Hi everyone,

I’ve got something a little different for you today. As you know, I sometimes collaborate with YouTubers (like Hank Green or Michael Stevens), including those a little outside of my typical philosophical orbit (like Adam Neely). Today, I am speaking with a YouTuber I have admired and enjoyed for years, and it only struck me recently that it might be fun to have him on the show.

Tommy Edison is a blind YouTuber and radio presenter. He got his start online as the “Blind Film Critic”, reviewing movies despite being unable to see them, and thereby offering a unique angle on their storytelling.

He soon pivoted into making general content about living blind, including how he performs basic daily tasks, how he understands what sight might mean, and the benefits and challenges of not being able to see.

Being interested in consciousness and the nature of phenomenal experience, I thought it would be interesting to speak with Tommy about what blindness is really like.

Tommy is also widely regarded as one of the nicest and most inspiring YouTubers on the platform. So, as I work away on some bigger projects that are currently making me exceptionally busy, I present my podcast with Tommy, in the hope that you might be interested in something a little outside of our usual programming.

(And yes, I did ask him about Mary’s room.)

TIMESTAMPS:

0:00 - Being a Blind YouTuber2:03 - How Do You Understand Blindness If You Are
Blind From Birth?
4:26 - Being Blind in School
7:20 - Tommy’s Early Life
12:11 - Has Life Become More Accessible For the Blind?
18:00 - How Vision is Embedded in Our Language
20:01 - How Does A Blind Person Watch A Movie?
24:07 - What Does Tommy Know About Colour?
26:17 - Mary’s Room
30:43 - Can A Blind Person Play Video Games?
34:06 - The Questions People Are Too Afraid to Ask
40:09 - How Does A Blind Person Understand Attractiveness?
42:54 - What Can We Make More Accessible?
46:51 - Why Electric Cars Aren’t Best For Everyone
49:58 - Is Offering Help Patronising?
53:02 - What Can Tommy Do That People Think He Can’t?
56:59 - Why Tommy Chooses Joy

How a Blind Man Sees the World - Tommy Edison

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