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203

https://www.quora.com/Why-are-people-starting-to-believe-that-Hellen-Keller-was-faking-being-blind-and-deaf-Is-it-true-that-it-is-now-a-conspiracy-theory

Some of the videos showcasing her skills went a LITTLE too far in her abilities:

First, there are a few places where she clearly responds to people verbally talking to her with no touch. Then, in the example of how she communicates… the slowed down version is unrealistic, and there’s no way some of those letters could be differentiated even at slow speed… and at full speed, that REALLY looks like jibbrish.

If that were possible, one would think it could be replicated… ever again with anyone else? But I know I can’t find anyone else who’s learned to communicate anything like that. Yes, blind/deaf people can have some success… but not like that. Something certainly seems to be “up” there.

That raised suspicions about the content of her books that were functionally identical to the ideas Anne Sullivan was trying to publish without any traction… but coming from Hellen, they became famous.

Most strangely, Hellen Keller’s advocacy for eugenics… the idea that disabled kids, and kids with with the wrong skin color should be removed from the gene pool. That’s a pretty awkward opinion to come from the a disabled person that would have no concept of skin color beyond what was taught to her by Anne Sullivan.

That said, it’s not surprising for a person to share the views of their teachers. And the explanation of how she learned to verbally speak with the hand placement to feel the combinations of sounds is quite realistic. I know THAT works, and people do it.

You can probably do it yourself and get an idea how this really could work, with some practice and patience.

The thing is, there are also silent videos of her using this position:

And she responds immediately, talking at normal speed. Sure, I’d expect her to have improved her fluency over time… but then later videos with sound, she goes back to 1 word per 2–3 seconds, reverting to the pace shown in the first video. That inconsistency makes things look questionable.

I’d take a somewhat middleground. I don’t think there was anything particularly malicious going on. I wouldn’t accuse her of “faking it.” … But I wouldn’t at all be surprised if there was some tactical exaggeration going on. Hearing and vision are not binary things that either work perfectly or are completely shut off. There are plenty of people legitimately classified as deaf… who can still hear with a hearing aid as simple as Beethoven’s ear horn. (Beethoven being another person who wasn’t quite as deaf as people assume)

https://www.quora.com/Why-are-people-starting-to-believe-that-Hellen-Keller-was-faking-being-blind-and-deaf-Is-it-true-that-it-is-now-a-conspiracy-theory Some of the videos showcasing her skills went a LITTLE too far in her abilities: First, there are a few places where she clearly responds to people verbally talking to her with no touch. Then, in the example of how she communicates… the slowed down version is unrealistic, and there’s no way some of those letters could be differentiated even at slow speed… and at full speed, that REALLY looks like jibbrish. If that were possible, one would think it could be replicated… ever again with anyone else? But I know I can’t find anyone else who’s learned to communicate anything like that. Yes, blind/deaf people can have some success… but not like that. Something certainly seems to be “up” there. That raised suspicions about the content of her books that were functionally identical to the ideas Anne Sullivan was trying to publish without any traction… but coming from Hellen, they became famous. Most strangely, Hellen Keller’s advocacy for eugenics… the idea that disabled kids, and kids with with the wrong skin color should be removed from the gene pool. That’s a pretty awkward opinion to come from the a disabled person that would have no concept of skin color beyond what was taught to her by Anne Sullivan. That said, it’s not surprising for a person to share the views of their teachers. And the explanation of how she learned to verbally speak with the hand placement to feel the combinations of sounds is quite realistic. I know THAT works, and people do it. You can probably do it yourself and get an idea how this really could work, with some practice and patience. The thing is, there are also silent videos of her using this position: And she responds immediately, talking at normal speed. Sure, I’d expect her to have improved her fluency over time… but then later videos with sound, she goes back to 1 word per 2–3 seconds, reverting to the pace shown in the first video. That inconsistency makes things look questionable. I’d take a somewhat middleground. I don’t think there was anything particularly malicious going on. I wouldn’t accuse her of “faking it.” … But I wouldn’t at all be surprised if there was some tactical exaggeration going on. Hearing and vision are not binary things that either work perfectly or are completely shut off. There are plenty of people legitimately classified as deaf… who can still hear with a hearing aid as simple as Beethoven’s ear horn. (Beethoven being another person who wasn’t quite as deaf as people assume)

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[–] 2 pts

Lol how do you find this stuff