0:00:00.903,0:00:07.804
(Clicking)

0:00:07.804,0:00:12.420
I was born with bilateral retinoblastoma,

0:00:12.420,0:00:14.353
retinal cancer.

0:00:15.313,0:00:18.419
My right eye was removed

0:00:18.419,0:00:21.336
at seven months of age.

0:00:21.336,0:00:25.053
I was 13 months[br]when they removed my left eye.

0:00:26.003,0:00:31.148
The first thing I did[br]upon awakening from that last surgery

0:00:31.148,0:00:34.780
was to climb out of my crib

0:00:34.780,0:00:38.889
and begin wandering around[br]the intensive care nursery,

0:00:39.829,0:00:43.208
probably looking for the one[br]who did this to me.

0:00:43.208,0:00:45.066
(Laughter)

0:00:46.966,0:00:50.127
Evidently, wandering around the nursery

0:00:50.127,0:00:53.702
was not a problem for me without eyes.

0:00:53.702,0:00:56.337
The problem was getting caught.

0:00:57.557,0:01:00.731
It's impressions about blindness

0:01:00.731,0:01:04.221
that are far more threatening

0:01:04.221,0:01:07.753
to blind people than the blindness itself.

0:01:09.283,0:01:13.230
Think for a moment about[br]your own impressions of blindness.

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Think about your reactions[br]when I first came onto the stage,

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or the prospect of your own blindness,

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or a loved one going blind.

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The terror is incomprehensible[br]to most of us,

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because blindness

0:01:33.159,0:01:38.829
is thought to epitomize ignorance[br]and unawareness,

0:01:38.829,0:01:46.630
hapless exposure to the ravages[br]of the dark unknown.

0:01:46.630,0:01:48.460
How poetic.

0:01:49.440,0:01:52.801
Fortunately for me,[br]my parents were not poetic.

0:01:52.801,0:01:54.676
They were pragmatic.

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They understood that ignorance and fear[br]were but matters of the mind,

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and the mind is adaptable.

0:02:05.282,0:02:08.983
They believed that I should grow up

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to enjoy the same freedoms[br]and responsibilities as everyone else.

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In their own words, I would move out --

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which I did when I was 18 --

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I will pay taxes --

0:02:21.035,0:02:23.875
thanks --[br](Laughter) --

0:02:25.605,0:02:30.786
and they knew the difference[br]between love and fear.

0:02:30.786,0:02:35.710
Fear immobilizes us[br]in the face of challenge.

0:02:35.710,0:02:38.612
They knew that blindness[br]would pose a significant challenge.

0:02:38.612,0:02:41.666
I was not raised with fear.

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They put my freedom first before all else,

0:02:45.415,0:02:48.535
because that is what love does.

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Now, moving forward,[br]how do I manage today?

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The world is a much larger nursery.

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Fortunately, I have my trusty long cane,

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longer than the canes[br]used by most blind people.

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I call it my freedom staff.

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It will keep me, for example,

0:03:08.913,0:03:14.529
from making an undignified [br]departure from the stage. (Laughter)

0:03:15.279,0:03:17.242
I do see that cliff edge.

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They warned us earlier[br]that every imaginable mishap

0:03:21.509,0:03:25.100
has occurred to speakers[br]up here on the stage.

0:03:25.100,0:03:27.121
I don't care to set a new precedent.

0:03:28.491,0:03:30.425
But beyond that,

0:03:30.425,0:03:33.552
many of you may have heard me clicking[br]as I came onto the stage --

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(Clicking) --

0:03:34.619,0:03:36.488
with my tongue.

0:03:36.488,0:03:39.666
Those are flashes of sound

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that go out and reflect[br]from surfaces all around me,

0:03:44.746,0:03:46.118
just like a bat's sonar,

0:03:46.118,0:03:51.738
and return to me with patterns, [br]with pieces of information,

0:03:51.738,0:03:54.225
much as light does for you.

0:03:55.135,0:03:58.793
And my brain, thanks to my parents,

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has been activated to form images[br]in my visual cortex,

0:04:04.098,0:04:07.338
which we now call the imaging system,

0:04:07.338,0:04:11.288
from those patterns of information,[br]much as your brain does.

0:04:11.288,0:04:13.854
I call this process flash sonar.

0:04:14.604,0:04:20.322
It is how I have learned to see[br]through my blindness,

0:04:20.322,0:04:23.498
to navigate my journey

0:04:23.498,0:04:27.538
through the dark unknowns[br]of my own challenges,

0:04:27.538,0:04:31.439
which has earned me the moniker

0:04:31.439,0:04:35.154
"the remarkable Batman."

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Now, Batman I will accept.

0:04:37.708,0:04:41.098
Bats are cool. Batman is cool.

0:04:41.098,0:04:46.766
But I was not raised to think of myself[br]as in any way remarkable.

0:04:47.856,0:04:51.884
I have always regarded myself[br]much like anyone else

0:04:51.884,0:04:57.300
who navigates the dark unknowns[br]of their own challenges.

0:04:57.300,0:05:00.718
Is that so remarkable?

0:05:00.718,0:05:04.014
I do not use my eyes, I use my brain.

0:05:04.834,0:05:07.317
Now, someone, somewhere,

0:05:07.317,0:05:11.144
must think that's remarkable,[br]or I wouldn't be up here,

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but let's consider this for a moment.

0:05:15.013,0:05:17.739
Everyone out there

0:05:17.739,0:05:22.428
who faces or who has ever[br]faced a challenge,

0:05:22.428,0:05:24.160
raise your hands.

0:05:25.470,0:05:27.490
Whoosh. Okay.

0:05:27.490,0:05:30.462
Lots of hands going up, a moment,[br]let me do a head count.

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(Clicking)

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This will take a while.[br](Clicking) (Laughter)

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Okay, lots of hands in the air.

0:05:38.205,0:05:40.609
Keep them up. I have an idea.

0:05:40.609,0:05:46.302
Those of you who use your brains[br]to navigate these challenges,

0:05:46.302,0:05:49.243
put your hands down.

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Okay, anyone with your hands still up

0:05:53.024,0:05:58.262
has challenges of your own. (Laughter)

0:05:58.262,0:06:00.839
So we all face challenges,

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and we all face the dark unknown,

0:06:04.577,0:06:08.920
which is endemic to most challenges,[br]which is what most of us fear, okay?

0:06:08.920,0:06:12.773
But we all have brains

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that allow us, that activate to allow us

0:06:17.069,0:06:23.456
to navigate the journey[br]through these challenges. Okay?

0:06:24.151,0:06:28.284
Case in point: I came up here

0:06:28.284,0:06:35.254
and -- (Clicking) -- they wouldn't tell me

0:06:35.254,0:06:38.152
where the lectern was.

0:06:38.152,0:06:41.066
So you can't trust those TED folks.

0:06:42.796,0:06:44.653
"Find it yourself," they said.

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So -- (Laughter)

0:06:49.413,0:06:52.525
And the feedback for the P.A. system[br]is no help at all.

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So now I present to you a challenge.

0:06:55.934,0:06:59.850
So if you'd all close your eyes[br]for just a moment, okay?

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And you're going to learn[br]a bit of flash sonar.

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I'm going to make a sound.

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I'm going to hold this panel in front [br]of me, but I'm not going to move it.

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Just listen to the sound for a moment.

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Shhhhhhhhhh.

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Okay, nothing very interesting.

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Now, listen to what happens[br]to that same exact sound

0:07:24.032,0:07:25.816
when I move the panel.

0:07:27.146,0:07:33.111
Shhhhhhhhhhh. [br](Pitch getting higher and lower)

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You do not know the power[br]of the dark side.

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(Laughter)

0:07:43.421,0:07:45.812
I couldn't resist.

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Okay, now keep your eyes closed

0:07:50.479,0:07:52.327
because, did you hear the difference?

0:07:52.327,0:07:55.425
Okay. Now, let's be sure.

0:07:55.425,0:07:57.224
For your challenge,

0:07:57.224,0:08:02.308
you tell me, just say "now"[br]when you hear the panel start to move.

0:08:02.308,0:08:05.300
Okay? We'll relax into this.

0:08:08.160,0:08:11.823
Shhhhhhh.

0:08:11.823,0:08:13.888
Audience: Now.[br]Daniel Kish: Good. Excellent.

0:08:13.888,0:08:15.381
Open your eyes.

0:08:15.381,0:08:19.915
All right. So just a few centimeters,

0:08:19.915,0:08:22.045
you would notice the difference.

0:08:22.045,0:08:24.488
You've experienced sonar.

0:08:25.528,0:08:28.547
You'd all make great blind people.[br](Laughter)

0:08:28.547,0:08:31.240
Let's have a look at what can happen

0:08:31.240,0:08:34.584
when this activation process

0:08:34.584,0:08:39.111
is given some time and attention.

0:08:39.111,0:08:42.292
(Video) Juan Ruiz: It's like[br]you guys can see with your eyes

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and we can see with our ears.

0:08:45.497,0:08:48.561
Man: It's not a matter[br]of enjoying it more or less,

0:08:48.561,0:08:51.487
it's about enjoying it differently.

0:08:51.487,0:08:54.529
Woman: It goes across.[br]DK: Yeah.

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Woman: And then it's gradually[br]coming back down again.

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DK: Yes![br]Woman: That's amazing.

0:08:59.950,0:09:04.246
I can, like, see the car. Holy mother!

0:09:09.981,0:09:12.048
Man 2: I love being blind.

0:09:12.048,0:09:15.716
If I had the opportunity, honestly,[br]I wouldn't go back to being sighted.

0:09:15.716,0:09:19.176
Man 3: The bigger the goal,[br]the more obstacles you'll face,

0:09:19.176,0:09:21.777
and on the other side of that goal

0:09:21.777,0:09:23.425
is victory.

0:09:23.425,0:09:28.580
[In Italian]

0:09:28.580,0:09:38.355
(Applause)

0:09:38.355,0:09:42.245
TK: Now, do these people look terrified?

0:09:42.245,0:09:44.067
Not so much.

0:09:44.067,0:09:46.853
We have delivered activation training

0:09:46.853,0:09:50.382
to tens of thousands of blind[br]and sighted people from all backgrounds

0:09:50.382,0:09:52.820
in nearly 40 countries.

0:09:52.820,0:09:57.302
When blind people learn to see,

0:09:57.302,0:10:00.320
sighted people seem inspired

0:10:00.320,0:10:05.377
to want to learn to see their way[br]better, more clearly, with less fear,

0:10:06.627,0:10:12.533
because this exemplifies[br]the immense capacity within us all

0:10:12.533,0:10:19.046
to navigate any type of challenge,[br]through any form of darkness,

0:10:19.046,0:10:22.332
to discoveries unimagined

0:10:22.332,0:10:27.695
when we are activated.

0:10:27.695,0:10:33.709
I wish you all a most activating journey.

0:10:33.709,0:10:35.474
Thank you very much.

0:10:35.474,0:10:42.695
(Applause)

0:10:43.716,0:10:46.162
Chris Anderson: Daniel, my friend.

0:10:46.162,0:10:51.297
As I know you can see, it's[br]a spectacular standing ovation at TED.

0:10:51.297,0:10:54.281
Thank you for an extraordinary talk.

0:10:54.281,0:10:59.530
Just one more question about your world,[br]your inner world that you construct.

0:10:59.530,0:11:05.095
We think that we have things in our world[br]that you as a blind person don't have,

0:11:05.095,0:11:06.819
but what's your world like?

0:11:06.819,0:11:09.582
What do you have that we don't have?

0:11:09.582,0:11:12.717
TK: Three hundred and sixty-degree view,

0:11:12.717,0:11:16.618
so my sonar works about as well[br]behind me as it does in front of me.

0:11:16.618,0:11:18.499
It works around corners.

0:11:18.499,0:11:21.238
It works through surfaces.

0:11:22.448,0:11:27.229
Generally, it's kind of a fuzzy[br]three-dimensional geometry.

0:11:27.229,0:11:31.269
One of my students, who has now[br]become an instructor,

0:11:31.269,0:11:34.195
when he lost his vision,[br]after a few months

0:11:34.195,0:11:36.447
he was sitting in his three story house

0:11:36.447,0:11:40.464
and he realized that he could hear[br]everything going on throughout the house:

0:11:40.464,0:11:44.643
conversations, people in the kitchen,[br]people in the bathroom,

0:11:44.643,0:11:47.337
several floors away, several walls away.

0:11:47.337,0:11:50.889
He said it was something[br]like having x-ray vision.

0:11:50.889,0:11:54.511
CA: What do you picture[br]that you're in right now?

0:11:54.511,0:11:57.530
How do you picture this theater?

0:11:57.530,0:12:03.033
TK: Lots of loudspeakers, quite frankly.

0:12:04.453,0:12:08.709
It's interesting. [br]When people make a sound,

0:12:08.709,0:12:13.864
when they laugh, when they fidget,[br]when they take a drink or blow their nose

0:12:13.864,0:12:16.557
or whatever, I hear everything.

0:12:16.557,0:12:19.738
I hear every little movement[br]that every single person makes.

0:12:19.738,0:12:22.501
None of it really escapes my attention,

0:12:22.501,0:12:24.355
and then, from a sonar perspective,

0:12:24.355,0:12:30.209
the size of the room, the curvature [br]of the audience around the stage,

0:12:30.209,0:12:33.847
it's the height of the room.

0:12:33.847,0:12:37.127
Like I say, it's all that kind [br]of three-dimensional surface geometry

0:12:37.127,0:12:38.544
all around me.

0:12:38.544,0:12:40.830
CA: Well, Daniel, you have done[br]a spectacular job

0:12:40.830,0:12:43.655
of helping us all see the world[br]in a different way.

0:12:43.655,0:12:45.825
Thank so much for that, truly.[br]DK: Thank you.

0:12:45.825,0:12:50.214
(Applause)