What would an actual Deaf World be like?

RedFox · 06-21-2008, 07:36 PM

If humans never had ears or hearing and were all deaf and maybe with no voice boxes, what would it be like?

Here are things I can think of:

No ear infections

Lots of written materials in something like Signwriting for the signed languages of the world, which would be the majority of languages at least
Telegraph encoding the symbols for written signs

Quicker development of electronic visual formats

Treatment of sound as something invisible to measure mainly with instruments, like how we treat radio waves and magnetic fields in the real world

Music being geared for feeling it, so it would lack high pitches and have more infrasound

Lots of work on integration of the bass music and visual effects

No need for sign language interpreters unless you want to translate between different sign languages

Different computer systems for typing, maybe more like what they use to type Chinese and Signwriting

No oralists

Secretblend · 06-21-2008, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedFox

If humans never had ears or hearing and were all deaf and maybe with no voice boxes, what would it be like?

Here are things I can think of:

No ear infections

Lots of written materials in something like Signwriting for the signed languages of the world, which would be the majority of languages at least
Telegraph encoding the symbols for written signs

Quicker development of electronic visual formats

Treatment of sound as something invisible to measure mainly with instruments, like how we treat radio waves and magnetic fields in the real world

Music being geared for feeling it, so it would lack high pitches and have more infrasound

Lots of work on integration of the bass music and visual effects

No need for sign language interpreters unless you want to translate between different sign languages

Different computer systems for typing, maybe more like what they use to type Chinese and Signwriting

No oralists

One flaw, there would be no such a thing as music since it is all sounds and language. If no ears or voicebox, music wouldn't exist.

RedFox · 06-21-2008, 08:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Secretblend

One flaw, there would be no such a thing as music since it is all sounds and language. If no ears or voicebox, music wouldn't exist.

It could be low frequency instrumental music meant to be felt. It could be used to provide a beat for dancing and synchronized with visual effects and signing performances.

Interestingly, deaf people process vibration in the auditory cortex as well as the part that normally processes vibrations. Hearing people don't use both areas for that. This was a study done at UoR using fMRI to see the varying blood flow to parts of the brains of people from NTID and hearing people exposed to vibrations while being scanned.

Secretblend · 06-21-2008, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedFox

It could be low frequency instrumental music meant to be felt. It could be used to provide a beat for dancing and synchronized with visual effects and signing performances.

Interestingly, deaf people process vibration in the auditory cortex as well as the part that normally processes vibrations. Hearing people don't use both areas for that. This was a study done at UoR using fMRI to see the varying blood flow to parts of the brains of people from NTID and hearing people exposed to vibrations while being scanned.

Still a flaw.

If no ears or voicebox, we would not have the auditory cortex. Gets pretty complex dones't it?

RedFox · 06-21-2008, 10:13 PM

Sure.

Then the deaf people with no ears in the totally deaf would would only be able to feel sound and process it in one place, not two.

***VamPyroX*** · 06-22-2008, 12:22 AM

If a hearing person appeared, they would do something to make that person deaf.

If deafness was actually normal, there wouldn't be need for ears. Therefore, evolutionary history would lead us to having no ears. I feel sad for people who need glasses. They wouldn't have ears for the glasses to stay on.

Bottesini · 06-22-2008, 12:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VamPyroX

If a hearing person appeared, they would do something to make that person deaf.

If deafness was actually normal, there wouldn't be need for ears. Therefore, evolutionary history would lead us to having no ears. I feel sad for people who need glasses. They wouldn't have ears for the glasses to stay on.

They could wear glasses like goggles with strap. Like some basketball players. Might be more comfortable.

***VamPyroX*** · 06-22-2008, 01:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bottesini

They could wear glasses like goggles with strap. Like some basketball players. Might be more comfortable.

Or... wear this?

http://xo.typepad.com/blog/oakley.jpg

06-21-2008, 07:36 PM	#1 (permalink)
RedFox Registered User Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Bellows Falls, VT Posts: 1,195	What would an actual Deaf World be like? If humans never had ears or hearing and were all deaf and maybe with no voice boxes, what would it be like? Here are things I can think of: No ear infections Lots of written materials in something like Signwriting for the signed languages of the world, which would be the majority of languages at least Telegraph encoding the symbols for written signs Quicker development of electronic visual formats Treatment of sound as something invisible to measure mainly with instruments, like how we treat radio waves and magnetic fields in the real world Music being geared for feeling it, so it would lack high pitches and have more infrasound Lots of work on integration of the bass music and visual effects No need for sign language interpreters unless you want to translate between different sign languages Different computer systems for typing, maybe more like what they use to type Chinese and Signwriting No oralists

06-22-2008, 12:22 AM	#6 (permalink)
*VamPyroX* bloody phreak from hell Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Hell Posts: 27,844	If a hearing person appeared, they would do something to make that person deaf. If deafness was actually normal, there wouldn't be need for ears. Therefore, evolutionary history would lead us to having no ears. I feel sad for people who need glasses. They wouldn't have ears for the glasses to stay on. __________________ Check out my city... CLICK HERE! (If you already visited yesterday, visit again today!)

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06-21-2008, 10:13 PM	#5 (permalink)
RedFox Registered User Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Bellows Falls, VT Posts: 1,195	Sure. Then the deaf people with no ears in the totally deaf would would only be able to feel sound and process it in one place, not two.