You will need stamina, good grades, the support of influential scientists, and a willingness and ability to discover new facts and new ideas. Science is not for everyone, but I can think of no field that is more satisfying. I would tell them that the prevailing attitudes about science and the blind must be reformed. I believe that the chief factor holding the blind back from science is ignorance, not only by virtue of woefully inadequate reading materials in the schools and libraries, but also because of the pervasive fear and discouragement by the establishment to let the blind observe nature firsthand. I once met a blind woman who professed an interest in biology, yet she had never been encouraged to touch the spiny leaves of the holly.
Observation is the first, and in many ways the most important, step in a scientific inquiry.
The key to this freedom is equality, and the key to equality is opportunity and respect. The National Federation of the Blind has long championed the philosophy that the blind are fully as capable as the sighted given sufficient opportunity and training. Education with this philosophy as its cornerstone is built on the assumption that no discipline is closed to the blind. By a logical extension, this basic respect will open more doors to the world of science as we continue to work for full participation in society. Most importantly, you can help us by sharing what you've learned about blindness in these pages with your family and friends.