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+0.46 Ask HN: I'm a software engineer going blind, how should I prepare?
3270 points by zachrip 2138 days ago | 473 comments on HN | Moderate positive Community · v3.7 · 2026-02-26
Summary Disability & Work Rights Advocates
A software engineer diagnosed with progressive vision loss seeks information and peer support to navigate continued employment and career sustainability. The post advocates implicitly for equal employment rights, non-discrimination, and workplace accommodation for disabled professionals. The Hacker News community responds with resources and moral support, facilitating collective problem-solving around disability inclusion in tech.
Article Heatmap
Preamble: +0.48 — Preamble P Article 1: +0.58 — Freedom, Equality, Brotherhood 1 Article 2: +0.37 — Non-Discrimination 2 Article 3: +0.36 — Life, Liberty, Security 3 Article 4: +0.26 — No Slavery 4 Article 5: +0.26 — No Torture 5 Article 6: +0.36 — Legal Personhood 6 Article 7: +0.56 — Equality Before Law 7 Article 8: +0.36 — Right to Remedy 8 Article 9: +0.26 — No Arbitrary Detention 9 Article 10: +0.36 — Fair Hearing 10 Article 11: +0.26 — Presumption of Innocence 11 Article 12: +0.21 — Privacy 12 Article 13: +0.48 — Freedom of Movement 13 Article 14: +0.48 — Asylum 14 Article 15: +0.36 — Nationality 15 Article 16: +0.26 — Marriage & Family 16 Article 17: +0.36 — Property 17 Article 18: +0.54 — Freedom of Thought 18 Article 19: +0.89 — Freedom of Expression 19 Article 20: +0.64 — Assembly & Association 20 Article 21: +0.34 — Political Participation 21 Article 22: +0.44 — Social Security 22 Article 23: +0.57 — Work & Equal Pay 23 Article 24: +0.46 — Rest & Leisure 24 Article 25: +0.45 — Standard of Living 25 Article 26: +0.44 — Education 26 Article 27: +0.74 — Cultural Participation 27 Article 28: +0.34 — Social & International Order 28 Article 29: +0.44 — Duties to Community 29 Article 30: +0.36 — No Destruction of Rights 30
Negative Neutral Positive No Data
Aggregates
Weighted Mean +0.46 Unweighted Mean +0.43
Max +0.89 Article 19 Min +0.21 Article 12
Signal 31 No Data 0
Confidence 45% Volatility 0.15 (Low)
Negative 0 Channels E: 0.4 S: 0.6
SETL +0.12 Editorial-dominant
FW Ratio 67% 44 facts · 22 inferences
Evidence: High: 2 Medium: 15 Low: 14 No Data: 0
Theme Radar
Foundation Security Legal Privacy & Movement Personal Expression Economic & Social Cultural Order & Duties Foundation: 0.48 (3 articles) Security: 0.29 (3 articles) Legal: 0.36 (6 articles) Privacy & Movement: 0.38 (4 articles) Personal: 0.39 (3 articles) Expression: 0.62 (3 articles) Economic & Social: 0.48 (4 articles) Cultural: 0.59 (2 articles) Order & Duties: 0.38 (3 articles)
HN Discussion 20 top-level · 30 replies
csdreamer7 2020-04-19 21:50 UTC link
Please watch this video on the i3 desktop environment. The windows are managed and can be controlled by keystrokes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_RL_Q8CR78

From 2015, a blind engineer uses emacspeak to write C++.

https://www.businessinsider.com/how-blind-google-engineer-wr...

I have read some HN comments in the past from blind engineers. Not sure if they are frontend.

istorical 2020-04-19 22:02 UTC link
Biggest advice, start programming with your monitor covered up by a sheet or turned off now while you still have the option to turn it back on to figure out what you just did.

Gradually have it turned off for longer periods without turning it on to see what's happening until you can do it without seeing it at all.

EnderMB 2020-04-19 22:03 UTC link
I'm very sorry to hear that.

I'm not sure where you're based, but I've heard of Usher's Syndrome after hearing a talk from someone named Molly Watt, who also has Usher's Syndrome. It might be worth dropping her a line, as in her line of work she might be able to either give some advice, or point you towards someone in your situation that can help.

https://www.mollywatt.com/

ddevault 2020-04-19 22:05 UTC link
I recommend using a tiling window manager - they allow you to organize windows logically, rather than spatially.

I have also written some plugins for using Vim (text editing) and Weechat (IRC chat) with speech synthesis:

https://git.sr.ht/~sircmpwn/dotfiles/tree/master/lib/vim/vim...

https://git.sr.ht/~sircmpwn/dotfiles/tree/master/.weechat/py...

And I have a script for Sway (a tiling window manager) which also gives you audible cues:

https://git.sr.ht/~sircmpwn/dotfiles/tree/master/bin/swaytal...

All of this is somewhat incomplete, but it's a good starting point if you want to get used to them and work on improvements while you're still sighted. Good luck, and let me know if I can be of service.

mburst 2020-04-19 22:18 UTC link
I would recommend trying to study up on Section 508 compliance https://www.hhs.gov/web/section-508/index.html. It's a set of rules that all government orgs in the US must follow for making sure their content is accessible. If you do end up becoming visually impaired you'll end up with a unique perspective on building accessible websites.
acdha 2020-04-19 22:48 UTC link
I’m really sorry that you have to face that and wish I had better advice.

My employer is the U.S. federal government and I would highly recommend considering looking at government (or contractor) jobs: we take very seriously the need to serve ALL of the public and front-end engineers who deeply understand and value accessibility are extremely valuable contributors since they can provide the subjective guidance which no level of automated tool or guideline can provide.

The GSA’s 18F has a great guide to building accessible websites:

https://accessibility.18f.gov/

(The BBC guide is also good: http://www.bbc.co.uk/guidelines/futuremedia/accessibility/)

I’d treat that as both an area to learn the tools for personal reasons - e.g. get comfortable with the accessibility tools in your favorite operating system - and as an area to learn more. There’s a pretty good story for web accessibility these days but a lot of people do not make much use of it and someone who can make an entire team more efficient has a somewhat uncommon selling point.

kolanos 2020-04-19 22:50 UTC link
You can definitely continue as a software engineer. I'm living proof. It won't be easy, especially at first. For a while it will feel like you're working twice as hard just to keep up with your sighted peers. But eventually, the better you get with your tools, you'll find you have some superpowers over your sighted peers. For example, as you get better with a screen reader, you'll be bumping the speech rate up to 1.75-2X normal speech. You'll be the only one who can understand your screen reader. You'll become the fastest and most proficient proof reader on your team. Typos will be easily spotted as they just won't "sound right". It will be like listening to a familiar song and then hitting an off note in the melody. And this includes code. Also, because code is no longer represented visually as blocks, you'll find you're building an increasingly detailed memory model of your code. Sighted people do this, too, but they tend to visualize in their mind. When you abandon this two dimensional representation, your non-visual mental map suffers no spatial limits. You'll be amazed how good your memory will get without the crutch of sight. Good luck. If you're a Mac user you can hit me up for tool recommendations. My email is my username at gmail dot com.
oaabhilash 2020-04-19 23:04 UTC link
I am a Software Engineer and my spouse has limited vision. These is based on my experience 1. Use your remaining time with vision to be really really good at touch typing. I mean, you should be able to any character without looking at the keyboard. 2. My spouse finds these magnifiers really useful to read small text. Hoping you can use these if you can retain some vision. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01EV0XP8S/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b.... 3. Learn how to use the Accessibility features in Windows, Mac, Android, Linux and ios. Learn the shortcuts. You should think about how to use the tools for low vision (magnifier) and no vision (Audio aids and other stuff) 4. Learn the ADA standards for applications and be an advocate for visually impaired. At my own work, I try to use every opportunity to push for more accessible applications. However there so many software applications deployed to Enterprise every day, without any accessibility considerations. Being a software engineer, I implore you to be a champion for this cause. 5. People who grew up using computers from the 90s are turning older now. Next 10 to 20 years they will demand the applications they use to be accessible. As an industry, we will need to change the way we do business. 6. Know that this is going to be Mental Health / emotional challenge as well. Get help if needed
mcv 2020-04-19 23:08 UTC link
I have no experience with being blind, and I can't imagine what it's like. I can only wish you the best, and hope it progresses as slowly as possible.

I do know one reason why a blind front-end developer can be very valuable for a company: there are a lot of blind people out there, and they need to be able to use the web too. For this reason, a lot of companies care a lot about accessibility, and so do a lot of developers. But despite those best efforts, those developers keep dropping the ball without even noticing, because they don't experience it. As a blind developer, you will notice when something your team has built, doesn't work for blind people. This can be very valuable in the right situation.

dundercoder 2020-04-19 23:09 UTC link
I have just the visual component of Ushers, I’ve got about 5 degrees left of my visual field. I never really did front end work, but I still regularly do back end, and project management.

I haven’t moved to non visual coding yet. Instead I have optimized for the vision I have left. I have a very bright monitor, very bright lights in my office (overhead) and have learned to make a place for everything, and always put things back in their place.

Never underestimate the amount of time you can lose from looking for something that is only slightly out of place. Be it a pen, your glasses, or a USB stick.

So long as you are able, don’t disclose your impairment to anyone in an employment situation during the interviewing or new hire phase. Discrimination is awful and frustrating and illegal, but it is still the norm and it’s easiest to just avoid it if you can.

simonebrunozzi 2020-04-19 23:10 UTC link
I don't have any answer for Zach (the poster), but I feel a big need to share my feelings about this.

I'm sipping a decent morning coffee, I'm in Japan, whereas my home is San Francisco. I've been here for ~5 weeks, trying to escape the coronavirus disaster that is unfolding in the US, and trying to enjoy spring in Japan as well. I'm lucky enough to be able to afford a few weeks abroad without too many money worries.

Work is a disaster. The last ~4 years of my life have been both unlucky (e.g. recently I was offered a highly lucrative executive job in SF, only to see the CEO change his mind on the whole operation - not on me specifically - at the last moment) and badly handled by me.

My professional career essentially came to a halt and so far didn't recover. I still keep my cool, but I am a bit worried about what's going to happen in the future, especially given the current situation with the virus.

And now, in all of this, few minutes ago I've read "I'm going blind, how to prepare", and my perspective suddenly changed. It's as if something clicked, and I can now "see" the world as it is.

I'm incredibly lucky. Most of us here are incredibly lucky. Zach, you probably didn't mean it, but today you somehow triggered a very positive reaction in me. I wanted to let you know.

I also wish you best of luck with your condition, and hope that you will manage to have a great life despite a deteriorating health.

chrisdone2 2020-04-19 23:19 UTC link
If i went blind tomorrow I would invest heavily in:

1. Emacs and Emacsspeak in particular. Emacs is the richest text-based user experience out there; imagine if all Terminal apps were configurable and scriptable under the same coherent framework. This is why Emacsspeak is an incredibly valuable asset that I would lean heavily on in the event of vision loss.

2. I would invest heavily in making sure that I have a very trivial way to deploy Chrome user extensions or similar such that I could write my own screen readers, document explorers, etc. tailored to my own liking. The only thing close to Emacs is the DOM with JavaScript as it’s Elisp. A lot of people gripe about the web, but the fact that almost all my apps come under the same pliable DOM means I can manipulate without vision almost everything. See e.g. vimperator.

These two things mean that you could do most of your job as-is, with assistance from colleagues.

As you’re a full stack developer, you’ll find point 2 easy. And point 1 is hard but a worthy investment. Emacs is older than the web and will probably outlive it.

I would probably also look at using tree sitter to make screenreading code more efficient at the AST level, because code is parsed linearly but we read it with random access.

I’d start working with my screen turned off or covered with paper if I knew ahead of time, that way I could start training. Honestly, computing-wise I wouldn’t be that worried about losing my vision. It’s the rest of life that’s harder.

Best of luck to you! Drop me a PM if you’d like some pointers on my two bullet points.

RobMurray 2020-04-19 23:36 UTC link
I have been blind since birth. I recommend downloading NVDA, a free screen reader for windows, and getting used to using it for basic computer use. Getting used to hearing the speech as fast as possible is key to being able to use it efficiently.

You said you have hearing loss. Is it bad enough to make speech output useless? If so you would need to learn braille.

I would never try front end design as I have no idea what it should look like, but you may still be able to do it if you have an image in your head of what you are trying to achieve. You would just have to ask someone to check it.

Python is not a problem with screen readers, contrary to what someone else said. The screen reader can be set to report the indentation level. In fact I can't think of any text based language that wouldn't be usable with a screen reader. Tools are a different story. Some work and some don't.

Feel free to contact me if you would like any more information, weather it's about computers or not. rob at mur.org.uk

taywrobel 2020-04-19 23:48 UTC link
I’m not sure if you’re willing to consider a change of employer, but when I worked at Apple, their accessibility team never ceased to amaze me. They have several blind, as well as deaf and paralyzed engineers on their A11Y team. I’d argue that’s a large part of why the accessibility story on iOS is as good as it is. Having engineers that have various disabilities work on the accessibility of their products helps ensure that solutions genuinely solve problems in an effective way.

I know you may not want to have your disability define your career, but if working to help others that have the same affliction appeals to you, let me know. I’m not there any more, but still have connections I could reach out to for you.

zw123456 2020-04-20 00:14 UTC link
I started my career at Bell Labs in the 80's and one engineer there made a huge impact on me. I learned more from him that any other single person I have worked with since. He suffered from progressive myopia so he had a rig with a camera and a big screen and a huge monitor. He coded slower than everyone else, but in a way, that was his secret power because his code almost never failed in testing. Also, he was brilliant and I learned more about hardware and software from him that I did in Masters EE program. Also, he had this insight about the balance between when to use hardware and when to use software that I think is somewhat lacking today (discussion for another day). A lot of people have said that he was the inspiration for the character in the movie Sneakers (Whistler) could be he was really well know but passed away some time ago. I recall a time when we had a big meeting with a lot of executives and he had long hair and a beard and after the meeting one of the big wigs said to me "who is the guys that looks like Jesus, he is a genius". Sorry that I am going on a bit, I cannot even begin to understand what you are going through, but I can tell you that you should not underestimate the impact you can have on others. I wish I had better words here, I wish I knew more about what to suggest to help you technically, but all I know is that someone dealing something with something similar to you meant a great deal to me personally and professionally. Best wishes.
ilamont 2020-04-20 03:33 UTC link
Seek out HN user CAMLORN. Quoting from a response in an old thread about screen readers:

I'm the blind dev who refactored a huge chunk of the Rust compiler [0]. I'm at roughly 800 words a minute with a synth, with the proven ability to top out at 1219. 800 or so is the norm among programmers. In order to get it we normally end up using older synths which sound way less natural because modern synthesis techniques can't go that fast. There's a trade-off between natural sounding and 500+ words a minute, and the market now strongly prefers the former because hardware can now support i.e. concatenative synthesis.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20883169

tuukkao 2020-04-20 07:51 UTC link
Blind since birth full stack software developer here. I might not be able to relate to your situation completely but here are some of my experiences:

>Are there blind frontend engineers?

I don't think so. It's not that you can't do frontend at all, just that you can't do it completely. Something like copying the layout from a visual mockup doesn't really work unless someone describes the mockup to you, and even then it might not be 100 % correct, though i'd say your experience as a sighted frontend developer would definitely help there. Thankfully (in this case anyway) SPA's tend to be so complex these days that there is plenty of work to do without touching the actual layout. My frontend work has consisted mostly of refactoring and writing various integrations. Occasionally I've written some complete features where I've laid out a rough version of the UI and someone sighted in the team has finished it off for me. This strategy has worked out relatively well for me in the past. However I'd say doing solo frontend work is sadly a no-go.

> What kinds of software engineering lend themselves to someone with limited vision? Backend only?

Basically anything non-visual works out. Backend, yes, but also the business logic of SPA apps as well as devops work.

> Besides a screen reader, what are some of the best tools for building software with limited vision?

- A good editor which is accessible and has an extensive set of keyboard shortcuts. Visual Studio Code and Eclipse are the two editors that I use in my day to day work.

- Terminal. It's often much quicker to do things like text manipulation, version control and devops administration there, since you don't have to waste so much time going through information that you don't need. I've found git gui's to be particularly useless. Web browsers and editors/ide's are basically the only gui tools that I use.

Feel free to hit me up if I could be of any help.

bramd 2020-04-20 08:49 UTC link
No time to read the whole thread right now, but feel free to get in touch (email is in my profile). I'm blind since birth and have had various software development jobs. These days I shifted a bit and started my own company doing digital accessibility consulting.

If you'll become totally blind (e.g. need to transition to a screen reader some day), I would advise you to leave the Mac platform. The built-in screen reader seems good at first, but falls down in complex work. Support for web browsing is suboptimal (Firefox is a no go) and the screen reader is only updated in the regular OS X release cycle. This means bugs will stick around a long time and it's totally unclear what the status of a bug is. Also, hackability of VoiceOver is limited. I find that a must for a tool that I am 100% reliant on.

I'm very sympathetic to Linux and run it in many places (Raspberry pi, home server, some stuff on VPSs), but I think Windows is a better accessible desktop experience now. Microsoft is trying tu push accessibility hard in most of their projects, this is often lacking in open source projects. Even if OS projects want to do a good job at accessibility, they usually miss the manpower of knowledge to do so. Especially given Docker and WSL (Windows subsystem for Linux), it is easy to run Linux-based development workloads on a Windows box.

My editor of choice these days is VS Code. That team is also very active on the accessibility of their editor. I use the free and open source NVDA screen reader. If something in NVDA is broken, I can at least look at their Github if any work is being done and if needs be throw in a few patches myself.

So, summing up I would say: find out a set of accessible tools to do your job, learn them before you get blind. Relying on vision until the very latest moment will give you an enormous productivity hit when the switch to 100% screen reader use comes (based on my experience training low vision and blind users in a previous job).

From what I've seen from the thread, others have already touched on some advantages of being a blind coder. You'll get a better mental model of your code out of necessity and depending on your team/employer you can be a more valuable team member because you also bring knowledge of software accessibility.

Hope this helps and good luck!

TriNetra 2020-04-20 09:15 UTC link
Legally blind, I'm a full stack engineer (and a solution/security architect) with extensive experience in building both backend and frontend (web) systems. I work on Windows with Jaws screen reader. I use autohotkey extensively to super charge my productivity. I had worked as employee with Microsoft (and others) in the past and have been running my consultancy cum product company since 2016. Email in profile

- You can do frontend coding but certainly some assistance is needed for verifying the UI design. In any decent sized project, Personally I prefer my sighted colleague to handle look and feel (mainly the CSS part - though I know CSS) as I feel it's not a productive use of my time. It's always better to have a UI specialist anyway. FE devs have lot of other things to do especially when it is SPA based.

- Visual studio is good for development and debugging (for .net related languages at least). If you're on windows use autohotkey and setup shortcut keys and hotstrings to automate repetitive actions and text. For instance I prefer bash for using Git and have setup commands like 'gtcom' which expands to 'git add . (newline) git commit -am ''. I just have to type the comment then. Since you'd be working exclusively via keyboard it's important you do more with less hits to reduce strain on your wrists.

- Another important thing is to be able to find alternatives to UI tools your colleague are using but which could be highly inaccessible. Your programming skills and knowledge of system internals will help you with that. Do not settle with any tool which decreases your productivity considerably just because the team is using it, as you'll be judged based on your deliverable and not what tools you used.

I second what @kolanos has written. Programming is mostly a mental job (no pun intended) and everybody has to load a representation of the program in head before one can start fleshing out good code. PG has also written about it

isidorn 2020-04-20 09:26 UTC link
Hi,

My name is Isidor and I work on VS Code. Here's some hopefully useful advice:

* Join a screen reader mailing list and get to know the commnity: Program-L is the name of the general list and there is one list for Orca Screen Reader in case you are a Linux user

We try hard to make VS Code accessible so in case you decide to use VS Code:

* We have a gitter channel for accessibility which you can join https://gitter.im/Microsoft/vscode-a11y

* You can file issues and provide feedback as we try to improve continously https://github.com/microsoft/vscode

* Feel free to ping me @isidorn on either of those or on Twitter. And let me know if we can help more.

I wish you all the best

iandanforth 2020-04-19 22:38 UTC link
Are there consulting firms that specialize in 508 audits? Seems like a potentially lucrative field given the activist lawsuits that happen in this area.

https://www.natlawreview.com/article/ada-website-litigation-...

eli 2020-04-19 22:48 UTC link
Most US universities need to comply too
kolanos 2020-04-19 22:56 UTC link
On Macs, there's a screen curtain feature that can be turned on and off. The shortcut is FN+CTRL+OPTION+SHIFT+-. It might be different on older versions of OSX, used to use the right option key, but I've forgotten the keystrokes.
hatsunearu 2020-04-19 23:17 UTC link
Are you sighted?
vidanay 2020-04-19 23:18 UTC link
Your comment about proof reading and errors not sounding right reminds me of the "proper/best" way to learn Morse code for ham radio. Most everyone is familiar with the charts that show A=.- B=-... etc. Lots of beginners try to actually interpret the sounds in their ears and convert that to a letter and then convert a bunch of those to a word. Obviously, that is very processor intensive and has a high failure rate. The best way is to treat each audio pattern as a letter in a new language and skip the conversion process. Eventually, you recognize entire words just from the sounds.
leeoniya 2020-04-19 23:36 UTC link
> Also, because code is no longer represented visually as blocks, you'll find you're building an increasingly detailed memory model of your code.

does refactoring by other team members have an outsized negative effect on this?

forgotmypw23 2020-04-19 23:40 UTC link
I had a similar experience with my career, and after a lot of trying and moping, I recognized it as an opportunity to work and do what i love, without compromise. is there anything that you've been dreaming of working on?
zachrip 2020-04-19 23:45 UTC link
This experience has been so humbling. I grew up in a rough household and when I had barely scraped myself past high school graduation and gotten work as a SWE and eventually made it to some fortune 50 companies I thought I had life figured out. Then I started bumping into things and struggling playing my favorite games. My eye doctor casually telling me I have RP and discovering I'd be going blind in the parking lot post appointment really knocked me on my ass.

But there are silver linings. I was born with severe hearing loss but it's stable and corrected with hearing aids. I don't have any balance issues (I have USH2A, which only results in hearing/vision loss). I'm so fortunate to have experienced all that I have and all that I will. Thank you for the kind words.

extra88 2020-04-19 23:49 UTC link
The W3C's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are the basis for many accessibility laws and more useful for actually learning what makes a site accessible.

If you don't already place an emphasis on using semantic HTML markup, learn more about that, it's the foundation of accessible design.

O_H_E 2020-04-20 00:04 UTC link
This is a bit off-topic, but may I ask: how did you get introduced to programming?

Feel free to not answer :D

zachrip 2020-04-20 00:11 UTC link
Fortunately my hearing loss is stable and correctable using hearing aids.
dannypgh 2020-04-20 00:11 UTC link
> Emacs and Emacsspeak in particular. Emacs is the richest text-based user experience out there;

My naive expectation is that non-visual editors like ed and ex would be easier to use than visual editors like emacs and vi, but I'm curious to learn more about how people work here. How well do visual editors interact with screen readers? The screen readers would presumably need to offer an interface to reread parts of the screen, and this seems redundant with the non-visual editors that take commands to print like ranges.

hnick 2020-04-20 00:25 UTC link
> You'll be amazed how good your memory will get without the crutch of sight

That's all really interesting. I personally have a problem with my thoughts in that I need to "sound out" or read them aloud in my head. This sometimes really slows me down, I mull over a thought until it sounds right. Especially when I'm tired I can get stuck in a loop. And it applies when reading too, I can force myself to read faster but usually I slow down and hear every word out of habit.

I know some people don't have this inner voice. I wonder if it means they can think more freely.

bear8642 2020-04-20 00:46 UTC link
Rob Pike's Acme editor is another powerful tiling editor you can check out.
mwcampbell 2020-04-20 01:01 UTC link
Not only is Python not problematic when using a screen reader, but there are blind programmers who gladly choose Python over other languages. The NVDA screen reader, mentioned in the parent comment, is developed primarily by blind programmers, in Python. The Orca screen reader for GNOME was written by a blind friend of mine, in Python. I have another blind friend who wrote and sold several accessible apps for Windows and Mac using Python. And those are just a few anecdotes that I'm aware of.
Endlessly 2020-04-20 01:38 UTC link
Meat of your comment to me is this phrase, “he had this insight about the balance between when to use hardware and when to use software that I think is somewhat lacking today” - would you attempt to clarify what you’re expressing he would have said about balancing the design of how software & hardware work together? Thanks.
Endlessly 2020-04-20 01:50 UTC link
Curious, while I agree discrimination is wrong, deeply impacts everyone in a number of ways, why at the very least would you not want to know prior to interviewing, being hired, etc - if a company was biased?

If it’s not clear, there are ways to detect this, it’s legal, and if I thought there was any opportunity to easily detect biases that might impact me, I would do so.

xenadu02 2020-04-20 02:56 UTC link
Apple definitely has blind employees both working in accessibility and in other groups.

I only mention that to say don't discount yourself even if you're blind (or deaf, etc). There are plenty of engineering teams at Apple that would be happy to have you.

richrichardsson 2020-04-20 03:00 UTC link
I always assumed Whistler in Sneakers was a reference to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joybubbles
dicknuckle 2020-04-20 03:10 UTC link
As a side note, weechat runs beautifully in Docker. I access it with Glowingbear but though a terminal it would also be trivial.
anonytrary 2020-04-20 07:38 UTC link
> you'll be bumping the speech rate up to 1.75-2X normal speech

Try 5-6x. I've met some blind people who listen to audio so fast, it sounds like noise to me. As someone who isn't blind, I regularly listen to lectures and audiobooks on 1.75-2.5x (depending on the base rate) without issues, but 6x is just something else entirely.

> Typos will be easily spotted as they just won't "sound right".

Really good way to describe this. It's almost like listening to an audio fingerprint which magically indexes the answer in your brain. My blind friend was doing law, but I'm sure she did something similar to help her map the dependencies between laws.

hycaria 2020-04-20 07:46 UTC link
>I'm sipping a decent morning coffee, I'm in Japan, whereas my home is San Francisco. I've been here for ~5 weeks, trying to escape the coronavirus disaster that is unfolding in the US, and trying to enjoy spring in Japan as well. I'm lucky enough to be able to afford a few weeks abroad without too many money worries.

I would say you're selfish or dumb enough to be moving in a time where people should just stop those behaviors and stay wherever the fuck they are... And this is not even considering you know, GHG and stuff.

But globally this comment is so full of oneself I'm amazed.

WalterBright 2020-04-20 07:46 UTC link
Since I work on the D programming language design, I'm interested in any advice you can give on what would make a programming language design more accessible to blind programmers.
vharish 2020-04-20 10:51 UTC link
I would like to second this. Any tiling window manager could be of great help.
whitehouse3 2020-04-20 12:59 UTC link
> Programming is mostly a mental job (no pun intended)

I'm drawing a blank. What's the pun here?

racl101 2020-04-20 14:42 UTC link
> but in a way, that was his secret power because his code almost never failed in testing.

Reminds me of the stories about Stephen Hawking and how it seemed like he was just sitting there miserable but he instead he was thinking very deeply and how his disabilities forced him to be able to think visually in his mind and compensate because he would only get a quick chance to absorb input.

downerending 2020-04-20 16:53 UTC link
> coded slower [...] his code almost never failed in testing.

Huh. I've had this most of my career as well, especially in the latter years. I do consider this a secret power, but many of my colleagues (especially the younger ones) view it as a fault.

Shebanator 2020-04-20 18:07 UTC link
I work at google, and have had the privilege of working with some amazing blind programmers. Apple and Google are both investing a lot in a11y.
hollander 2020-04-21 14:35 UTC link
That 80s guy sounds like a genius, but this guy is probably not, like most of us. He may be intelligent and hardworking, but a genius is on a different level. Another thing is that progressive myopia is something different than going completely blind and deaf. That is this guy's fate. How do you communicate then?
blzaugg 2020-04-22 04:54 UTC link
Would you be willing to chat privately with a colleague of mine going through a similar lost of sight transition?
Editorial Channel
What the content says
+0.80
Article 19 Freedom of Expression
High Advocacy Practice
Editorial
+0.80
SETL
+0.28

Post is quintessential exercise of free speech; author raises questions about industry practice and seeks information without restriction.

+0.75
Article 23 Work & Equal Pay
High Advocacy
Editorial
+0.75
SETL
+0.47

Post is fundamentally about right to work and choice of occupation despite disability; author asserts continued professional capacity and seeks accommodation.

+0.70
Article 1 Freedom, Equality, Brotherhood
Medium Advocacy
Editorial
+0.70
SETL
+0.37

Author asserts equal human dignity and right to continue professional work despite disability.

+0.70
Article 13 Freedom of Movement
Medium Advocacy
Editorial
+0.70
SETL
+0.37

Post affirms right to seek and share information about disability accommodation and career paths; requests practical information.

+0.70
Article 20 Assembly & Association
Medium Advocacy Practice
Editorial
+0.70
SETL
+0.26

Post implicitly asserts right to assembly with disabled engineers community; seeks peer support and collective wisdom.

+0.70
Article 27 Cultural Participation
Medium Advocacy
Editorial
+0.70
SETL
+0.26

Post centers on right to participate in cultural and scientific life of community; author seeks to maintain professional identity and expertise.

+0.65
Article 2 Non-Discrimination
Medium Advocacy
Editorial
+0.65
SETL
+0.44

Post implicitly argues against discrimination based on disability; seeks evidence that blind engineers can work in all roles.

+0.65
Article 7 Equality Before Law
Medium Advocacy
Editorial
+0.65
SETL
+0.31

Post implicitly asserts equal protection under law regarding employment and accommodation; questions legitimacy of disability-based exclusion.

+0.60
Preamble Preamble
Medium Advocacy Framing
Editorial
+0.60
SETL
+0.35

Post emphasizes human dignity, equal opportunity, and right to work regardless of disability. Author advocates for inclusion and accessibility in tech industry.

+0.60
Article 14 Asylum
Medium Advocacy
Editorial
+0.60
SETL
+0.35

Post implicitly asserts right to asylum from discrimination; seeks refuge in supportive tech community.

+0.60
Article 18 Freedom of Thought
Medium Advocacy
Editorial
+0.60
SETL
+0.24

Post reflects freedom of thought and conscience; author consciously processes disability and seeks peer perspective.

+0.60
Article 25 Standard of Living
Medium Advocacy
Editorial
+0.60
SETL
+0.39

Post reflects concern about health security and right to adequate standard of living; author seeks to maintain income and health stability.

+0.55
Article 12 Privacy
Medium Advocacy
Editorial
+0.55
SETL
+0.44

Post implicitly asserts right to privacy regarding health condition; shares personal diagnosis but not forced to do so.

+0.55
Article 24 Rest & Leisure
Medium Advocacy
Editorial
+0.55
SETL
+0.29

Post implies right to rest and leisure through discussion of sustainable career paths and accommodation for health needs.

+0.50
Article 22 Social Security
Medium Advocacy
Editorial
+0.50
SETL
+0.22

Post implicitly asserts right to social protection regarding employment and disability; seeks economic security and vocational adaptation.

+0.50
Article 26 Education
Medium Advocacy
Editorial
+0.50
SETL
+0.22

Post reflects lack of formal education and concern about vocational security; author mentions having no 'formal education in anything.'

+0.50
Article 29 Duties to Community
Medium Advocacy
Editorial
+0.50
SETL
+0.22

Post implies duties toward community through work and contribution; author seeks to fulfill professional responsibilities despite disability.

+0.40
Article 21 Political Participation
Low
Editorial
+0.40
SETL
+0.20

No engagement with political participation or voting.

+0.40
Article 28 Social & International Order
Low
Editorial
+0.40
SETL
+0.20

No explicit engagement with right to social and international order.

+0.30
Article 3 Life, Liberty, Security
Low
Editorial
+0.30
SETL
-0.20

No explicit engagement with right to life or liberty.

+0.30
Article 6 Legal Personhood
Low
Editorial
+0.30
SETL
-0.20

No explicit engagement with right to recognition as person.

+0.30
Article 8 Right to Remedy
Low
Editorial
+0.30
SETL
-0.20

No reference to remedies for violations of rights.

+0.30
Article 10 Fair Hearing
Low
Editorial
+0.30
SETL
-0.20

No reference to fair hearing or impartial tribunal.

+0.30
Article 15 Nationality
Low
Editorial
+0.30
SETL
-0.20

No engagement with nationality or citizenship.

+0.30
Article 17 Property
Low
Editorial
+0.30
SETL
-0.20

No explicit engagement with property rights.

+0.30
Article 30 No Destruction of Rights
Low
Editorial
+0.30
SETL
-0.20

No explicit engagement with interpretation of rights.

+0.20
Article 4 No Slavery
Low
Editorial
+0.20
SETL
-0.17

No reference to slavery or servitude.

+0.20
Article 5 No Torture
Low
Editorial
+0.20
SETL
-0.17

No engagement with torture or cruel treatment.

+0.20
Article 9 No Arbitrary Detention
Low
Editorial
+0.20
SETL
-0.17

No engagement with arbitrary arrest or detention.

+0.20
Article 11 Presumption of Innocence
Low
Editorial
+0.20
SETL
-0.17

No engagement with presumption of innocence.

+0.20
Article 16 Marriage & Family
Low
Editorial
+0.20
SETL
-0.17

No reference to marriage or family.

Structural Channel
What the site does
Domain Context Profile
Element Modifier Affects Note
Privacy -0.05
Article 12
Hacker News collects user data and IP logs; minimal privacy controls visible on platform.
Terms of Service
Standard platform TOS; no specific human rights violations observed.
Accessibility -0.10
Article 2 Article 13
Platform has limited accessibility features; interface is text-based but lacks native screen reader optimization in some areas.
Mission +0.05
Article 19
Platform explicitly committed to free speech and open discussion; facilitates uncensored discourse.
Editorial Code
Community-moderated; no explicit editorial policy on human rights topics.
Ownership
Privately held; no ownership structure implications for human rights assessment.
Access Model +0.10
Article 19 Article 27
Free, open access to platform; no paywall or registration barrier to reading content.
Ad/Tracking -0.08
Article 12
Minimal advertising but platform does track user behavior for engagement metrics.
+0.70
Article 19 Freedom of Expression
High Advocacy Practice
Structural
+0.70
Context Modifier
+0.15
SETL
+0.28

Platform explicitly designed for uncensored speech and information exchange; no moderation of substantive content visible.

+0.60
Article 20 Assembly & Association
Medium Advocacy Practice
Structural
+0.60
Context Modifier
0.00
SETL
+0.26

Platform enables virtual assembly and collective discussion; community self-organizes around shared interests.

+0.60
Article 27 Cultural Participation
Medium Advocacy
Structural
+0.60
Context Modifier
+0.10
SETL
+0.26

Platform enables participation in tech community discourse; author and community engage in knowledge sharing.

+0.50
Article 1 Freedom, Equality, Brotherhood
Medium Advocacy
Structural
+0.50
Context Modifier
0.00
SETL
+0.37

Platform structure enables equal participation in discourse; no gatekeeping visible.

+0.50
Article 7 Equality Before Law
Medium Advocacy
Structural
+0.50
Context Modifier
0.00
SETL
+0.31

Platform provides equal posting and participation rights; moderation is content-based, not identity-based.

+0.50
Article 13 Freedom of Movement
Medium Advocacy
Structural
+0.50
Context Modifier
-0.10
SETL
+0.37

Platform structure enables free movement of information; accessibility barriers limit this right for visually impaired users.

+0.50
Article 18 Freedom of Thought
Medium Advocacy
Structural
+0.50
Context Modifier
0.00
SETL
+0.24

Platform enables free expression of thoughts without censorship on this topic.

+0.45
Article 23 Work & Equal Pay
High Advocacy
Structural
+0.45
Context Modifier
0.00
SETL
+0.47

Platform enables discussion but does not enforce workplace rights; community provides information but no guarantees.

+0.40
Preamble Preamble
Medium Advocacy Framing
Structural
+0.40
Context Modifier
0.00
SETL
+0.35

Platform structure enables open discussion on human rights issues; community-driven responses provide peer support and validation.

+0.40
Article 3 Life, Liberty, Security
Low
Structural
+0.40
Context Modifier
0.00
SETL
-0.20

Community discourse itself represents exercise of liberty; no restrictions observed.

+0.40
Article 6 Legal Personhood
Low
Structural
+0.40
Context Modifier
0.00
SETL
-0.20

Platform enables identification and recognition of individuals.

+0.40
Article 8 Right to Remedy
Low
Structural
+0.40
Context Modifier
0.00
SETL
-0.20

Platform does not offer formal legal remedies.

+0.40
Article 10 Fair Hearing
Low
Structural
+0.40
Context Modifier
0.00
SETL
-0.20

Community provides peer adjudication of claims; impartiality not guaranteed.

+0.40
Article 14 Asylum
Medium Advocacy
Structural
+0.40
Context Modifier
0.00
SETL
+0.35

Platform provides safe space for discussion; no enforcement of rights but community support visible.

+0.40
Article 15 Nationality
Low
Structural
+0.40
Context Modifier
0.00
SETL
-0.20

Platform is borderless; no nationality-based restrictions visible.

+0.40
Article 17 Property
Low
Structural
+0.40
Context Modifier
0.00
SETL
-0.20

Platform does not restrict property ownership.

+0.40
Article 22 Social Security
Medium Advocacy
Structural
+0.40
Context Modifier
0.00
SETL
+0.22

Community discussion facilitates peer support for social adaptation; no systematic protection offered.

+0.40
Article 24 Rest & Leisure
Medium Advocacy
Structural
+0.40
Context Modifier
0.00
SETL
+0.29

Platform discussion enables but does not enforce work-life balance or rest rights.

+0.40
Article 26 Education
Medium Advocacy
Structural
+0.40
Context Modifier
0.00
SETL
+0.22

Platform provides informal education through peer sharing of knowledge and resources; no formal access.

+0.40
Article 29 Duties to Community
Medium Advocacy
Structural
+0.40
Context Modifier
0.00
SETL
+0.22

Community reciprocates with support and information sharing, reflecting mutual duty.

+0.40
Article 30 No Destruction of Rights
Low
Structural
+0.40
Context Modifier
0.00
SETL
-0.20

Platform does not restrict or interpret fundamental rights.

+0.35
Article 2 Non-Discrimination
Medium Advocacy
Structural
+0.35
Context Modifier
-0.10
SETL
+0.44

Platform accessibility limitations (not optimized for screen readers in all areas) create structural barriers.

+0.35
Article 25 Standard of Living
Medium Advocacy
Structural
+0.35
Context Modifier
0.00
SETL
+0.39

Platform does not provide health or economic support; discussion offers peer knowledge but no guarantees.

+0.30
Article 4 No Slavery
Low
Structural
+0.30
Context Modifier
0.00
SETL
-0.17

Platform structure does not enforce servitude.

+0.30
Article 5 No Torture
Low
Structural
+0.30
Context Modifier
0.00
SETL
-0.17

Community tone is respectful; no cruelty observed.

+0.30
Article 9 No Arbitrary Detention
Low
Structural
+0.30
Context Modifier
0.00
SETL
-0.17

Platform does not detain users.

+0.30
Article 11 Presumption of Innocence
Low
Structural
+0.30
Context Modifier
0.00
SETL
-0.17

Not applicable to platform context.

+0.30
Article 16 Marriage & Family
Low
Structural
+0.30
Context Modifier
0.00
SETL
-0.17

Not applicable to thread content.

+0.30
Article 21 Political Participation
Low
Structural
+0.30
Context Modifier
0.00
SETL
+0.20

Platform does not provide political representation mechanisms.

+0.30
Article 28 Social & International Order
Low
Structural
+0.30
Context Modifier
0.00
SETL
+0.20

Platform is global but does not establish social order.

+0.20
Article 12 Privacy
Medium Advocacy
Structural
+0.20
Context Modifier
-0.13
SETL
+0.44

Platform collects user data; privacy protections are minimal. Thread contains personal health information that is now permanently indexed.

Supplementary Signals
Epistemic Quality
0.71 low claims
Sources
0.7
Evidence
0.6
Uncertainty
0.7
Purpose
0.9
Propaganda Flags
1 techniques detected
appeal to fear
Author expresses 'crippling anxiety' and states 'I need to figure out the rest of my life before it's too late,' creating urgency and fear-based framing of disability.
Solution Orientation
0.65 mixed
Reader Agency
0.8
Emotional Tone
hopeful
Valence
+0.4
Arousal
0.6
Dominance
0.3
Stakeholder Voice
0.68 3 perspectives
Speaks: individualsworkers
About: individualscorporationmarginalized
Temporal Framing
prospective medium term
Geographic Scope
global
Complexity
accessible medium jargon general
Transparency
0.30
✗ Author
Event Timeline 20 events
2026-02-26 06:29 dlq Dead-lettered after 1 attempts: Ask HN: I'm a software engineer going blind, how should I prepare? - -
2026-02-26 06:23 dlq Dead-lettered after 1 attempts: Ask HN: I'm a software engineer going blind, how should I prepare? - -
2026-02-26 06:16 credit_exhausted Credit balance too low, retrying in 263s - -
2026-02-26 06:13 dlq Dead-lettered after 1 attempts: Ask HN: I'm a software engineer going blind, how should I prepare? - -
2026-02-26 06:04 credit_exhausted Credit balance too low, retrying in 246s - -
2026-02-26 06:03 dlq Dead-lettered after 1 attempts: Ask HN: I'm a software engineer going blind, how should I prepare? - -
2026-02-26 06:03 dlq Dead-lettered after 1 attempts: Ask HN: I'm a software engineer going blind, how should I prepare? - -
2026-02-26 05:59 credit_exhausted Credit balance too low, retrying in 302s - -
2026-02-26 05:54 dlq Dead-lettered after 1 attempts: Ask HN: I'm a software engineer going blind, how should I prepare? - -
2026-02-26 05:49 credit_exhausted Credit balance too low, retrying in 286s - -
2026-02-26 05:48 dlq Dead-lettered after 1 attempts: Ask HN: I'm a software engineer going blind, how should I prepare? - -
2026-02-26 05:46 dlq Dead-lettered after 1 attempts: Ask HN: I'm a software engineer going blind, how should I prepare? - -
2026-02-26 05:44 credit_exhausted Credit balance too low, retrying in 274s - -
2026-02-26 05:44 dlq Dead-lettered after 1 attempts: Ask HN: I'm a software engineer going blind, how should I prepare? - -
2026-02-26 05:39 credit_exhausted Credit balance too low, retrying in 310s - -
2026-02-26 05:35 credit_exhausted Credit balance too low, retrying in 301s - -
2026-02-26 05:34 credit_exhausted Credit balance too low, retrying in 248s - -
2026-02-26 05:33 dlq Dead-lettered after 1 attempts: Ask HN: I'm a software engineer going blind, how should I prepare? - -
2026-02-26 05:29 dlq Dead-lettered after 1 attempts: Ask HN: I'm a software engineer going blind, how should I prepare? - -
2026-02-26 05:24 dlq Dead-lettered after 1 attempts: Ask HN: I'm a software engineer going blind, how should I prepare? - -
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build 1686d6e+nio6 · deployed 2026-02-26 06:45 UTC · evaluated 2026-02-26 06:43:03 UTC