Gamer Lacks Eyeballs, Kicks Ass Anyways

Kids sometimes like to gloat and say they will pwn you with their eyes closed, but this kid means it. After having his eyes surgically removed, he relearned how to do everything without the use of his vision, relying instead on echolocation. His television must have some pretty awesome surround sound then, because he is somehow able to play videogames without ever seeing the screen.

[Twizlex]

Holy crap! That video is crazy. He's not even FACING the television. Wouldn't that screw up his sonar or whatever?

[Nostradavis]

Sonar? What is he Aquaman?

[Twizlex]

No, but I think his mom is related to Aquaman (so he would be too) because her name is Aquanetta. Seriously, what kind of name is that? Ha!

[chasuk08]

This is so old its unbelievable. I remember watching this guy on a documentary on tv 2 years ago ! But yeh this guy is amazing !

[Twizlex]

This isn't old. Technically, this kid has been blind for like 15 years, so yeah, that's not new. This story is new, however, because it just went up today, for one, and for two, it's talking about how his cancer came back and that there's a website to help him.

[sonarus]

Wow. That guy is incredible. I don't like to believe in this sort of stuff but if true then WOW. What an awesome kid

[velaxun]

actually, it's quite old. Ripten has just rehashed it, this appeared on Cracked.com months ago.

http://www.cracked.com/arti...

See #6

[velaxun]

double posted, ignore this one

[Chris Bosh]

Hewuz on OPRAH AND 20/20

I KNOW I ADMIT IT,I WATCH OPRAH.

BUT HONESTLY, WHOD DOESNT????
LOL

[ThanatosDMC]

I'm amazed!

[Leord]

DareDevil FTW! =D

[Millah]

This kid is dope as F***

I saw him on Ellen before and they gave him a Wii before they even came out.

[Organic_Chemistry]

This is just an amazing example of the plasticity of the brain. Sometimes when one loses a sense such as sight, the brain is able to compensate for that loss of sense by enhancing another. Another example is to observe how blind judo athletes can use their kinestheitc sense to locate their adversary, amazing stuff!

[ryuyasho]

He's the real Daredevil!!!

[superflyguy]

He's pretty amazing. He's one of the few humans in the world who uses ecolocation.

[ustayclassyn4g]

:hero:

[Twizlex]

I wonder if a Wii would be easier or harder for him to game on.

[Timesplitter14]

I wonder how it would change anything

[Twizlex]

You don't think it would be any different? I would think some games would be a lot easier on the Wii.

[n00bzRtehgey]

I agree. He should get a Wii.

[mintaro]

Holy, thats amazing

[jay2]

That is a true example of how disabled people addapt, well done to him.

[Rice]

he so coool

[TheRocker9122]

Props.. props

[Timesplitter14]

He'd be good at Doom 3. No need to swap for the flashlight lol

[Domenikos]

bUBBLES FOR U, I roflmao FOR 3 OR 4 MINS

[kazuma]

lol i'm sure that "being able to play videogames" is just in a basic level

[Gish]

Thats pretty much stating the obvious.

[HateBoy]

Yes lets all laugh at the blind kid with cancer, lol indeed asshole.

This guy is making the most out of a pretty horrible situation, I think he should be applauded for his efforts at will to adapt. I doubt most of us would do half of what he does.

[dude_uk]

oops wrong post
¬¬"

[PoSTedUP]

thats really amazing, god bless.

[Timesplitter14]

It's not God. It's him who made efforts to become awesome

[Twizlex]

Logical people may believe that, but he says himself on his website that it's all due to God. And if you believe that than you believe God is now attacking him with cancer again, so I don't know if I'd be all happy about it.

[liquidsnake]

There is no God mate, why would a 2 year old child deserve cancer? And if I understood the article right, it looks like it's on the way again, after 15 years.

[Adventists]

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

Lulz injection complete.

[PoSTedUP]

i said god bless dog, not "god did it all for him", dont get it twisted, and if you dont believe in god then i will say a prayer for you SOn. oh and btw those disagrees really hurt me : \

~believe in something~

[Spinner]

"and if you dont believe in god then i will say a prayer for you SOn."

and I'll think for you ... son.

"~believe in something~ "

k. A tiny purple gnome created the universe in 1/10th of a second. He lives behind pluto, but we cannot verify it because He is so small that not even our most powerful telescopes can see Him. Fact.

I am the son of the tiny pruple gnome, He has sent me here to spread the truth! I am also my own father, lawl.

PLEASE 2 HAVE FAITH IN THE TINY PURPLE GNOME!

Convert right away! ... you'll get a fruit basket (but only pruple fruit, eating non-purple food is a SIN.)

http://www.venganza.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

[Timesplitter14]

that video up there is awesome lol

[PoSTedUP]

hey you dont gotta think for me dog, i think for my self, and when it comes down to it i hope god has mercey man. peace and god bless.

[Gish]

Holy crap, the responses to postedup's message are pretty disturbing. I have seen alot of dumbass comments on this site but people attacking a guy because he says "god bless" is pretty pathetic. Pretty much the same simple minded people that want to be the "others" that disagree with anyone just so they can look "cool". My mom passed away from cancer a year ago, so I have my own struggles with the god issue, but I hope there is one. For all you idiots out there that decide to be "cool" find something else to attack. I am sure some immature xbox vs ps3 story is around to be "cool" to comment on.

[Twizlex]

People need to understand what they read. I said the same thing liquidsnake said and he got all agrees and I got all disagrees. I swear, education is not what it used to be.

[BISHOP-BRASIL]

I really don't like how people paint a god as a sadic child with a ant farm... Really, this "God make it him" or "God is saving him". What, god can't just decide where he want to save or kill this ant?

It's pretty pathetic to me how people like to claim any side of this cases as proof to something, maybe I just happen to deslike this "arguments" because I'm an agnostic myself... But in the end I think it's just up to what make you sleep better at night.

But we are being off-topic anyway...

[HateBoy]

I believe in science and empirical knowledge. I'm sorry, did I say believe? I meant I know. Pray all you want if it makes you feel better, but don't expect it to change anything.

[Isaac]

"I believe in science and empirical knowledge. I'm sorry, did I say believe? I meant I know. Pray all you want if it makes you feel better, but don't expect it to change anything."

Obviously, you do not know everything, and by your attitude, you are not very wise either. Presuming Science is all-knowing and that you "know Science" is as ignorant as believing in God, but at least those that believe in god are not as presumptuous as many of you.

I do not believe in god`s existence, nor do I believe he exists either. Likely he does not, at least not in the way the Bible, Quran or Torah say, but again it is not something we can prove. Ultimately I could not care less about anyones beliefs as long as it does not have any effect on me, which is why I respect it unlike most of you.

Who cares anyway? We are talking games here and the echolocating boy, not God.

[Organic_Chemistry]

You have to be a fool to think that we magically evolved by chance and mutations in our gene structures and various expressed traits. You also have to be a complete fool to think that God did not create life. All science does is try to explain how God created everything, originally, now the more people discover the less they want to believe in God. Man is nothing more than a speck of dust, and if we did evolve like evolutionist believe, where do we obtain our value of human life if we are no different than the trees or frogs? Believing in only living God, of the Bible, is not something that you just decide one day or are born into, if that were the case why would anyone? God chooses who He wants to believe in Him and gives them the gift of faith because ultimately, God has a plan for that person. Not everyone believes in God, not because they choose not to but because God has not yet drawn them to Him. Sorry but you try to bash my beliefs Im going to defend them, dont talk about something you know nothing of.

God did not give this child cancer, would you give someone cancer? No! So why would the one who gave life do such a thing? Cancer is a result of both genetic and epigenetic factors. Like everything in life there is action/consequence, cancer is nothing more than the natural consequence of oncogenes not being turned off during cellular replication, hence uncontrolled growth is cancerous division, resulting in tumors, whether benign or metastatic. God did not give this child cancer, he does however have a plan for this child as seen now he can help out a majority of other individuals like him. God is in control.

/end rant

[IHATEGOD]

Sorry. There that is out of the way, I hate pissing people off. I was forced into religion by my parents, then (as the late great George Carlin would say) I hit the age of reasoning. To me all religions are false hopes and empty promises. They always need money, they always need your help, yet there are thousands who die daily cause they can't get a piece of bread. Just sad to me but like Organic Chemistry said this is gods plan. Well God is one sick person if his plans for people are cancer at age 2, a 12 yr old girl raped by her neighbor, or a newborn who takes their first breath only for it to be their last. Yeah thats some god you have. Enjoy your imaginary friend in the sky.

[dude_uk]

wow thank you organic_science...
finally somebody says something right...

I agree with everything you said, although i do disagree with two things...
one is that
"God chooses who He wants to believe in Him and gives them the gift of faith because ultimately, God has a plan for that person. Not everyone believes in God, not because they choose not to but because God has not yet drawn them to Him."

this is not true... as God has chosen everyone... though while most believe in his existence...there are some who don't... even though God is always with us whether you believe in him or not

and
"Cancer is a result of both genetic and epigenetic factors. Like everything in life there is action/consequence"

this is half true...
yes cancer is a result of genetic mutation and until proven false it could also be inherited, but the real reason that such horrible diseases exist is in the beginning of it all.
Right when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit... if this hadn't happened the world would never be the way it is...

People blame God for cancer, diseases, Violence, even War... but what you seem to forget is that he gave us freewill from the start of life...

cancer's and diseases in today's society could be a result from many reasons..chemical drugs which make you better, but their full biological reaction could lead into another reaction which scientists do not fully understand what it could do to the human body, heck maybe it even could change the m-RNA amino acids and alter the DNA replication or transfiguration
even fertilizers, pesticides, food preservatives.. these chemicals have effects unknown to scientists...
Gamma-rays, X-rays, ultraviolet... are all used today to some extent in society...although they are natural things from the electromagnetic spectrum these were all discovered by man, and are all cancerous

Plastic, this revolutionary material that changed the way we live...
did anyone know that when you put a plastic on the microwave it releases cancerous chemicals onto the food stored on it??

I mean should we really blame God for what we have done to ourselves?

[dude_uk]

care to share why you disagree??

[Rute]

Organic_Chemistry said: "You have to be a fool to think that we magically evolved by chance and mutations in our gene structures and various expressed traits."

Add natural selection to the equation and you're closer to a proper explanation. Scientists have a pretty good view on what kind of mutations and selective pressures evolved us into humans from our common ancestor with apes. By far most of the mutations changed how long and when a chosen gene was expressed. For example, human brains develop very similarily compared to great apes, but the development takes a lot longer, which leads to higher cognitive abilities.

The most radical mutation was one that fused together two primate chromosomes and formed human chromosome 2. Telomeres are normally found at the end of chromosomes, but there are actually still telomeres in the middle of the chromosome 2, which are the remnants of a time when the chromosomes were separated.

Here's a christian scientist named Ken Miller who explains about the fusion:
http://www.youtube.com/watc...

Organic_Chemistry said: "Man is nothing more than a speck of dust, and if we did evolve like evolutionist believe, where do we obtain our value of human life"

Wishing something to be true doesn't make it true. If a doctor knows that a man will die of incurable cancer, the cancer won't heal by saying that there's no cancer to the sick man. Similarily, believing in heaven or some other form of "valuable afterlife" doesn't make it true, even though it's a consolting idea.

My value for human life comes from believing that this life is the only one we get. The history of christianity shows that christians have valued human life a lot less than members of atheist religions like buddhism.

USA is one of the most christian countries in the world, yet you still have death penalty in many states.

----

dude_uk said: "People blame God for cancer, diseases, Violence, even War... but what you seem to forget is that he gave us freewill from the start of life..."

Cancer is the result of damage in DNA that leads to uncontrolled growth of cells. Free radicals of oxygen are by far the most common damaging agent leading to cancer. If God makes us choose between cancer and breathing, he's a sick wacko.

Violence and war are a remnant of man's evolutionary history as barbarians. There are some populations like the East Asians, who aren't anywhere as violent as the caucasian race, to which I assume you belong to.

Diseases are caused by bacteria and virus which are genetically driven to cause misery and death. Infections, sneezes, abscess and other miseries make sense when you think about them from the reproductionary perspective of the infectious agents.

There are also earthquakes, nasty parasites and other hazards. Do you believe God isn't responsible of them? Darwin once said that "I cannot persuade myself that a beneficent and omnipotent God would have designedly created parasitic wasps with the express intention of their feeding within the living bodies of Caterpillars".

[dude_uk]

Dude...
you seem to forget that God is not the only supernatural force that exists... although he is omnipotent, the Devil is also powerful and he's powerful enough to have control over matter, but only if God allows him. THIS IS BECAUSE OF SIN.

The only way anybody can be protected is to accept Jesus as your Saviour and live the way God tells you to in through the bible.

By the way if you don't know.. the Devil was the most powerful angel in heaven, he was the only angel that could worship God, but God cast him out of heaven because of his sin, he wanted to be God.
And God gave us what he had, that's why he hates God's creation.

Also if I'm not mistaken in the book of Daniel, the bible tells us that the devil goes before the throne of God, and asks to take our lives; EVERY DAY.

so by the looks of it you are blaming the wrong being.

[lulzarama]

@9.14

Proof? Oh... you have none? Then your belief is no more valid than 9.6's purple gnome belief.

The only "fool" here is you as you don't even have an understanding of evolution to "refute" it. There is a mountain-full of evidence for evolution ... we've seen microevolution happen with antibiotic-resistant bacteria, etc. There is no absolutely zero evidence for a god.

You can have all the faith you want, but I would rather learn about the world/universe/past/etc than settle with the answer of: "god did it."

I'd prefer that we set out to gain as much knowledge about the Earth, universe, our past, our future as we can rather than live a life of ignorance with religion.

[Rute]

To dude_uk: It says in the Bible that "And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good" (Genesis 1: 25). That would mean God created parasites, harmful bacteria, carnivores and other beings whose very nature is about producing death and pain.

According to bible, God also created the Earth (Genesis 1: 9) and is thus responsible for plate tectonics and therefore earthquakes.

If there was an omnipotent and benevolent God, he would surely destroy Lucifer/Devil.

EDIT:
To lulzrama: macroevolution has been observed in vitro/vivo too, if macroevolution is defined as the emergence of novel structures and evolutionary innovations (definition by Ernst Mayr). One example of such observation is in a scientific article named "Emergence of nylon oligomer degradation enzymes in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO through experimental evolution".

Macroevolution is cumulated microevolution (mutations and selection) and because macroevolution normally requires hundreds of generations in order to be clearly observable, it is usually observed only in unicellular organisms like bacteria which reproduce at rapid rate. The recent finding of the evolution of cecal valves in a lizard named Podarcis sicula is one of the very few cases when macroevolution has been observed in vertebrates.

--

As you may guess, I have studied biology, but I quit it and became an artist, because as an artist I can make money a lot faster than being a researcher.

[Adventists]

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

9.14 = lady in first ~10 seconds.

Lulz Injection 2 Complete.

[dude_uk]

Rute..

there is a time for when Lucifer will be tortured for all eternity...
for all things happen in the time that God wants them to..
read Apocalypse/Revelation will you?

as for plate tectonics and earthquakes it is as I said...in my last post

as to adventists post...
How... tell me how you would explain how the OLDEST book ever..
Genesis tells us that the earth is round? I mean mankind thought that the earth was flat until a couple of hundred years ago...
how the heck does a 6000+ year old book knows the earth is round?
it just boggles my mind...

[Arduen]

God may or may not exist. I personally hope that he does. That said, I like to think that living your life as if he exists has got to be a good thing. What does it hurt? And for all of the people saying that accepting God is the only way into heaven...might want to save that argument for another forum. It comes off as casting judgment when you say it in this light.

I pretty much refuse to believe that the countless good people who live their lives by a different belief system will be cast into hell. Would a benevolent omnipotent being really have any reason to torment billions of people because they were born in the wrong country? Or because they weren't swayed by someone's argument.

So, why not let people believe what they will--set a good example for either side of the argument by treating each other with respect and understanding.

[Rute]

dude_uk: Why does God have to wait before destroying Lucifer? Why did he create parasites, carnivores and diseases in the first place?

It's easy to say that everything will turn for the better far in the future if the precise date isn't defined. Actually most of the earliest christians believed the last judgement/apocalypse/second coming would come very soon, because in Matthew 16:28, Mark 9:1 and Luke 9:27 Jesus says that the then current generation wouldn't pass away before the second coming:

"Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who shall not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom" (Jesus)

The genesis doesn't tell the Earth is round. There are lots of verses in the Bible that were used to defend geocentrism and flat earth in the dark middle ages.

In fact, the power of the church was so strong, that the precise mathematical measurements of Earth's circumference, axial tilt and distance from the Sun by Greek polymath Eratosthenes were deliberately concealed. Eratosthenes lived 276 BCE - 194 BCE.

Well, anyways, +bubble for you for thinking about these things. Most people just play videogames.

[dude_uk]

lol man..
its cool.. its good to move away from games and use your brain once in a while :P

[NintendoKid17]

Yeah thats what you call skill, I saw a program on TLC about him its was really cool. He had his eyes removed when he was young and uses a clicking noise he makes to move around. That noise reflects off of objects and he can see the outline of it to go around it, its so amazing. Its shows that he may be blind but that doesn't keep him from living life

[LeShin]

Holy crap! That's crazy! Didn't even think a human could use echolocation!

[Twizlex]

Humans have been using echolocation for over 100 years. Watch more Discovery Channel LOL!

[pwnsause]

they can use echolocation, but in the world we live today, a lazy world that is, we always have to depend on someone to get thru life, this kid adapted to this situation since he was young.

[AllroundGamer]

now that kind of skill should unlock some really special achievement/trophy :)

[PimpHandHappy]

if he only plays one game

i seen the story about this kid on HBO. He is a amazing kid even if he got hit by a car crossing the road

[GameOn]

The force is strong with this one.

[dro]

i dont no what to say -_-

[jax07]

but I bellieve this is proof of something I have felt a long time. That is that we humans at one point of time were very physically advance and were capable of all sorts of amazing things that animals are today like dogs and their insane since of smell, bats and echolocation and so on. I think that as time went on and we got smarter we didnt have a use for these superhuman senses if I may. This kid was litteraly forced to go back to start using his due to the lack of eyes all together, a problem that our technology cannot properly fix at the moment. Amazing!

[Not the Face]

i agree with everything but the "we got smarter part".

[PimpHandHappy]

we did get smarter!

call me next time you need a vaccine for the Black Plauge or want to fly!

the human body is indeed a amazing machine.

The kid starting using a walking stick after he got hit by a car crossing the road! They also found out his bat like ears are not really that bat like after he got smacked by that car!

im taking nothing away from this kid because he is amazing.

[Isaac]

It is not magic or technology. Pay attention in class next time.

[m9105826]

I remember reading about him years ago, reminded me of daredevil.

[kewlkat007]

the thing is he cannot put too much trust into that ability cause it proved he cannot account for HOLES and DITCHES..This was on TLC or A&E?

Anyhow that's crazy..I guess he is the true life daredevil.

[pwnsause]

and thats why uncompressed sound is needed in gaming, but yea, like what you guys said, hes daredevil

[Isaac]

Only on PS3.

Sony systems have usually had great sound, so it is not surprising to see his console of choice is a PlayStation.

[Twizlex]

Shut the front door. Blah blah whatever about the PS3, but he's playing on a PS2 so all that talk about uncompressed sound is irrelevant.

[Ri0tSquad]

Amazing

[TheFreak]

alot harder maybe especially when its a game that requires pointing with the wiimote on the screen

[Twizlex]

You don't think pointing in the direction of things would be easier because of his whole echolocation thing? Either way, the point is that it does seem like it would make a difference. It's funny how people disagree with just asking the question. Lame.

[TheFreak]

hehe true that. hmm hard to tell really . But I agree it would make a difference for him in a good way or bad

[budbundystyles]

Totally amazing stuff. The things people complain about in day to day life with their health. This man probably lives a more fulfilling life than some with sight.

[xSHROOMZx]

forget the videogames part....

did you see how he called out the fire hydrant and tha trash can????? and he's freaking BLIND! Wow, thats all I got to say, just WOW!!!!!!!!

[CyberSentinel]

You are an inspiration to us all.

[nirun]

pretty inspiring stuff.

Amazing how the human body adapts, saw a documentary a few days ago about a turkish painter who has been blind his whole life, and a girl who can taste sound. I guess there are some real life X-Men

[Matpan]

Wow, that is close to a superpower. Actually, the brain reasigns the resources meant for eyesight to enhance the other senses in order to compensate for the loss, hence, he can hear far better than the average human being. Should his eyes be restored his hearing would go back to normal values.

The good part: He´ll never be complaining about framerate drops or jaggies :P

[narked]

the pwnerer

[Sanhlami]

I wonder if you shoot a bullet at him will he dodge it? If he does that might as well give him some tights and call him a superhero.

[juuken]

That's amazing.

[Ninja-Sama]

I'm rly impressed by this guy. Good for him to still game regardless of his situation.

[zapass]

and so is his mother.

all developers should watch this and dedicate as much resources for game sound as for graphics.

[SephirothGod]

This kid is really inspiring. I know that if you lose your sight that your other senses get enhanced greatly, but it's wonderful to see that in action! "That's a fire hydrant and that's a car . . . wait no a trash can, wait let me check . . . . . yep that's a trash can *kicks it* or one of those recycle things"

Kid is awesome.

[Nitrowolf2]

dam
wonder if he plays online

well anyway that just amazing, i mean ive seen allot of blind people but to actually beable to iddentifie things like he did just by making clicks, now that somethhing amazing. I for one would like to develope something like that if i ever go blind (do to the fact that i sit infront of the TV all day playing video games)

[heroman711]

now that is what u call a true gamer

[Isaac]

Remember Beethoven? He made music without actually hearing, only "feeling". This guy knows what is around him despite not seeing. Unfortunately, he can not recognize colors, so works of art like Okami would go unappreciated. However, he can be more objective when judging gameplay, as he would not judge based on graphics. I would be very interested to know what he thought about the Gears of War, considering it was pretty shallow.

[vegnadragon]

god bless him

[xTHRASHx]

i cant belive my eyes... oops sorry for that one. this kid truly is a beast..

[Stinkey]

This is Amazing!
I love his attitude and his mother's as well. Did you notice his dead on aim? Just shows you how beautifully made humans are.

[agentace]

COD4 when ever someone use`s the 50 cal you instally no were they are, i dont even have surrond sound but the 50 cal is so load it works with out it lol

[YoungKingDoran]

good for him... but i dont get it
i can see how he can sense objects in real life
but how can he use echolocation for pictures on a flat screen?
and dont say he uses the sounds on the game to know where things are
thats ridiculous
not trying to debunk your little daredevil's blind videogame prowess but does anyone have any ideas? cause i cant figure it out

[Spydiggity]

surround sound, my friend. games use so many sounds now that he can pick up on enemy locations. when you think about it, we all do it, we just aren't quite so conscious of it cuz we rely most heavily on our eyes.

[Spydiggity]

great mom

[Deios]

"Amazing"

[Old Snake]

WTF?

[project76dodo]

amazing!!!

[Amp]

Thanks for putting ALL of us in our proper place Ben :))

[xionpunk]

whoa i didn't even think that was possible.

[oothebutcheroo]

this is so over rated

[King Neptune117]

Wow this is inspiring especially to me. I have a smaller left hand with a few missing knuckles(fingers about an inch shorter than right hand fingers). My mom thought I would have to have a special keyboard and everything. Now, im 16, can type on a regular keyboard (without looking) at about 60 words per minute, and, am an avid gamer. When you see me play its just like seeing anyone else play, you would never expect that I had a deformed hand. I can do pretty much anything that somebody with a normal hand can do. Remember, dont judge somebody by how they look. Im serious!

[TruthbeTold]

Way to be.

[master pain]

respect!

[game-over]

I want to play him in pong.

[oothebutcheroo]

he would suck at pong

[Devilbringer]

not even snake can sneak up un him. hes like big boss lol

[Arduen]

Wrong spot...sorry