Meeting #4 with the Insight Group: Notes

Experiences in food

One of the main themes of this discussion was to relate and understand personal experiences of Blind and Visually Impaired persons in the human experience of having and making food.

Observations/notes:

1. Problems faced while cooking in the kitchen
   1. How to measure sugar or ingredients other than touching? Touching is unhigenic, hands are wet and so on.
   2. How to know when the glass or the pan is full while pouring liquids, for example milk in a glass?
   3. Pouring liquids, how to know where are the utensil’s positioning, so that liquid falls into the utensil?
   4. With liquids like milk or milk based – tea/coffee, the liquid sticks to the cup unless there is a spout. It is difficult even for sighted people (like Subir), so obviously its one of the difficult aspects of Insight members when they wish to make themselves a cup of coffee/tea.
   5. Liquid always spills for some members, no matter how careful they are.
   6. Filling bottles seemed to be easier as the bottle emitted a changing sound signature that helped get how much it was full. Also having a narrow mouth helped to pour contents into and out of it.
   7. Some members prefer utensils with handles, so that they don’t get burns while handling them. Some are forced to use utensils with no handles, and a set of pliers.
   8. Sanket says, when he’s cooking he does not want anyone to come into the kitchen. Because of the risk of messing up the memory map of utensils, devices, ingredients, etc. This is often observed in other areas too – people who use memory to access items Vs. people who use visual discovery. And this is also true for me, who is a sighted person!
   9. Sanket’s experience says that when cooking in oil, experiencing flashes of oil/water on to the face is a daily thing. This was also seconded by others. He recommends a face shield to prevent burns. Probable reason is that since smell is such an important sense in this case, one tries to get closer to the hot pan and so on… Needs to be discovered more.
   10. It seems as compared to vegetables, non-veg is easier to cook. This is probably because non-veg food like chiken/mutton/fish are large chunks and have structure that is distinguishable as compared to vegetables which might trun soft on heating/cooking or otherwise are hard to distinguish.
   11. Bhendi seems to be difficult to cook, as there is little smell signature.
   12. A hot topic was how to clean/wash rice or vegetables? Rice was particularly difficult it seems, separating stones from rice was a question of concern for Neha. Sanket suggested an instrument that he used to rinse rice. What that instrument is, is unknown as of now.
   13. How to cut vegetables, tomatoes, onions? Again, Sanket – the most experienced cook in that meeting (even including a sighted person) described an instrument he uses that efficiently slices vegetables in the sizes he wants. What this is is still a mystery!
   14. Using knife could be a dangerous activity, as the sharp edge is hard to distinguish and the food to be cut is often to be held by the other hand. A mistake can be very hurting!
   15. Neha mentioned that everytime she tried to cook, getting burns was a common experience. This is the saddest revelation I of that meeting. Since there is no way to know, other than touching, as to what is hot and what is not, this experience seems so obvious.
   16. Also, some expressed need to cook by one’s own at times, so that to be with oneself or not to bother others for such essential act as getting food of one’s choice.
   17. Kshitij mentioned that he has become habituated to doing small things by bringing face close towards those things so that he can see clearly. This is unfortunately very difficult when he has to cut onions where the pungent smell and vapors hurt his eyes for long!
2. Food types
   1. Food that can be eaten by hand is the best for members, probably because it can be felt by the fingers.
   2. Foods requiring cutlery is not so convenient.
   3. Foods, such as lasagna, which have multiple layers and have to be consumed in that order are also difficult.
   4. Ice-creams? — forgot to write about them 🙁
   5. Idli-samber seems to be very popular among the group. Idlis floating in Sambar! Neha reported finding idli pieces was tough.
3. Eating in a restaurant
   1. In a restaurant, the lack of accessible menus is one of the biggest issues.
   2. When the waiter or someone reads the menu to them, its not so easy. The person would like to hear and pause for consideration or thoughts, or go back to a previous item. However this is not possible when hearing out other people.
   3. Most often, members of this group prefer to order what others are ordering. Social pressure, of standing out while ordering or taking time to order, could also be playing a major role in the unpleasant aspects of going to a restaurant.
   4. Often this may lead to going on to restaurants where the menu is already known.
   5. Some restaurants publish their menu online, or on food delivery apps through which they can be accessible to members of B/VI community. It is an ironic situation.

Entertainment and leisure activities

1. Watching movies on Netflix with audio description of the scenes.
2. Audibles
3. Reading audio books
4. Cycling – tandem cycling whenever possible.
5. Swimming – this seems to be very much loved my some of the members.
   1. Problems with finding direction in water.
   2. Sanket and Neha mentioned that if the pool is crowded, then they don’t prefer to go into them, for the fear of bumping into others.
   3. Sanket mentioned he loved sea swimming, but there is an assistance boat required ahead of him so that he can get his directions in the water. For example when his head is above water he kind of hears out instructions on the directions or something like that, or listening to a boat’s engine ahead.
6. Running – problems faced are potholes!

Miscellaneous

1. Neha mentioned of a headache as she was listesning to this discussion. She mentioned that listening to more than an hour is not good for the ears – the only other sensation that B/VI members can depend on so much!
2. Everyone agreed that alternative senses should be used to reduce over dependence on hearing.
3. Some mentioned that key deliberately keep the phone away to avoid getting disturbed by phone calls, notifications, etc.
4. On Braille:
   1. Sanket mentioned he likes to use Braille, but the books are too heavy in kilos as compared to regular books – just because the Braille typeset fonts have to be so big. Compare 60-70 characters/line in an A4 writing, vs. to 20 odd characters on an A4 printed Braille paper!
   2. Another problem was with significant learning curve for new users. This discouraged people from learning and using Braille.
   3. Neha wanted some method in which she could take down notes while listening on the ear phones. She also wanted to re-read what she had written without resorting to audio, which was already in use as in a call. A good Braille system could have helped here.
   4. Manasvi mentioned that in the US, there is huge emphasis on Braille, where as in India there is hardly any. She mentioned that much of the places she went to had Braille signs and expected Braille literacy.
5. Kshitj mentioned problems faced with reading maths and other things. Suggested the use of Fresnel lens viewers for magnifying whole pages. These are also light weight and easy to carry. Expecting to learn about his experiences with such viewers.
6. Since some members have a non-visual disability, it has a severe consequences socially. Its hard for identifying faces and responding to gestures- leading to an unintended social awkwardness and rift.

Technology ideas

1. Can a watch be made that has the following features:
   1. Time communicated through touch senses, like Braille dots.
   2. Temperature of the object in front, measured through IR temperature sensors. similar to the ones used by doctors to measure body temperature on the forehead.
   3. A direction indicator to indicate north or important co-ordinates.
   4. An easy way to access calls, and other smartphone features without reaching out to the smartphone in the pocket.
2. A spoon that gives a braille type indication of temperature of the object it is touching? it could also give an indication of the food quality, spicy, hot, salty, sweet, color, etc. A smart spoon!