The Blind Leading the Blind

In class today, from my classmates perspectives it would appear that I was looking shrewedly at everything around me. That however was not the case, as I forgot my glasses today. I sat beside my boyfriend copying his notes, while he in turn was writing them down from the over-head note my teacher (so graciously) had given us. "I can't see what's on the board." I said, with much squinting. "Well neither can I!" exclaimed my boyfriend, also squinting at the board. "It's like the blind leading the blind."
hmmm...
well, what about the blind leading the blind deaf?
or the deaf leading the blind mute?
or the blind deaf leading the blind quadriplegic?
or Helen Keller leading a group of children into a busy street?

okay now that's just cruel.

Speaking of language barriers and communication issues-it is a very interesting topic.
Helen Keller was deaf and blind, and learned to communicate etc. A movie was made about her called "The Miracle Worker"

A young girl was once found in a forest, having never been in society except for living with her twin sister and mother. She was introduced into society after her mother passed away. Her sister had died years earlier when the girl was still a child. What's interesting is that the girl did not speak any known language. Essentially, she had created her own language with her twin and only spoke broken English because of her mothers distorted speech from her face being paralyzed. This suggests that it is very easy to create one's own language.
A movie called "Nell"(1994, staring Jodie Foster) was created about this event.

Scientists are trying to prove that language is programed in humans.
The fact that a person can make up a whole new language with barely any knowledge of others existing is pretty impressive.
"Washoe invented her own sign for 'bib'. since the Gardners did not know the proper sign - and Washoe's invented sign turned out to be close to the correct Ameslan. Lucy, one of Fout's chimps, coined her own name for radishes - 'hurt-cry fruit' - and she also calls watermelons 'candy-drink' or 'fruit drink', even though she knows the correct Ameslan sign for watermelon"
(page 284)

http://books.google.ca/books?id=fjPWqXi9WQsC&pg=PA285&lpg=PA285&dq=gorilla+and+watermelon+candy+fruit&source=bl&ots=aGhYvCOHRG&sig=WTroeZZ7z8Aa3GfkyFjLvcTSc48&hl=en&ei=Eb0USsvVEeagmAf95ZjoAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4#PPA285,M1

This creation of new words in a species extremely similar in DNA to our own species is really astounding.

Watermelons!
http://www.collegeotr.com/syracuse_university/watermelon_the_sexyback_of_fruit_9732

And now....Chimps AND Watermelons! :D

http://diverseeducation.wordpress.com/2009/03/04/of-watermelons-chimps-and-cowards/