Not so in the Dark: A Glimpse Into the Experience of Blindness
Finding Genius Podcast
Richard Jacobs
4.4 • 1K Ratings
🗓️ 11 January 2021
⏱️ 34 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Find what you're capable of doing, and double down on it until you do it well…and also, always try to get along with other people. These were the two primary lessons David Olney learned during his early childhood. These lessons could probably benefit any typical person, but Olney certainly learned them in an atypical way. Born with only five percent vision which was gone by the end of high school, Olney has led a unique and successful life and career.
Press play to discover:
- How the brains of London taxi drivers and blind people compare, and why
- Why technology to restore vision in people who have been blind for the majority of their lives actually poses a significant, difficult-to-overcome problem
- Which function on Olney's iPhone has added tremendous utility to his life
Olney is Associate Lecturer at Politics and International Relations (POLIR) at the University of Adelaide, whose blindness has led him to insights and understandings not always easily ascertained by sighted people.
For instance, he credits his blindness for his ability to process and find patterns in huge amounts of disparate data, which has proved useful in a number of ways, especially in terms of understanding security matters and modern war. As an example, it gave him the ability to develop a theory for making sense of Al-Qaeda—a group of people no one really knew anything about in the wake of 9/11—within just a few days, and applying this to what was in the media. Within a couple of months, he was providing lectures on the subject.
Among other topics, Olney discusses the particulars of his experience as a blind person—what he sees, what he feels, how he senses his environment, how he frames his interactions with his students and others in his life, and more.
Tune in for all the details, and check out Olney's podcast, Blind Insights.
Useful Links to Explore:
An Insight to Blindness: https://omny.fm/shows/blind-insights/blind-insights-with-david-episode-9-an-insight-to
Bonus Insights - David's Journey into the Void Adelaide's CBD): https://omny.fm/shows/blind-insights/bonus-insights-davids-journey-into-the-void-adelai
Available on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2Os0myK
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Forget frequently asked questions common sense common knowledge or Google how about advice from a real genius |
| 0:06.7 | 95% of people in any profession are good enough to be qualified and licensed 5% go and beyond. They become very good at what they do. |
| 0:15.0 | But only 0.1% are real Jesus. |
| 0:18.2 | Richard Jacobs has made it his life's mission to find them for you. |
| 0:22.3 | He hunts down and interviews geniuses in every field, |
| 0:25.0 | sleep science, cancer, stem cells, ketogenic diets, and more. Here come the geniuses. |
| 0:30.3 | This is the Finding Genius Podcast. |
| 0:33.0 | That is Richard Jacobs. |
| 0:35.0 | Hello, this is Richard Jacobs with the Finding Genius Podcast. |
| 0:41.0 | I have a returning guest, a man of many talents and interesting |
| 0:44.8 | things to say, David only. He's an associate lecturer at a place called Polier, |
| 0:49.7 | which is a weird acronym. It's politics and international relations part of the University of Adelaide. |
| 0:56.0 | Last time we spoke on various topics. This time, you know, Dave told me that he was born blind. |
| 1:01.7 | So I wanted to ask him what that's like because I always been curious about that and then he spoke briefly last time on war and how it's perceived by different people that are involved at all levels of a conflict, |
| 1:15.0 | which was also interesting. |
| 1:16.0 | So there's a probably be a hybrid of those two, but welcome back, David. |
| 1:20.0 | Thank you. |
| 1:21.0 | Thank you for having me back. |
| 1:22.0 | It was a pleasure last time, and I'm looking forward to today. |
| 1:25.6 | Yeah, so tell me, you know, this would normally be something I'd be shy to ask somebody because I feel like it's rude, |
| 1:31.4 | but what is it like in your daily experience being blind and |
| 1:34.6 | how do you when you relate to people like what have you noticed? |
... |
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