When I was about eleven, my parents gifted me a magnifying glass for my birthday. It was a small hand-held magnifier that magnified everything eight times. That way, I was able to read large print for a little while longer, albeit slowly. That is until my vision deteriorated even further and, even with the magnifier, I could no longer read the large print atlas that I so loved. That was sad.
Now that I’m totally blind and couldn’t care less about that large print atlas, I do wish I’d kept the magnifying glass. Not for myself, but so that staff can more easily help me with my crafty pursuits. Many of my staff struggle with the detailed work involved in jewelry-making or with reading small print.
Then again, with the print, I could easily point my iPhone camera at it and have Seeing AI, Envision or another related app read the text for me. Intriguingly, yesterday I was chatting with a staff about learning to write and she asked me whether I could still write by hand. I asked her to hand me a pen and a piece of paper and wrote my first name onto it. Envision didn’t give me any feedback, but Seeing AI read everything except for the A. Of course, every letter except for the A was an inch tall. I am however pleased that it was legible by AI.
Not that it’s of any use in daily life. I mean, when I had to get a new passport a few months ago, it was decided that my handwriting isn’t readable enough for me to write my signature. That’s in part because my signature has always been a mess because I never quite understood the concept. However, my handwriting has definitely worsened over the years. I’m glad though that I got the comment on my passport that I’m unable to sign, because that way until I’m due to get a new one in ten years, no-one will ask me to try and then conclude that my signature looks nothing like the one on my passport. I had that problem when my wife and I were buying our house. Thankfully, the solicitor was able to ask to colleagues to sign in my place. Next time, official people will know beforehand thanks to the note on my passport.
This post was written in response to today’s prompt for #JusJoJan, which is “magnify”.
A Multitude of Musings 