Blind colour

A journalist registered blind with no light perception has challenged the idea that blindness automatically equals darkness

1 min read

Ryan O'Hare

02 March 2015

A BBC journalist has described his colourful experience of blindness, saying that blind does not equal black.

In an article in the online BBC Magazine, reporter Damon Rose detailed his visual experiences as a registered blind person with ‘no light perception’.

Mr Rose said that his blindness is “a kind of visual tinnitus,” describing seeing vivid colours and shapes in his field of vision.

He describes seeing “geometric shapes, squiggles and clouds,” and questions whether his experiences are unique, or whether such visualisations are a common feature for other blind people with no light perception.

Challenging the oft cited literary association of blindness with absolute darkness, he writes: “Though I've had the cord cut between my eyes and my brain, it seems that the world has not turned black... I'm saying it's far from dark. It is, in fact, quite the opposite.