Impaired Vision? Sam Genensky Saw No Obstacles
Ever since he suffered an accident as a baby, Sam Genensky was classified as legally blind, having about 20/1000 vision in the only one of his eyes that worked. Despite this difficulty, Dr. Genensky became a pioneer of low vision improvement and designed a system called Randsight that magnifies text 31 times its original size and displays it on a video screen.
Dr. Genensky broke the chains of his poor eyesight and went on to graduate with honors from Brown University, earn a PhD in mathematics, and work as a mathematician for RAND Corp. for many years. It was during his time at RAND that he was able to make his stunning breakthrough.
Dr. Genensky’s penchant for innovation started at an early age; in high school he altered a pair of his father’s binoculars from World War I to help him read the blackboard in class. It’s no wonder that he was able to create technology to help similarly-situated people. Dr. Genensky said that Randsight enabled him to read 130 words per minute!
I think it’s simply amazing that a man with such a disadvantage was able to have more success than the average person with full capabilities. Dr. Genensky passed away on June 26th of this year, but clearly has left a lasting legacy. Not only was he a brilliant inventor, he was a great inspiration!
What do you think of Dr. Genensky’s accomplishments? Please post your comments!
