Deafness, Africa, Empathy, and Technology

I heard a very interesting piece this morning on NPR's weekend edition. It was about a deaf man, Josh Swiller, and his experiences with being deaf in a world of hearing people. To be more specific, the conversation focused on his time as a Peace Corps volunteer in Africa and how his deafness shaped that time. I was thinking of Dad's experiences with Chris Congleton, and Uncle Pete's activity in the deaf community... thought you might be interested in checking it out.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14369713

Josh also made some intriguing observations about deafness, introspection, and empathy. He said that he felt being alone with one's own thoughts and feelings can serve as a wellspring of compassion. I wonder, then, if there is any correlation between the pervasive technology that bombards us with sound and external information, and our disengagement from each other - our collective unrest in what seems, on the surface, to be a time of plenty...

http://www.cracked.com/index.php?name=News&sid=2370

Just some stuff I'm thinking about.