3D blindness? (in drawings)

godoy on 2002-09-02T17:28:16

I have lots of difficulties seeing some stuff while doing technical drawings. Specially when changing from one perspective to another.

This weekend I had four drawings to do. I couldn't "see" any of them. And I tried hard.

I hate that, 'cause this "blindness" doesn't interfere with any technical stuff (all our needs are in 2D and the 3D is pretty obvious). Any more advanced drawing that I need can be done in some CAD program --- or I can draw it.

It is hard to convince my teacher of that... And it's even harder to convince her that I AM trying to draw and to see things.


On inate inabilities

merlyn on 2002-09-02T20:01:54

I too have a "blindness" of sorts. I cannot "see" anything that is not in front me at the moment. In other words, I have absolutely no visual recall or imagination. You can imagine what that does to my drawing ability.

And over the years, people have tried to get me to agree that it was just something I could learn but hadn't yet. But no.

I'm reminded of a moment from See No Evil, Hear No Evil where Richard Pryor is yelling into Gene Wilder's ear, thinking that just yelling "loud enough" would get the deaf man to hear. And of course it didn't.

I'm pretty sure that this is also the reason I have something like Face Blindness, since my only access into my past is through the word-stories I tell myself as I look at a scene, and usually when I'm talking to someone, I'm not also talking internally because that would be too confusing.

Icons also give me a lot of trouble, because I can't just look at them. I have to name every one of them, and then I forget the names. Gah.

Re:On inate inabilities

godoy on 2002-09-03T02:35:03

I've been reading the Face Blindness link you posted.

It must be very hard for you. But, as with several deficiencies, I think you found out some way to supply this deficience with an enhancement in something else. Maybe your memory might have been improved to help you remember the stories you tell yourself --- what might help you in anything that requires you to memorize things.

Anyway, this is something I didn't know that existed and thank you for the link to the book explaining what it is.

Re:On inate inabilities

godoy on 2002-09-03T02:47:14

Where I've written deficience, please read disability. This is a false cognate, and both words mean the same in Portuguese (although I think they can mean the same in English too, deficience sounds too strong).

Sorry.

Re:On in[n]ate inabilities

vsergu on 2002-09-07T02:34:54

Not too strong, just not quite the right word. Actually that's true for "deficiency", which you used first, as a plural. "Deficience", on the other hand, is not an English word (or at least not since the 1700s). Whether a particular word happens to use "-nce" or "-ncy" is pretty much random, though.

Regardless, I hadn't even noticed anything until you decided to follow up with the apology.

Corrections on my English.

godoy on 2002-09-07T11:50:40

Thank you. :-)

I wasn't sure, them I reread the first chapter of the indicated book and there it was: disability.

Now I know they are interchangeable, but I'll remember using the second one (disability).

Re:Corrections on my English.

vsergu on 2002-09-07T12:03:01

They're not interchangeable, but in the context of (very good) writing by someone who's not a native speaker, "deficiency" was understandable and didn't stand out as an error. It's not something a native speaker would use in that context, but it certainly wasn't offensive, which I think is what you were afraid of.

Re:On inate inabilities

chaoticset on 2002-09-03T13:00:07

Oddly enough, I think I have some of the face-blindness qualities, in the sense that I rarely recognize people if I haven't interacted with them much (it took great effort to make sure I knew the names of everybody in my current work's training, and I've been trying to make sure it carries over into the actual job).

My main coping strategy with this was lots of reading, all the time, everywhere, because then I could say "I didn't see you, I was reading." Of course it wasn't true most of the time -- I just didn't recognize them.

The trouble I got into with my parents was legendary at times, though -- "Why didn't you say hello to that person I introduced you to a week ago?" "I didn't recognize them."

Visual-imagination wise, I'm fine, but I'm not sure where the two cross over or cancel out or anything. I can draw a little bit.