I agree with you that it is a matter of opinion. Hopefully I didn't come off as argumentative or presumptuous. Its interesting you have a similar situation as Alice but ended up with an opposite opinion.

I couldn't live without my hands/hearing (for piano), I'm too music-based :P

Amen ciph3r!!!

That's exactly why I voted "blind" there are several great pianists who became blind and continued to play... even in concert. I think I would die if I couldn't play or hear my piano!

RnB

Without hands. At least I can see and hear who is coming up behind me and bludgeon them to death with my stumps.

no seriously

Although I understand that sight is one of the senses that humans are most dependent on, living without it is doable. I know of two blind people on my campus who are perfectly capable of doing everything a normal student can do. The difficulties they encounter, especially in programming or mathematics, are severe, but I can't even imagine a deaf person being able to attend classes easily either.

On top of that, music is that important to me. Without it, or even without being able to converse normally with people, life would be utterly dull.

That is a really good question. It's very difficult to pick which I'd rather have, I however have chosen deaf because, I'd like to be able to see my family and friends.
But I love listening to music so its a pickle. I hope I never have to go through any of them.

I would rather be death. Cause, then I can see people and enjoy the beautiful things outside of my home, such as seeing the sunset everynight. Besides, being blind would be scary to me.. nothing but darkness.

^ Cop out.

I'd be deaf either way. Not to debunk Helen Keller, but there's no such thing as profound deafness unless your ears are just completely gone. For example, like Mush was mentioning about one wouldn't hear a truck coming. That is true, but you must also keep in mind in something similar to a railroad tracks. You can definitely feel the train coming, and to a deaf person, he/she could feel the rumble if close enough... :\ I'm sure its too fast to be able to tell where its coming from. But you get my point.

That rumble feeling is similar to a sound effect of silence in a way. Born deaf btw, and having no sense of sound doesn't really affect me as much like Helen was saying, losing touch to people? At least you can see your own children to love and hug and take care of them.

I pretty much agree with what Philia summed up.

For me, I'm pretty blessed that I'm a physically able being with all limbs attached with proper function of five senses. If I had to choose whether not to see or hear though, I would choose not to hear. I can imagine I can still do work without the ability to hear, but not being able to read, write, or type (as much of my life involves sitting in front of a computer to be connected with people), would just completely put me in solitude.

All three options are pretty horrific to me. I'm a classical musician and music is my first love so the thought of losing my hearing is agonizing to me... and I'd need my hands to play... and I'd need my eyes to see what I'm playing.

I suppose if I *HAD* to make a choice, I'd lose my sight.

If I had to make a choice, I'd choose losing my sight. I think I'd go crazy never being able to hear anything again. I go crazy if I go more than ten minutes without listening to some form of music. (The week I lost my mp3 was particularly tragic.) And I'd hate to lose my hands, because I wouldn't be able to play the clarinet. And I wouldn't be able to learn any of the other instruments I plan on playing.

Death is not an option. Try again.

I can't live without hearing the wind, music and tone of voice. So I need my hearing. I like to read and I like seeing different things. So I need my sight. I also love to draw but you don't neccessarily need only your hands for that. So i picked loss of left anf right hands. I like to sing so loosing my hands wont stop me from singing.

I'd lose my hands, since I'm sure we're closer to inventing invent nuclear powered cyborg hands than we are eyes or ears.

A picture is worth a thousand words. I'd choose hearing to go. At least I'd enjoy the prospect of learning to read lips more than the prospect of learning braille.

If you're blind, you're much more vulnerable to any kind of assault since people know you're blind. If you're deaf you can carry on a decent conversation without the person knowing you're deaf since you can read lips.

I love music as much as anyone (maybe even moreso since I have a degree in music education), but music comes second to personal safety and general functionality in the world. No matter how well a blind person may function in the world, or how well a handless person may function, they just doesn't have the same level of functionality for working or living that a deaf person has.

considering i love music...i couldn't choose deafness. i need my music to survive!
and i love art and movies and such, so my sight is loved.

so D= my hands. ;__; i guess i coulds get hooks or metal fingers or something. And then i could be named...the claw
hawt.

I think I'd rather lose my hands. I want to see my kids grow up and be able to communicate with them. I probably couldn't brush my daughter's hair or play ball with my son, but I'd still be able to read them stories.oO; I talk about my kids a lot, eh?

i'd rather be deaf. i'd rather learn sign language or read lips or something than not be able to see the colors and beauty in the world. sounds cheezy i know ^_^ but yeah, and my hands! i like having fingers :D

I'd rather be blind than deaf because I really love music. If I couldn't hear music anymore, I could not deal with it.
Without hands, I'd just feel really helpless because I had to manage everything just with my feet and there are some things you just CANNOT do with your feet...

A majority of communication comes from body language. It's so deep that it's developed into our subconscious. Communication is part auditory, but not exclusively.

I'd think most people can appreciate movies better and understand the basic plot through pure audio cues rather than pure visual signals. Think of radio dramas for example. And still after making this thread, I can't single out the three choices and make a definate decision.

That's entertainment though. It's a movie. Hyde's post was referring to contact with people and that relies a lot on the visual aspect of communication. You can say "hi" a lot of different ways, but the subtlety of your facial expression and body language add a lot more depth to that "hi."

I agree that it is a really tough choice though.

Hands seems like the most obvious answer. You could still make music. You'd just have to compose it and have other people play it. Or you could make it using computer programs and other music producing stuff. Really, losing your hands wouldn't limit you near as much as any of the other choices.