Can We See With Our Fingertips?

Last Updated on April 20, 2020

Wouldn’t you think that a person born blind cannot see shapes and colors the way we see them?

I thought so, until I was sent this video, which I’m going to show you here: it is a documentary about a Turkish painter, Esref Armagan, who was born without eyes. Despite the fact the he has never seen the world as we see it, if you look at his paintings and you don’t know he’s blind, you’d never guess that.

Scientists at the Toronto University put Esref at some tests: he had to make a drawing while they were CT scanning his brain. They were amazed to see that the brain regions which are in relation with sight were activated while he was drawing, just like in normal people. It’s just like the blind painter sees with his fingertips.