Mathematics and Blindness: The Legacy of Abraham Nemeth
Michele Mele, Gennaro Sicignano
In this paper, we present the life and the achievements of American blind mathematician Abraham Nemeth (1918-2013), with the main focus on his extraordinary contribution to mathematical culture. His inventions opened the doors of mathematics to blind and heavily visually impaired people and are still the starting point for many advanced assistive technologies. The paper is structured as follows: after a brief introduction on mathematics and blindness in Section 1, Section 2 explores the biography of Abraham Nemeth, highlighting some points of interest for the development of his scientific career. In Sections 3 and 4 we present his two most remarkable achievements; the inventions of the Nemeth Braille Code and of MathSpeak respectively. Finally, we draw some conclusions in Section 5. Full Text
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