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Nice until she goes off on implants. Fuck that. Google some videos of kids with their implants. This fetish for signing society is just absurd. We've figure

Nice until she goes off on implants. Fuck that. Google some videos of kids with their implants. This fetish for signing society is just absurd. We've figured out how to cure deafness in most cases; get used to it.

cturner 16y ago
That may be hiding a really interesting point: kids can learn to sign quicker and earlier than they can learn to speak. I expect it to be a good thing to try and get kids engaged with language skills as soon as possible, and using flexible language skills as much as practical. Some people achieve this by getting a nanny that speaks another language. How hard is it to learn sign language to fluency compared to spoken languages?
- patio11 16y ago
  There is an entire movement to teach babies sign language. One of my friends did it for her kids. The idea is not, however, using sign language to fluency (though, let's be honest, you're not trying to teach your child any language to fluency in their first few years of life).
AngryParsley 16y ago
The author of this article is a Greg Downey, not Susan Schaller. I'm not sure what Schaller's position on implants is. I agree that deaf children should get cochlear implants, but the article did point out some disadvantages that I didn't know about. Your tone seems rather angry. I don't see the point of getting angry about someone else's belief. It just makes you angry and them unconvinced.
chroma 16y ago
I find your comment both uncivil and insubstantial (to use terms from the HN rules). You found one tangential thing in the article and disagreed with it. You didn't explain why you disagreed with it, you simply crudely expressed your opinion. Cochlear implants were discussed to death recently (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1505365 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1505365). It's a loud, polarizing topic and further discussion is unproductive. Yet your comment is voted higher than any other in this thread. (sigh)
- danbmil99 16y ago
  (sigh) I wish calmly and rationally stating your opinion got people's attention, but it doesn't. Fact is, cochlear implants are very obviously a good thing, and the arguments against them are stupid. There are many issues that are polarizing, but where the right answer is completely obvious to anyone who is thinking clearly and doesn't have a hidden agenda. This is one of them.

cturner 16y ago

That may be hiding a really interesting point: kids can learn to sign quicker and earlier than they can learn to speak. I expect it to be a good thing to try and get kids engaged with language skills as soon as possible, and using flexible language skills as much as practical. Some people achieve this by getting a nanny that speaks another language. How hard is it to learn sign language to fluency compared to spoken languages?

patio11 16y ago
There is an entire movement to teach babies sign language. One of my friends did it for her kids. The idea is not, however, using sign language to fluency (though, let's be honest, you're not trying to teach your child any language to fluency in their first few years of life).

AngryParsley 16y ago

The author of this article is a Greg Downey, not Susan Schaller. I'm not sure what Schaller's position on implants is. I agree that deaf children should get cochlear implants, but the article did point out some disadvantages that I didn't know about. Your tone seems rather angry. I don't see the point of getting angry about someone else's belief. It just makes you angry and them unconvinced.

chroma 16y ago

I find your comment both uncivil and insubstantial (to use terms from the HN rules). You found one tangential thing in the article and disagreed with it. You didn't explain why you disagreed with it, you simply crudely expressed your opinion. Cochlear implants were discussed to death recently (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1505365 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1505365). It's a loud, polarizing topic and further discussion is unproductive. Yet your comment is voted higher than any other in this thread. (sigh)

danbmil99 16y ago
(sigh) I wish calmly and rationally stating your opinion got people's attention, but it doesn't. Fact is, cochlear implants are very obviously a good thing, and the arguments against them are stupid. There are many issues that are polarizing, but where the right answer is completely obvious to anyone who is thinking clearly and doesn't have a hidden agenda. This is one of them.