Would other students be able to use Louis’ new code?

The story so far: Louis Braille studied at a school for blind students where the few books made for the blind were heavy and hard to read.

A retired French army captain, Charles Barbier, came to visit the Royal Institute for Blind Youth. He had invented a way for soldiers to send messages to each other at night without needing light or having to talk. If they had to use light or make noise, the enemy could spot the soldiers and shoot at them.

With a pointed tool, the captain punched dots and dashes into heavy paper. The dots and dashes represented different sounds. These marks were combined to form words and could be read without light or sound. But the soldiers found it too difficult to use. The captain thought blind students might be able to use it instead.

The students tried to read some of the messages but they also found the system complicated to learn and difficult to use. Many dots were required to represent a single word. Still, it took up less space than the existing process of embossing Actual letters from the Braille alphabet.

Louis was excited about this new way to read. He spent most of his free time learning the system. He knew it would have to be made simpler. He also had to find a way to include numbers and punctuation. So in his spare time and late at night, Louis worked hard to improve the captain’s system. With a pointed instrument called a stylus and a wooden writing board with paper, Louis continued working on it. After two years of work, when Louis was 15, he finally created a new code. It was easier to learn and quicker to read.

Louis brought it to the new director of the Royal Institute. To Test the code, the director read a newspaper article aloud. Louis punched the stylus into the paper to write down what the director said. When the director finished, Louis ran his fingers over the raised dots and repeated back the exact words read by the director. The director was very impressed.

Thursday: Would other students be able to use Louis’ new code?