Comments on: Gene Therapy for Color Blindness

By: The Ridger

The Ridger — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 18:22:02 +0000

Colorized movies is an inapt comparison. They were specifically composed and shot for the black and white palette.

(And really? An ugly nose gives you character? And then you lose it? Pretty people don’t have character? )

I do agree however that the sudden onslaught of color could be an overwhelming and disorienting thing.

By: robin andrea

robin andrea — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:08:58 +0000

I would like to think we might have a hierarchy of suffering or illnesses to attend to with gene therapy, and that color blindness would fall somewhere very low on the list. All those maladies that are life threatening would be at the top.

My father was color blind, and would often come out of the bedroom in the mornings holding two socks. “Are these the same color,” he would ask. If no one was home to ask, he spent many a day at work with a blue sock on one foot and a black on the other. It was something quite endearing, really.

By: hat_eater

hat_eater — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 11:02:22 +0000

While my partial deafness gives me some degree of protection in the noisy big city, it also makes me imagine noises coming from the children’s bedroom and guess words that have not been spoken. I wish I had my acute hearing back. And while I understand people who might not want their perception altered to the generally agreed upon standards, I’d never protest the idea of cure for the weakened senses.

By: Greg P

Greg P — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 00:02:49 +0000

It’s always problematic when people with such differences are labelled as “suffering.” It’s part of what leads to some not seeing the dilemma that you see here.

There are some congenitally blind people against the idea of giving the blind sight, seen as an encroachment on their world as they know it, and I suppose it underscores the idea that others have that they are deficient or incomplete.