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Understanding braille
Background that the reference tables do not cover: where the code came from, how it is read and written, and why it still matters.
Guides
What braille is, and what it is not
Braille is a tactile writing system, not a language. Here is what that distinction actually means in practice.
Grade 1 and Grade 2 braille: what actually changes
Grade 1 spells everything out. Grade 2 uses contractions. Here is when each is used and why Grade 2 exists at all.
How to read braille by touch
Reading braille visually and reading it with your fingers are different skills. This is how tactile reading is actually taught.
How braille is written: slate, stylus, writer and embosser
Four ways braille gets onto paper, and why the oldest one still writes right to left.
Why braille appears on signs, lifts and medicine boxes
The braille you see in public is governed by specific rules about height, spacing and placement.
How a fifteen-year-old redesigned reading
Braille came out of a military code for reading messages in the dark. The story explains several of its quirks.