What do blind people see? Learn the scientific answers

Sighted people often have a hard time imagining how people with visual impairments see. Most people think being blind is like closing your eyes and seeing complete darkness. However, these misconceptions couldn’t be further from the truth, especially for people who were born blind.

This article shares insightful information to help you better understand what blind people may see.

Types and common causes of blindness

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are more than two million visually impaired people. Half of these cases have preventable vision loss, such as people with hypertension (hypertensive retinopathy) who develop blindness due to lack of eye care access.

Vision impairment can be caused by numerous other factors and eye diseases, including:

• Unaddressed refractive error—an eye disorder characterized by lack of focus
• Macular degeneration—a disease targeting fine central vision
• Cataract—a clouding of the eye lens
• Glaucoma—optic nerve damage due to fluid buildup
• Diabetic retinopathy—caused by high blood sugar in diabetics
• Unaddressed presbyopia—farsightedness due to loss of eye lens elasticity

A lack of vision or the inability to see is generally referred to as blindness. Different types of blindness include:

• Complete blindness—The absolute inability to see and detect light. Such blind people are more prone to circadian rhythm disorders.
• Partial blindness—Low vision or being able to see some light.
• Congenital blindnes—Inherited retina and eye conditions causing poor vision.
• Legal blindness—A person is legally blind if they have a visual acuity of 20/200 in central vision in the best-seeing eye with contact lenses or glass correction. This type of vision means a person needs to see an object 10 times the size of a sighted person in order to see well. Legal blindness also refers to a visual field of less than 20 degrees for peripheral vision.
• Nutritional blindness—Condition caused by vitamin A deficiency.

Light perception, or being able to determine if there is an absence of light, along with tunnel vision, are other common forms of blindness.

Lack of vision may be caused by numerous other factors. A person may not be able to treat the underlying medical condition causing the blindness. They may not be able to tolerate the medical interventions to save their sight. They may also lack access to vision rehabilitation equipment, including white canes and other assistive products.

Trauma and injury at any point in life can also cause blindness.

Light, darkness, and dreams—What do people who are blind see?

The visual perception of a blind person depends on their type of blindness. People with low vision or permanently reduced vision can still see well with the help of magnifying devices or corrective lenses. Those with total blindness, however, can’t see any light at all.

People with low vision can see some colors and shapes, but they may find recognizing faces or reading street signs hard. If the blindness progresses, they will see less and less over time. Still, some people with low vision have hazy or unclear vision that can be corrected with specific measures.

Some visual impairments compromise the person’s field of vision. People may see blurry spots, or blind spots in the middle. Others may have impaired peripheral vision. These issues can affect one or both eyes.

People who are born blind live in complete blindness and can’t see anything. They don’t have the ability to perceive colors—not even black, gray, or white. Much like sighted people can’t sense the magnetic field or ultraviolet light, people who were born blind can’t react to or visualize colors. They can, however, understand why two fruits of the same type may share the same color.

Blind people’s dreams

Blind people can dream just like everyone else. They have similar emotional responses and sighted people. However, how blind people dream can differ from person to person. The amount of things they can see in their dreams depends on how much sight they have while awake.

People who are born blind mostly dream about their other senses—taste, touch, sound, and smell. They also have more nightmares, according to studies.

Many blind people experience nightmares and more aggressive dreams in general. A potential cause is their inability to create mental images that make sensations and memories easy to process.

Some blind people who perceive flashes of light and color may have dreams of those experiences.

A lack of vision doesn’t stop people from enjoying life

Blindness doesn’t necessarily restrict a person from enjoying their life to the fullest. Blind people can enjoy numerous activities, such as:

• Dancing
• Cooking meals together
• Attending music concerts
• Volunteering
• Going shopping
• Swimming
• Playing video games and board games
• Using social media
• Hiking or walking with a guide dog
• Writing
• Crafts and arts
• Listening to audiobooks 

Speechify Audiobooks—Because literature is for everyone

People with visual impairments like low vision, no light perception, macular degeneration, optic nerve damage, and other eye diseases can stay connected and entertained with the help of audiobooks.

Speechify is an online platform hosting over 60,000 audiobooks in all genres. The platform is available as a desktop and mobile app, and it works offline or online. Speechify is ideal for the visually impaired because it helps enrich their knowledge in an easily digestible format.

Blind individuals who’d like to experience an alternative to Braille can read books with the help of Speechify Audiobooks. Give Speechify a free try, or learn more details by visiting the official page.

FAQ

Can a blind person see black?

People who were born blind simply can’t tell whether they see black. Those who could see at some point in their lives may have a point of reference to differentiate whether they see black or another color.

Do some blind people see all white?

People who were born blind don’t see all white or all black. They don’t comprehend the concept of “seeing,” much like sighted people lack the concept of sensing magnetic fields or ultraviolet light.

Are blind people’s eyes open or closed more often?

Some blind people who were born that way may keep their eyes closed because they lack the stimulus to open their eyes.

Can some blind people see the same colors as sighted people?

People who were born blind don’t see color. However, they can understand that two similar things, like two apples, are more likely to be the same color.