8 Tricky "Would You Rathers...?" Answered By Science

7. Be Blind Or Deaf?

Unless you plan on developing some kind of superhero alter ego, neither of these options is exactly ideal.

But, if you have to pick one, what this really boils down to is timing. That is, whether you're born deaf/blind, or whether you become that way.

If you were to have one of these conditions from birth, then it would be much better to be born blind. Language, far, far more than vision, is essential in the normal development of a tiny human. Babies begin to hear in the womb, they learn the sounds of their mother's voice and even begin to pick up the cadence of their mother tongue long before they're even see daylight. The development of language and communication in the first two years of life is absolutely essential to normal social and cognitive development, and hearing is the primary channel for this development.

Helen Keller, the first deafblind person to earn a bachelor's degree, is quoted as saying that "the problems of deafness are deeper and more complex" than with blindness as it is a key social and learning tool for humans.

This said, once this key developmental stage is over, it comes down to what you would be more willing to sacrifice. Although hearing is a key part of human communication, particularly in large social groups, an increasing amount of our communication in the modern world is becoming text based. Being deaf and sighted would allow you to use messaging and the internet in general, in relative normality.

Another thing to consider would be the advancements in medical science. Our artificial hearing technology is currently far more advanced than our artificial vision technology. Presuming this hypothetical world in which you get to choose blindness or deafness, also allows you to then seek medical attention, cochlear implants could well restore your hearing far more effectively than the latest in artificial vision. For now at least.

Verdict: Be Deaf.