The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1882-07-20
The Sight OF the Blind.


One of the most eminent of living
investigators into the phenomena of
optics is NJ. j. Plateau, of the Royal
Academy of Belgium, who for the
last forty years has been so totally
blind that he may direct his face to
the sun without being sensible OF
the least objective clearness. His re-
searches into the phenomena of light
have excited the admiration of his
felllow-sclentists. His experiments,
for example, ON the wonderful colors
of soap bubbles, are exquisitively
beautiful. M. Plateau has just pub
lished little paper on the sensations
which he experiences in his eyes,
which is not only interesting but
calculated to be of practical value.
He states that he has constantly in
his eyes the sensations of light; his
field of vision is divided
into spaces, of which some
are very clear and others
sombre or almost black. These
spaces are not precisely limited, but
run into each other at their borders
but what is remarkable is that their
u
and reddish. For example, if il be
gray M. Plateau perceives now, in a
few hours it will be the red then a
few hours later the gray again, and
so on. The reddish tint is that OBJ
tanned by mixing pale-rose color, or
rather flesh color, with a certain
quantity of black. The relative ar
rangement of these different spaces is
always the same, but the intensity of
their tints varies. The central space
shows itself sometimes very clear,
sometimes very sombre; above
and below, as far as the limits
of the visual field, there is some
times clearness, sometimes OBJ
security. 1t is the same with
the space to the left, there is gen.
orally vertical, almost black band,
and the space to the right of that, as
tar as its limit, is always clear and
ruddy. These appearances seem to
Nj. Plateau to fill the whole extent of
his ordinary visual field. He be-
lieves the distance at which they are
is small. These same appearances
follow all the movements of the
ewes, as if they resulted from a mod
ification of the retinas. 1t appears
to M. Plateau that the two eyes do
not participate in the same manner
in the tints in the question; but he
is absolutely incapable of distin-
gushing what belongs to the one
from what belongs to the other. He
has not been able to establish any
coincidence between the changes
of the general tint and the
work of digestion. These obser
vations have perhaps some interest
from the physiological and medical
point of view, and this is why
NJ. Plateau has ventured to make
them known. He attributes his
blindness to the fact that, impelled
by senseless curiosity, he looked
fixedly for very long period at the
sun in all its brightness, in order
to observe the subsequent appear
ances in his eyes. 1t was only about
fourteen years later that the chOroid
was irrupted but in that interval
he often saw around lights, gas
flames, candles, etc., halos wildly
colored and persistent. If Nj. Pla-
teau is not mistaken, Calico, before
his blindness, established the exist
ence of similar halos persons, then,
M. Plateau argues, to whom such
halos show themselves, would do
well, If the phenomenon is repeated
and becomes frequent, to consult an
experienced oculist.