Invention of Braille | The OpenBook

The history of Braille
All of us are aware that Braille is a system of reading and writing used by the blind the world over. Very few of us know how this came into existence and what uses it was put to in earlier times.
The credit of discovering this system is given to Louis Braille a French educator and inventor. At a very young age Braille was interested in trying out the dot and letter method on material and one such experiment cost him his eyes. All along his parents tried to bring him up like a normal child. He had a great level of intelligence and his teachers were happy to help him.
Chance knowledge of the Braille system used by French soldiers at night to communicate with each other at night was the start of the Braille system as we know it today. He was fourteen then when he worked on it.
Another interesting fact about Braille is that NASA has named an asteroid Braille to honour him.
The Braille alphabet takes up more space than the regular alphabet so the books are larger and more in volume.
Braille is not a language but relates to the sense of touch so any language can perceived with it.
The number of people using Braille is limited thanks to the coming of audio books etc.
There is a Los Angeles based Braille society which conducts an Olympiad for the visually impaired every year.
Dr. Nemeth has developed a code with his name which allows the visually impaired to master mathematics too.
Just as there is shorthand in typewriting Braille too has a short version where contractions are used . There is a longer version which gives the full word.
Last but not the least America has made it mandatory to have all ATMs Braille friendly so that the visually impaired are not dependent on anyone for their needs.
This all goes to prove that Braille was a trail blazer for the blind and probably it was Helen Keller who popularized its use. #theopenbook #Education #Educationalvideos #Studyiq #learn #Cbse #icse #ssc #generalknowledge