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Caffeinated Sloth posted:I've made an mp3 to let you all hear what the speech synthesizer sounds like when reading an SA post. Here it is: This is great.  I don't really have anything to add except to say that this is one of the top 3 Ask/Tell threads ever (the other ones being the former gang banger one and the former porn star one).And the end... ummm, you're kidding, right? Phalex fucked around with this message at 04:31 on Apr 26, 2007 |
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Apr 26, 2007 04:25
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Caffeinated Sloth posted:I've made an mp3 to let you all hear what the speech synthesizer sounds like when reading an SA post. Here it is: I'm amazed by how fast your normal listening speed is. I don't think I could follow any of that post at that speed. Quite impressive. Here's a question for you. Growing up, how did you feel about video games? Were you able to play any? Did you feel left out from this entertainment technology? Do you like Harry Potter?
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Apr 26, 2007 04:30
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Caffeinated Sloth posted:I've made an mp3 to let you all hear what the speech synthesizer sounds like when reading an SA post. Here it is: Pretty cool. I love how it sounds like Hal from 2001: A Space Odyssey, except just really sad and hyper. It just adds to the humor of posts like those. I can only imagine how funny it is to hear it when you aren't logged in and the language filter is turned on. So anyway - is the fast voice just a joke? It seems impossible for me for anyone to be able to comprehend anything being said. Does the voice shade the information at all - you know making a comedic post less funny - or do you use it just to get the information at hand and not really 'notice' the voice?
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Apr 26, 2007 04:32
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Caffeinated Sloth posted:What else would you consider as part of physical appearance? (I'm confused.) I meant body as primarily the shape of torso and limbs (including chest, legs, etc...). Mostly distinct from the face, including teeth, eyes, and hair. Speaking personally, a woman's appearance depends both on her body and her face. Rightly or wrongly, I associate a lot of the virtue of a woman's face to sight: particularly her eyes, teeth, cheeks, and hair. I guess I was curious about how much weight you lend to a woman's face. Do you care about the texture of her hair? The height of her cheekbones? You mentioned above that you care about proportion and complexion, so you have answered my initial question. I just meant to ask if you cared more about a woman's torso/limbs (what I called body) then face. I'm curious because I, rightly or wrongly, associate a great deal of facial beauty with sight. Also, i listened to the JAWS recording, and the speed at which you listen is mindboggling. I couldn't discern a single word. edit: spelling.
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Apr 26, 2007 04:37
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Caffeinated Sloth posted:I've made an mp3 to let you all hear what the speech synthesizer sounds like when reading an SA post. Here it is: The second version is your NORMAL listening speed? How is that even possible?
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Apr 26, 2007 04:41
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navarrete posted:I'm amazed by how fast your normal listening speed is. I don't think I could follow any of that post at that speed. Quite impressive. navarrete posted:Here's a question for you. Growing up, how did you feel about video games? Were you able to play any? Did you feel left out from this entertainment technology? navarrete posted:Do you like Harry Potter? Cemetry Gator posted:Pretty cool. I love how it sounds like Hal from 2001: A Space Odyssey, except just really sad and hyper. It just adds to the humor of posts like those. Cemetry Gator posted:I can only imagine how funny it is to hear it when you aren't logged in and the language filter is turned on. Cemetry Gator posted:So anyway - is the fast voice just a joke? It seems impossible for me for anyone to be able to comprehend anything being said. Does the voice shade the information at all - you know making a comedic post less funny - or do you use it just to get the information at hand and not really 'notice' the voice? Escher posted:I guess I was curious about how much weight you lend to a woman's face. Do you care about the texture of her hair? The height of her cheekbones? Escher posted:Also, i listened to the JAWS recording, and the speed at which you listen is mindboggling. I couldn't discern a single word. holyshit posted:The second version is your NORMAL listening speed? How is that even possible?
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Apr 26, 2007 04:53
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Caffeinated Sloth posted:I've made an mp3 to let you all hear what the speech synthesizer sounds like when reading an SA post. Here it is: edit for content: I am also a programmer, and spend a lot of time with SQL. It's a relatively straight-through language, which I would imagine makes things lightly easier for you, but god drat does it look retarded some times. Do you ever look at or write a really nasty query and think that the designers were out to get you? For reference, I feel that as a sighted person all the time. SLOSifl fucked around with this message at 05:05 on Apr 26, 2007 |
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Apr 26, 2007 05:00
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SLOSifl posted:I am also a programmer, and spend a lot of time with SQL. It's a relatively straight-through language, which I would imagine makes things lightly easier for you, but god drat does it look retarded some times. Do you ever look at or write a really nasty query and think that the designers were out to get you? For reference, I feel that as a sighted person all the time. Yeah. Especially if I have a complicated where clause with many nested parentheses.
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Apr 26, 2007 05:10
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That's insane. What's funny is that when I read, I kind of make up stupid voices for individual posters. We just kind of sound like chatter to you. (You have a great voice. I wonder if thats because you are so in tune with people's voices or just luck of the draw.)
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Apr 26, 2007 05:12
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Eris posted:That's insane. What's funny is that when I read, I kind of make up stupid voices for individual posters. We just kind of sound like chatter to you. Eris posted:(You have a great voice. I wonder if thats because you are so in tune with people's voices or just luck of the draw.)
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Apr 26, 2007 05:17
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This is a really great thread. Thanks alot for distracting me from my paper for a bit
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Apr 26, 2007 05:17
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I didn't see this asked earlier, so hopefully I didn't just skip over it on accident, if so, then feel free to ignore it. I've always wondered, how long did it take/how difficult was it to learn braille? This thread is fantastic, Sloth, it's really interesting to be able to read your insight on something I would not have normally taken the time to think about. Thanks!
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Apr 26, 2007 05:31
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Man, I just wasted an hour and a half reading this whole thread. I met a blind guy on Skype a long time ago. He used JAWS, and whenever he read something, it would read it so fast that an untrained ear couldn't understand it. He was a programmer and a network administrator/security guy. I find it awesome that people can be blind and still hold such high profile jobs.
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Apr 26, 2007 06:43
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Do you ever change the style or tone of voice that JAWS uses based on the content you are reading? For example, do you use a soothing voice when relaxing and something more stern when you want to accomplish something important?
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Apr 26, 2007 07:29
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Thanks for posting that audio file. You must get so bored by how slowly everyone speaks in real life Actually, having listened to the speed at which you normally listen I would have thought your speech would be quite speedy, but as others have mentioned, you've got a very nice measured tone. Thanks again for sharing that.
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Apr 26, 2007 08:01
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Sorry if I have missed the answer to these questions, but Have you ever had sex? I'd like to know your sexual experiences. What was your first job? How is your body type, as in thin, average, or fat? What brand clothing do you wear? What college did you go to? How many serious and deep relationships have you been in? And thanks! I just killed an hour reading this whole thread; this honestly is gold.
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Apr 26, 2007 09:15
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Jesus Christ! I just read this thread in one sitting and topped it off with listening to that audio clip. That second portion was absolutely insane. It didn't even sound like speech to me. If I wasn't focusing intently on it, it just sounded like random boops and beeps. Anyways, onto my actual question. Do you understand "cute" animals and people's reactions to them? As in, do you get why we call certain animals cute and bathe them in attention, while other animals are generally more ignored. Case in point, kittens versus cats. Most anyone you ask will tell you that young kittens are infinitely more adorable than full grown cats. Even if the two cats behave the exact same way, the younger one will probably receive much more attention because it is "cuter". And since a good portion of what we call "cute" is determined by how things look, how does that translate to someone who can't see? Does that make any sense to you? Sorry if my question is sort of rambling and incoherent, I think I need to get my rear end to sleep.
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Apr 26, 2007 09:32
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I know a couple people have already said this, but you have a really nice voice. EDIT: By the way, I though my head was going to explode in the end! I thought everybody was exaggerating when they said they couldn't understand it! Also, that voice brings back memories from when I (well, my family) got our first computer. Polpettina fucked around with this message at 10:20 on Apr 26, 2007 |
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Apr 26, 2007 10:14
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Someone asked you before if you had some sort of heightened sense of hearing. You said you probably don't. After listening to that recording, I disagree. Most sighted people would have no chance understanding audio at that speed. Its pretty amazing how the body compensates. I tried to roughly time it. Your program is about as fast as I can read in my head. Which makes sense.
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Apr 26, 2007 10:15
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Just a note to let you guys know that Molyneux's Problem is no longer philosophically interesting because it was answered by Oliver Sachs. It turns out that if you go your whole life without seeing and then have sight restored (the guy who had it done was around 50 I believe), you'll sort of get your sight back but you'll never be able to really process the information correctly, and will still be more or less blind. Thanks for posting the audio file, by the way. I had no idea that people listen to screenreaders at such a high speed. Achmed Jones fucked around with this message at 10:49 on Apr 26, 2007 |
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Apr 26, 2007 10:39
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When I first started listening to that mp3, I thought to myself 'MAN! that is some high quality text to speech'. Someone please tell me I'm not the only one. at how fast that was. Microsoft Sam is on some serious speed.Not sure if has been covered already, but in case it hasn't: its a smiley who opens his mouth in astonishment/amazement. But it just keeps opening and soon his whole face is covered in blackness.
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Apr 26, 2007 10:42
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Foodahn posted:When I first started listening to that mp3, I thought to myself 'MAN! that is some high quality text to speech'. Someone please tell me I'm not the only one. I've heard that Windows Vista integrates some new text-to-speech synthesizer that sounds more 'natural', but it seems that the current version does its job perfectly.
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Apr 26, 2007 12:23
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You've said you can swim, and have been to water parks in the past - how does it feel to go underwater and be without sight and sound? How do you get around and not bump into people while underwater? Also, n'thing the great thread.
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Apr 26, 2007 13:00
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LOLLERZ posted:If you place two objects on your skin close enough together in certain areas of your body, they feel like one object. (The example I've seen is tongue depressors poked into someone's back) Boing-boing posted these three auditory illusions recently. They're sort of interesting, though I'm not sure I understand what the point of the third one is. I'd be curious to know if Sloth's perception of these is any different than ours.
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Apr 26, 2007 13:32
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This is a great thread, probably one of the best Ask/Tell ones I've read. Do you know any other languages in Braille, like Japanese or French or anything? Also, if someone handed you a random piece of paper in Braille that's not english, is there any cue that indicates what language it is, even if you can't necessarily read it?
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Apr 26, 2007 13:59
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My compliments on an excellent thread. That reading speed is truly incredible. I know others before me have said it, and I know you said it was just practice, but you have officially wowed me. I noticed one thing when following the post. One quote reads "That's when I met her." but the word "her" is in italics in the original post. Do you have your speech synthesizer skip italics on purpose? They can sometimes be a useful way of emphasizing a point. Secondly, italics are often used to denote someone's thoughts or feelings in literature. How do you deal with that, then? (It was awesome to hear synthesized "gently caress" by the way) Finally, and someone did ask a brief question about "handshakes and hugs", but I'm really curious. How would you prefer someone to introduce himself to you in person? The handshake is usually signaled almost entirely visually, so do you offer your hand first to someone? I'd kind of feel like a dick if I just shoved my hand out at you and held it there. How do you do handshakes? Thanks again for all your great responses and information.
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Apr 26, 2007 14:28
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When you think about your surroundings, do you see a sort of mental map with lines for walls and gaps for doors, because I'm really curious as to how you would think without having any sort of visual base to work from. Also, are you aware of things that are outside your reach? (to touch) Like, most houses are not cubes, the walls on public toilet cubicles don't go right to the ceiling...or even that doors don't go right up to the ceiling. How did someone explain the concept of a cat to you? Did you have to vigourously grope one to work it out? You said you used to be able to see some light. Does that give you some indication of what colour is? White and black? What do you see now compared to then?
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Apr 26, 2007 16:32
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Ender.uNF posted:All those electronic eye devices under development? They're only useful for people who used to see but are now blind... (or kids who have them implanted early in life, eventually when the devices get better). People who are 20 and have never seen will not benefit from them. I'll add questions here as I think of them. My first is related to the software that helps you use the computer. Were you aware that they are selling software for blind people that has box art and pictures of smiling faces all over the website? Seems like kind of a waste of resources to me... Caffeinated Sloth posted:I look at people when speaking to them so that I can show interest. (I can't actually make eye contact, but it's worth a try.) I consider myself pretty artistically appreciative, and for me this includes a variety of media. I feel it would be painful for me to be limited to only taking in facets of art that involve certain senses. Do you have any sense of loss or even jealousy that you are only able to experience art in particular forms i.e., music and literature rather than paintings or cinematography? Or is it more like some of the other aspects of life that you have mentioned, whereby it doesn't make much of a difference since you don't know what you're missing? Have you ever tried any hallucinogenic drugs, or have any of your blind friends done so? What was the experience like, if there was any? Do tripping blind people start to "see" things or have auditory hallucinations, or are they immune/tolerant to the effects? It's obvious that you can use a computer with quite a bit of efficiency since you are a goon and work in IT. Is there any way you could play video games? Would they even be entertaining? toastyghost fucked around with this message at 18:15 on Apr 26, 2007 |
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Apr 26, 2007 17:26
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I'll get to the questions that I missed later today. For the curious, the file stands at 194 downloads (not including my test) and counting.Ilikedirt posted:This is a really great thread. Thanks alot for distracting me from my paper for a bit Defibrillate posted:I've always wondered, how long did it take/how difficult was it to learn braille? Random trivia: there is Grade III, which is a more contracted form similar to Grade II, and also a way of representing musical notation in Braille. I'm not familiar with either of these. fortysix posted:Do you ever change the style or tone of voice that JAWS uses based on the content you are reading? For example, do you use a soothing voice when relaxing and something more stern when you want to accomplish something important? 2+2 != 5 there will be a tiny pause before the 5 where the ! would have been spoken. It's smaller than the time it would take to speak anything in its place, so it's useful because I can cover more text in a shorter time. If this pause were to change I might not pick it up as a ! character. Ringlet_Bob posted:Thanks for posting that audio file. You must get so bored by how slowly everyone speaks in real life Polpettina posted:I know a couple people have already said this, but you have a really nice voice. Polpettina posted:EDIT: By the way, I though my head was going to explode in the end! I thought everybody was exaggerating when they said they couldn't understand it! Also, that voice brings back memories from when I (well, my family) got our first computer. Literacy Is Dead posted:Someone asked you before if you had some sort of heightened sense of hearing. You said you probably don't. After listening to that recording, I disagree. Most sighted people would have no chance understanding audio at that speed. Its pretty amazing how the body compensates. I tried to roughly time it. Your program is about as fast as I can read in my head. Which makes sense. AnotherBodak posted:You've said you can swim, and have been to water parks in the past - how does it feel to go underwater and be without sight and sound? How do you get around and not bump into people while underwater? SuperSubZero posted:Do you know any other languages in Braille, like Japanese or French or anything? Also, if someone handed you a random piece of paper in Braille that's not english, is there any cue that indicates what language it is, even if you can't necessarily read it? zeus juice posted:I noticed one thing when following the post. One quote reads "That's when I met her." but the word "her" is in italics in the original post. Do you have your speech synthesizer skip italics on purpose? They can sometimes be a useful way of emphasizing a point. Secondly, italics are often used to denote someone's thoughts or feelings in literature. How do you deal with that, then? (It was awesome to hear synthesized "gently caress" by the way) Most of the literature that I've read for classes has either been in braille or in a form where I could distinguish italicized text. zeus juice posted:Finally, and someone did ask a brief question about "handshakes and hugs", but I'm really curious. How would you prefer someone to introduce himself to you in person? The handshake is usually signaled almost entirely visually, so do you offer your hand first to someone? I'd kind of feel like a dick if I just shoved my hand out at you and held it there. How do you do handshakes?
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Apr 26, 2007 17:57
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Given that you focus on other people's voices, what do you think of accents (both foreign and domestic)? Do they make comprehension notably harder? Are they fun and/or sexy, neutral or just plain bad? As a bonus, here is a video by Psychedelic Eyeball playing the game Prince of Persia from his Let's Play thread. The video in itself might not be very entertaining for you, be Psychedelic Eyeball has an awesome French-Canadian accent. Also, have you seen Scent of a Woman? If so, are you anywhere near as badass as Al Pacino? Or alternatively, are you anywhere near as angry an rear end in a top hat as Al Pacino? And do you know how to tango?
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Apr 26, 2007 18:30
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Alafuck posted:When you think about your surroundings, do you see a sort of mental map with lines for walls and gaps for doors, because I'm really curious as to how you would think without having any sort of visual base to work from. Alafuck posted:Also, are you aware of things that are outside your reach? (to touch) Like, most houses are not cubes, the walls on public toilet cubicles don't go right to the ceiling...or even that doors don't go right up to the ceiling. Alafuck posted:How did someone explain the concept of a cat to you? Did you have to vigourously grope one to work it out? Alafuck posted:You said you used to be able to see some light. Does that give you some indication of what colour is? White and black? What do you see now compared to then?
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Apr 26, 2007 20:42
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Caffeinated Sloth posted:I've made an mp3 to let you all hear what the speech synthesizer sounds like when reading an SA post. Here it is: Wow! First I thought it was strange how it didn't pause much (if at all?) between paragraphs, but after hearing the full-speed one, that doesn't seem like a problem anymore. It's completely unintelligible to me. Caffeinated Sloth posted:I haven't worried that much about italics on the web until coming here. It's prevelant, and JAWS has the capability of announcing such changes. I think it interrupts the flow of reading, but italics at least would probably be worth noting. edit: spelling Spug fucked around with this message at 21:18 on Apr 26, 2007 |
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Apr 26, 2007 21:11
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That voice made the first paragraph of the post sounds so gloriously pathetic, it breathed new life into it. If it wasnt you saying it there would be absolutely no way I could believe that anyone could understand the second voice. I HAVE to learn to do that. I assume getting a screen reader and listening to stuff on faster and faster speeds will allow that. I dont remember this question being asked so are you afraid of heights? I was on a parachute jump with a blind person once and I think he enjoyed it, you should try it Oh and on the fear thing, how about spiders and snakes? Any irrational phobias? I'd guess they feel wierd but I imagine the fear came from a visual thing. That or your dog just eats any spiders like mine did.
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Apr 26, 2007 21:26
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Spug posted:Could it be because because SA uses a non-semantic HTML element for that, like <i> rather than <em>? Or doesn't JAWS read emphasis at all? I noticed it didn't pronounce words in all capital letters differently either. I haven't tested it yet, but I'd imagine that JAWS will recognize the italics. I think it bases that by how the text looks on screen rather than looking at the document model. It's possible to have it identify italics, but I didn't have that feature activated.
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Apr 26, 2007 21:38
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Slave posted:That voice made the first paragraph of the post sounds so gloriously pathetic, it breathed new life into it. Slave posted:I dont remember this question being asked so are you afraid of heights? I was on a parachute jump with a blind person once and I think he enjoyed it, you should try it Slave posted:Oh and on the fear thing, how about spiders and snakes? Any irrational phobias? I'd guess they feel wierd but I imagine the fear came from a visual thing. That or your dog just eats any spiders like mine did.
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Apr 26, 2007 21:42
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I didn't see it mentioned, but it appears either you or someone else has purchased an avatar for you. It's a picture of part of the braille alphabet, including some shorthand like "and", "for", and such.
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Apr 27, 2007 00:04
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Fascinating thread! I noticed how you said it would be unpleasant to have your hearing impaired. Actually I think for most of us the fear of losing sight would kind of be like if you suddenly lost hearing, and that's why we're so fascinated with blindness! Also, if it helps, I would compare colors to musical notes. Like, the rainbow of colors is the assortment of all the different notes you can hear. And if you put some of them together they can form pleasant or ugly harmonies, just like notes. I am looking at the weather outside and I'm wondering if weather affects your mood. Usually, sunny days make me happy but cloudy or rainy days are unpleasant, because everything looks dull and the colors aren't as strong, and that tends to act on my mood. How do you relate to the weather? You can't see it but you can still feel sunshine and rain and snow... how does it make you feel?
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Apr 27, 2007 00:14
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good on tv posted:Have you ever had sex? I'd like to know your sexual experiences. good on tv posted:What was your first job? good on tv posted:How is your body type, as in thin, average, or fat? good on tv posted:What college did you go to? good on tv posted:How many serious and deep relationships have you been in?
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Apr 27, 2007 00:17
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Wow. I just read this whole thread. So much for getting any work done today. Thanks, Sloth! Seriously, in the mp3, you really listen that fast? It was totally incomprehensible to me. Also, how do you feel about your eyes/eyeballs? Are you aware of them? Do they bother you at all, like pain-wise or get tired? My eyes are always bothering me, but that's because I wear contacts, stare at monitors all day and have bad allergies. And for my totally insensitive finale: what color are your eyes?  (this is a pink (that's helpful  ) smilie who is similar to  that you use when you're embarrassed).
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Apr 27, 2007 00:18
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Phalex posted:I didn't see it mentioned, but it appears either you or someone else has purchased an avatar for you. It's a picture of part of the braille alphabet, including some shorthand like "and", "for", and such. Where are the more advanced Braille sets used? I guess it would make reading a book significantly easier, and I can certainly see a use for it in public signage. SLOSifl fucked around with this message at 00:42 on Apr 27, 2007 |
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Apr 27, 2007 00:39
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