We all know braille as the writing system used by people who are visually disabled. A brief history of this beautiful system that has made education possible for millions of people for decades:
- In early 1980’s, Charles Barbier, serving in Napoleon;s French army developed a night – writing system for the soldiers – If the soldiers wrote/read in light, they would soon succumb to the enemies who specifically targeted the lights.
- This system was a 6*2 matrix that was comprehensive for communication but not easy to understand through touch.
- Then comes in Louis Braille, also from France, who lost his vision at a very early age in an accident. He was inspired by Barbier’s coding system and spent considerable time to bring down the matrix to 3*2 which could be felt with finger tips.
- This is the most standard and preferred method of writing till today, all thanks to the visualization of two legends – Charles Barbier & Louis Braille
So lets thank them in the beautiful script they have created:
Thank you for your vision that brought in a systematic script for millions who could not see.
Tidbit: Braille is that it is written from right to left and read from left to right