A few words about Merlin and this website

Welcome to the first volume of Vision: Within and Without. My name is Merlin and I will be your guide. A new volume will be posted about quarterly. The goal of this site is to critically examine the field of education and rehabilitation of people with blindness. Articles will mostly be serious, often humorous, and always thought-provoking. Some will just be plain silly.

You should know that Merlin is not just one person, but a confederation of five long-term workers in this field. Most of them are somewhat well known for their work. Each was very carefully selected. They do not know Merlin's true identity or even each other's.

Why the anonymous approach? Each member, as stated, is rather well known. Two are former Presidents of AER; two are very well known educators in our field. Some are experienced authors and researchers. Leaders in our field, you might say. We will often challenge your thinking, and probably piss you off. However, we still need to work with you.

Then, of course, there is Merlin. Merlin has been around for a very long time. Merlin has seen and done just about everything you can do in our field. Merlin will be your guide and will show you some of what we do best in our field, but also challenge you to attack the vast level of mediocrity that exists. You will also be invited to submit your own ideas and articles for future volumes.

Most features will be original, others will be plagiarized. However, we only plagiarize the best and, after all, it is not really plagiarism if you ask first. If anything appearing in here offends you, don't worry. It was purely intentional. Attack Mediocrity!