When a being is submitting a threat, through an audio-only channel, to destroy paperclips if you don’t do X, when that being prefers you doing X to destroying paperclips.
(The example generalizes to cases where you have a preference for something else instead of quantity of existent paperclips.)
So far, most of the answers are variations on being able to avoid unwanted noise or indirect effects of that ability (e.g. being able to pay less for a house because it’s in a very noisy area and most people don’t want it). There’ve also been comments about being able to get away with ignoring people, occasionally finding out things via lip-reading that the people speaking don’t think you’ll catch, and being able to use sign language in situations where spoken language is difficult or useless (in a noisy bar, while scuba diving).
These advantages look like rationalisations made by the parents in question, while I suspect (without evidence, I admit) that they simply fear their children being different. Seriously, ask a hearing person whether (s)he would accept a deafening operation in order to get away with ignoring people more easily.
Any condition can have similar “advantages”. Blind people are able to sleep during daylight, can easily ignore visual distractions, are better piano tuners on average. Should blind parents therefore have a right to make their child blind if they wish? Or should any parents be allowed to deliberately have a child without legs, because, say, there is a greater chance to succeed in the sledge hockey than in the normal one?
I get the point of campaigns aiming to move certain conditions from the category “disease” to the category “minority”. “Disease” is an emotionaly loaded term, and the people with the respective conditions may have easier life due to such campaigns. On the other hand, we mustn’t forget that they would have even more easier life without the condition.
“Disease” is an emotionaly loaded term, and the people with the respective conditions may have easier life due to such campaigns. On the other hand, we mustn’t forget that they would have even more easier life without the condition.
Obligatory Gideon’s Crossing quote:
Mother [to a black doctor who wants to give cochlear implants to her daughter]: You think that hearing people are better than deaf people. Doctor: I’m only saying it’s easier. Mother: Would your life be easier if you were white?
With that said, I agree those sound like rationalizations.
Or should any parents be allowed to deliberately have a child without legs, because, say, there is a greater chance to succeed in the sledge hockey than in the normal one?
All of which are either obtainable through merely being hearing-impaired*, wearing ear-plugs, being raised by signing parents, or simple training.
Some benefits are bogus—for example, living in a noisy area doesn’t work because the noxious noises (say, from passing trains) are low-frequency and that’s where hearing is best; even the deaf can hear/feel loud bass or whatnot.
* full disclosure: I am hearing-impaired myself, and regard with horror the infliction of deafness or hearing-impairedness on anyone, but especially children.
I have the opposite problem, so perhaps I can add some insight.
Basically, I have Yvain’s sensitivity to audio distractions, plus I have more sensitive hearing—I’ll sometimes complain about sounds that others can’t hear. (And yes, I’ll verify that it’s real by following it to the source.)
Ear plugs don’t actually work against these distractions—I’ve tried it (I can sometimes hear riveting going on from my office at work). They block out a lot of those external sounds, but then create an additional path that allows you to hear your own breathing.
I agree that I wouldn’t be better off deaf, but there is such a thing as too much hearing.
Have you tried noise cancelling headphones? I found them pretty effective for cutting out audio distractions at work (when playing music). I stopped using them because they were a little too effective—people would come and try to get my attention and I’d be completely oblivious to their presence.
I’ve tried noise-cancelling headphones, but without playing music through them, because that is itself a distraction to me. It only worked against steady, patterned background noise.
I find certain types of music less distracting than the alternative of random background noise. Trance works well for me because it is fairly repetitive and so doesn’t distract me with trying to listen to the music too closely. It also helps if I’m listening to something I’m very familiar with and with the tracks in a set order rather than on shuffle. Mix CDs are good because there are no distracting breaks between tracks.
Seconding all of this except the bit about set order rather than shuffle, which I haven’t tried—it otherwise matches the advice I was going to give. Also, songs with no words or with words in a language you don’t speak are better than songs with words, and if you don’t want or can’t tolerate explicitly noise-canceling headphones, earplugs + headphones with the music turned up very loud also works.
In what situations is being deaf an advantage?
When a being is submitting a threat, through an audio-only channel, to destroy paperclips if you don’t do X, when that being prefers you doing X to destroying paperclips.
(The example generalizes to cases where you have a preference for something else instead of quantity of existent paperclips.)
/handwaves appeal to UDT/TDT/CDT/*DT
And by allowing yourself to remain deaf, you have defected and acausally forced other beings to defect, rendering you worse off.
Wakarimasen.
I don’t understand.
Exactly.
I’m researching this.
So far, most of the answers are variations on being able to avoid unwanted noise or indirect effects of that ability (e.g. being able to pay less for a house because it’s in a very noisy area and most people don’t want it). There’ve also been comments about being able to get away with ignoring people, occasionally finding out things via lip-reading that the people speaking don’t think you’ll catch, and being able to use sign language in situations where spoken language is difficult or useless (in a noisy bar, while scuba diving).
I’m still looking; there may be more.
These advantages look like rationalisations made by the parents in question, while I suspect (without evidence, I admit) that they simply fear their children being different. Seriously, ask a hearing person whether (s)he would accept a deafening operation in order to get away with ignoring people more easily.
Any condition can have similar “advantages”. Blind people are able to sleep during daylight, can easily ignore visual distractions, are better piano tuners on average. Should blind parents therefore have a right to make their child blind if they wish? Or should any parents be allowed to deliberately have a child without legs, because, say, there is a greater chance to succeed in the sledge hockey than in the normal one?
I get the point of campaigns aiming to move certain conditions from the category “disease” to the category “minority”. “Disease” is an emotionaly loaded term, and the people with the respective conditions may have easier life due to such campaigns. On the other hand, we mustn’t forget that they would have even more easier life without the condition.
Obligatory Gideon’s Crossing quote:
Mother [to a black doctor who wants to give cochlear implants to her daughter]: You think that hearing people are better than deaf people.
Doctor: I’m only saying it’s easier.
Mother: Would your life be easier if you were white?
With that said, I agree those sound like rationalizations.
Also airplane dogfights, I’m given to understand.
All of which are either obtainable through merely being hearing-impaired*, wearing ear-plugs, being raised by signing parents, or simple training.
Some benefits are bogus—for example, living in a noisy area doesn’t work because the noxious noises (say, from passing trains) are low-frequency and that’s where hearing is best; even the deaf can hear/feel loud bass or whatnot.
* full disclosure: I am hearing-impaired myself, and regard with horror the infliction of deafness or hearing-impairedness on anyone, but especially children.
I have the opposite problem, so perhaps I can add some insight.
Basically, I have Yvain’s sensitivity to audio distractions, plus I have more sensitive hearing—I’ll sometimes complain about sounds that others can’t hear. (And yes, I’ll verify that it’s real by following it to the source.)
Ear plugs don’t actually work against these distractions—I’ve tried it (I can sometimes hear riveting going on from my office at work). They block out a lot of those external sounds, but then create an additional path that allows you to hear your own breathing.
I agree that I wouldn’t be better off deaf, but there is such a thing as too much hearing.
Have you tried simplynoise.com? For me, their Brown noise generator is the best thing for eliminating sound distractions.
I’ll have to give that a try, thanks.
Have you tried noise cancelling headphones? I found them pretty effective for cutting out audio distractions at work (when playing music). I stopped using them because they were a little too effective—people would come and try to get my attention and I’d be completely oblivious to their presence.
I’ve tried noise-cancelling headphones, but without playing music through them, because that is itself a distraction to me. It only worked against steady, patterned background noise.
I find certain types of music less distracting than the alternative of random background noise. Trance works well for me because it is fairly repetitive and so doesn’t distract me with trying to listen to the music too closely. It also helps if I’m listening to something I’m very familiar with and with the tracks in a set order rather than on shuffle. Mix CDs are good because there are no distracting breaks between tracks.
Seconding all of this except the bit about set order rather than shuffle, which I haven’t tried—it otherwise matches the advice I was going to give. Also, songs with no words or with words in a language you don’t speak are better than songs with words, and if you don’t want or can’t tolerate explicitly noise-canceling headphones, earplugs + headphones with the music turned up very loud also works.
Fair enough. It would be surprising if everyone had exactly optimal hearing.