ronald_schoedel's review
4.0
A couple decades ago, when this author was likely a toddler, I was a reader of newspapers and books for the blind on the sub-channel of a local FM radio station. Anyone who wanted to listen to us had to have a special kind of FM radio, available generally only to those with sight disabilities. A sight-impaired listener could tune in at a predetermined time based on a regular schedule, and hear the comics being read and described, certain magazines at given times, novels, newspapers, and so forth. But one had to listen to what was on, or know when to tune in to hear a novel, and then hope they don't miss a day. Listening to Robert Kingett talk about how he struggled with a conventional FM radio to find news and entertainment brought back many memories of my time in radio, and in the sight-impaired reading service, and made me think about how far the world has really come for everyone, and especially sight-impaired persons, with respect to access to information and knowledge. For the current generation of internet users, doing without the internet seems nigh impossible. For a modern blind person in the West, to whom the internet has opened up so many possibilities, being cut off from the internet is probably unthinkable. A sighted person would find it difficult to give up their sight for a month, I suspect, and I would guess it was not much easier for Robert to give up his access to the world.
Today, Mr. Kingett can access anything he wants on the internet, read any newspaper, listen to any novel, etc., with very little difficulty. In the mid-90s, it was not so. Hearing how Robert and other sight impaired persons have been able to benefit from the internet so immensely really made me appreciate the current state of technology, and appreciate it all the more, especially knowing how absolutely critical are many of the current technologies to the blind community. What are niceties for me are necessities for them.
But, everything comes with a cost, and the cost of our interconnectedness on the net is sometimes our lack of real life connectivity between human beings. Robert's experiment should serve as a reminder to readers to not rely entirely on technology where there are human relationships and connectedness to experience. Looking up phone numbers on the web or asking Siri to get us directions is one thing; abandoning real interpersonal friendships in exchange for Facebook and Skype chatting can diminish our humanity and understanding, if we allow these technologies to completely displace real life. Moderation is the key.
Robert's month-long experiment was longer than I think I should like to do without any connectivity at all. I appreciated his perspective as well as the background details he provided as to why certain parts of the internet were so useful to him, much more critical than they are to me or the general sighted community. In this way, the book also serves to help sighted readers to better understand the sight-impaired community's needs and how technology can be so useful.
(The author provided a copy of his book for review purposes.)
Today, Mr. Kingett can access anything he wants on the internet, read any newspaper, listen to any novel, etc., with very little difficulty. In the mid-90s, it was not so. Hearing how Robert and other sight impaired persons have been able to benefit from the internet so immensely really made me appreciate the current state of technology, and appreciate it all the more, especially knowing how absolutely critical are many of the current technologies to the blind community. What are niceties for me are necessities for them.
But, everything comes with a cost, and the cost of our interconnectedness on the net is sometimes our lack of real life connectivity between human beings. Robert's experiment should serve as a reminder to readers to not rely entirely on technology where there are human relationships and connectedness to experience. Looking up phone numbers on the web or asking Siri to get us directions is one thing; abandoning real interpersonal friendships in exchange for Facebook and Skype chatting can diminish our humanity and understanding, if we allow these technologies to completely displace real life. Moderation is the key.
Robert's month-long experiment was longer than I think I should like to do without any connectivity at all. I appreciated his perspective as well as the background details he provided as to why certain parts of the internet were so useful to him, much more critical than they are to me or the general sighted community. In this way, the book also serves to help sighted readers to better understand the sight-impaired community's needs and how technology can be so useful.
(The author provided a copy of his book for review purposes.)
misfitangel's review
5.0
Imagine for a second, a whole month with out Internet. No facebook, no twitter, no Google maps, no checking the wether with Siri. Could you do it? Imagine you are also blind. No scanning letters or food packaging, back to big old braille books, ten paving stone volumes a piece, no checking the wether unless it's on the good old fashioned radio or tv, catch up doesn’t count. Could you do it? Well Robert Kinget did, and here he takes us through his journey back in time to the stone age. Not only are his interactions with strangers hilarious, like dude, I could never be as confident and persistent as he is on the phone, but he actually makes some extremely valid observations about our society. This was obviously an enlightening experience for him, and I really picked that up in the book. This book is grate for the sheer curiosity factor, the appropriate catch phrase being " I busted a gut living a month with out my virtual life line so the rest of you blindies don't have to". So the book is good for that alone, plus the humorous anecdotes and encounters chronicled along the way that'll almost certainly put a smile on the face of the grouchiest cynic, and the fact that this book will force you to think about your day to day life and the social climate around you. All of this mixed in a bowl, and put in the oven for thirty minutes, leaves you with an extremely engaging, funny, and thought provoking book, with intelligent prose and raiser sharp commentary. Excuse the cake analogy, I haven't been out in a while.
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