Taking the other cinderella to the ball: a review of, "psychology of touch and blindness" (heller, m.a. and gentaz, e.)[book review]

Though not necessarily one of the stated goals, tihs book goes a long way toward helping touch to shed its undeserved underdog status. The authors situate perception by touch (perhaps in its rightful place) at the intersection of a number of disciplines including psychophysics, cognitive psychology, neuroscience, low vision and blindness, applied psychology, and engineering. The authors have had long and distinguished careers investigating perception by touch in both visually impaired and sighted individuals and have made important contributions in these areas. To some extent, this book is an overview of this (and related) research, though it is also much more than that. As the title implies, the book places particular emphasis on the haptic abilities of visually impaired and blind individuals. However, it also focuses on using the haptic abilities of sighted individuals to understand those of blind individuals, and vice versa. This is perhaps its most valuable contribution. In addition, it provides useful historical and theoretical context for research on the haptic abilities of both populations of people. Finally, it not only provides an overview of the ground already covered but also a preview of the ground yet to be covered, especially considering the recent technological advances in haptic interfaces and related technology.