Why would you want to stay deaf?
Hi there!
I recently read a book by L. A. Paul titled Transformative Experience. I think this book is highly valuable because it allows you to make better decisions.
What are transformative experiences?
She defines it as an experience which transforms your thinking.
Imagine you don't have any children and you decide whether or not to have some. In this case you cannot predict whether or not having kids will benefit you.
This is because the experience of having children and raising them will modify the way you
- perceive the world and
- prioritize things.
In cases like these purely rational methods – like gathering as much data as you can and making a decision based on it – won't work. The person who makes the decision will be different from one reaping the consequences. They will have different mindsets and different ideas on what's good for them.
This of course raises the question of how to make such decisions.
I don't have a definite answer but you can claim that in conditions of such high uncertainty, you cannot rely on reason alone. I wouldn't say that reason should be abandoned, but it must be augmented with values.
The book mentions one highly interesting phenomenon.
People who are born deaf can partially regain their hearing by installing a cochlear implant. Common sense tells us that every deaf person who can afford such surgery would get it. However, there is a significant number of people who prefer to stay deaf.
Read Transformative Experience by L. A. Paul to find out why.
2025-07-09
P.S.: You may want to read my other articles.