to speak and lipread and do not expose them to Sign Language) but with the twist that she emphasized general knowledge over communication skills. Her methodology was different from the usual practice of educators following the oral methodology, which emphasized the utmost importance of communication skills.

Henry Kisor did all right and grew up to be a successful journalist. He had good communication skills, certainly when using the written word as a medium of communication.

So a good answer seems to be: when there is a working substitute to the lost ability, then do not bother with the lost ability but invest your time with those abilities which you have. Cannot hear? Read, write and use Sign Language. Cannot walk? Use a wheelchair. Spend your time perfecting that profound scientific discovery rather than overcoming your deafness, blindness and loss of your hands.

כותרת: דילמה פילוסופית של אנשים יצירתיים מאוד עם מוגבלויות - דעתי

כתבתי על הדילמה הפילוסופית והשארתי רמז שהתשובה שלי עוד תבוא.

הנרי קיסור, עיתונאי חרש, חונך על ידי דוריס אירינה מיריליס, שהשתמשה בשיטה לא נודעת לחינוך ילדים חרשים.  השיטה שלה היתה אורלית (למד אותם לדבר ולקרוא שפתיים ואל תחשוף אותם לשפת סימנים) אבל עם השינוי שהיא הדגישה ידע כללי (תוכן) על חשבון מיומנויות תקשורת. השיטה שלה היתה שונה מהנוהג המקובל של מחנכים שעובדים בשיטה האורלית, שהדגישה את החשיבות הרת הגורל של מיומנויות תקשורת.

הנרי קיסור יצא בסדר גמור וכשהיה גדול הפך להיות עיתונאי מצליח. היו לו מיומנויות תקשורת טובות, כמובן כולל שימוש במילה הכתובה כאמצעי תקשורת.

כך שתשובה טובה היא כנראה: כשיש חלופה שעובדת ליכולת שלא קיימת, אז אל תטרח לשקם את היכולת החסרה אלא השקע את זמנך באותן יכולות שיש לך. אינך יכול לשמוע? קרא, כתוב והשתמש בשפת סימנים. אינך יכול ללכת? השתמש בכסא גלגלים. השקע את זמנך בליטוש התגלית המדעית הגדולה ההיא במקום להתגבר על חרשותך, עוורונך ואובדן היכולת להשתמש בידיך.

There is a thread (in Hebrew) about the subject in Ort’s Sci-Fi forum. The topic was opened by me after having seen a discussion in a forum of Israeli cochlear implant (CI) users about using CI on Saturdays.

The next question is: are there any halachic considerations concerning life with heart pacers. They are not ordinarily turned on or off by the human who carries them, unlike hearing aids or cochlear implants. However, the heart beat rate might be varied according to what the human is doing with himself. I do not know the details but I assume that it is possible to vary the paced heart beat rate by performing certain actions, such as running. The question is now whether this is allowed on Saturday by the Jewish halacha.

Suppose you are wheelchair bound, but if you invest two hours a day for two years in physiotherapy, you will be able to walk with a cane. Or you are deaf and are offered a cochlear implant followed by two hours a day of auditory practice (time includes also transportation from your home to the center and back) for several months afterward.

On the other hand, you have a big idea which can benefit immensely the mankind but needs your undivided attention for the next few years. This could be a big invention such as an inexpensive means of reaching the space, a book exposing a profound and breakthrough philosophical theory, or political action to liberate a group of 30 million oppressed people.

Or simply study in an university until you earn a Ph.D.; or build a successful startup which makes millionaires of you and three of your associates, and solves the problem of financing housing for tens of other people.

What should you choose? Spend the time overcoming your disability, or achieve something big using your abilities?

My own answer - later.

כותרת:  דילמה פילוסופית של אנשים יצירתיים מאוד עם מוגבלויות

נניח שהינך מרותק לכסא גלגלים, אבל אם תשקיע שעתיים ביום במשך שנתיים בפיזיותרפיה, תוכל ללכת בעזרת מקל הליכה. או הינך חרש ומציעים לך שתל קוכליארי שידרוש ממך אימוני שמיעה במשך שעתיים כל יום (הזמן כולל גם תחבורה מביתך למרכז ובחזרה) במשך חודשים רבים לאחר ניתוח ההשתלה.

מצד שני, יש לך רעיון אדיר שיכול להביא תועלת אדירה לאנושות אבל דורש את תשומת ליבך הבלעדית במשך השנים הבאות. זו יכולה להיות המצאה גדולה כמו דרך זולה להגיע לחלל, ספר שחושף תיאוריה פילוסופית מעמיקה ופורצת דרך, או פעילות פוליטית כדי לשחרר קבוצה של 30 מיליון בני אדם מדוכאים.

או פשוט ללמוד באוניברסיטה עד קבלת תואר ד”ר; או הקמת חברת הזנק מצליחה שתהפוך אותך ושלושה משותפיך למיליונרים, ופותרת את בעית מימון הדיור של עשרות אנשים אחרים.

במה עליך לבחור? להשקיע את זמנך בהתגברות על מוגבלותך, או בהשגת הישג יוצא מגדר הרגיל תוך ניצול היכולות שלך?

התשובה האישית שלי - אחר כך.

In pursuit of the right of people having disabilities to commit the same sins as people who are fully bodily abled: http://news.walla.co.il/?w=/2/830785

Few days ago, Shmuel Katz, an hearing-impaired and sight-impaired man, was killed by the train in Tel Aviv.
He boarded the wrong train, and when trying to leave it in haste, he was trapped at the train’s door and was killed.

The root cause for his death is insufficient accessibility of train related information to people with hearing and sight impairments. Information about the destination of the current train in a platform is not always displayed, and announcements over the public address system are, of course, not heard by hearing impaired people.

The problem of the announcements is the reason why I stopped using the train until further notice.

My parents live in Jerusalem, not far from the Malacha train station in southwest Jerusalem.
When the train line to Jerusalem was reopened, I made frequent use of it to travel from Petah Tikva to Jerusalem and back. Since the reason for trips was to visit family rather than business or work, I did not mind the schedule problems of the train.

However, one day I read in the newspaper that due to schedule problems, the management canceled the stops in Bnei Berak, Petah Tikva and Rosh Hayin in a train run passing through Petah Tikva. The cancellations were announced in the public address system. This incident was newsworthy, because the passengers, who expected to leave the train in the canceled stops, blocked the train’s doors open and prevented it from leaving the station it was in Tel Aviv. The train run was canceled.

If I were on that train, I’d not have a clue about the happening, and would have risked finding myself in Hod Hasharon instead of my destination - Petah Tikva - and since there are no convenient bus lines from the Kfar Sava-Hod Hasharon train station to “my” train station, I would have wasted several hours getting back to my car parked in the Petah Tikva train station.

Therefore I decided to go back to using my car to visit my parents in Jerusalem, until the train becomes 100% accessible to hearing impaired people, and the management demonstrates more scheduling responsibility.

Like other 200,000 Israelis, I attended Itzhak Rabin’s memorial event, which was held in Rabin Square, Tel Aviv, Israel.
After the event, I wrote an article about my take of the event’s
accessibility to hearing impaired people.