Professor See Future in the Cards
During his 40 years as a math professor, Lyndon W. used an extra big computer screen to teach classes. He used textbooks printed on huge sheets with large print. He brings a telescope to football games so he can see the players and to church so he can see the singers and preacher’s facial expressions. He often carries a bag of devices around to help him see and calls it the “Weberg Compensation Bag.”
Why would he do this? He’s legally blind and has been all his life. “I feel like a contributing person even though I have to use visual aids,” he said. People with good vision see somewhere around the 20/20 range, but his vision measurement goes into the 500s. He’s always found ways to compensate for his blindness, but when it began to affect a favorite pastime- playing bridge- it inspired him to come up with something new.
“I felt like I was shut out,” said Lyndon. “I enjoy the social aspects of bridge and other card games.”
He said most people with vision problems like macular degeneration, glaucoma, cataracts and others tend to shut themselves out because they don’t feel as though they belong anymore. After all, if a player can’t read the cards, a player can’t play the game. He invented Weeb’s Big Face Playing Cards about a year ago and has been enjoying bridge again ever since.
Lyndon said people are sometimes surprised by the cards’ size but he frequently hears people say, “Wow! Those are so easy to see. Where can I get some?” Lyndon can’t give specific details on the cards until after a patent is granted for them, so he couldn’t reveal what they’re made with, how big they are or how they’re printed. He also couldn’t tell whether they feature any kind of light or reflectors. He did confirm that they area actually big cards and that he experimented with materials and sizes at home until he found something he could see. After he played with them and got positive feedback from other people with vision problems, he coordinated with a sign vendor to produce his first sample deck.
The patent will be given as soon as a company steps up to mass produce the cards. Lyndon is working with Invent-Tech, an invention technology firm in Florida, to get the patent and find a manufacturer. Several companies have shown interest.
“It’s opened a new door for me,” Lyndon said.
He wants to use the invention to help others in the same situation as him who could benefit from the socializing that card players do. He already has plans to help a woman from his church and wants to work with the Tucson Association for the Blind. He graduated high school in 1961, and earned a master’s and doctorate degree from the University of Minnesota. After he retired and moved with his wife, he began doing research for the local University cancer center.
“These cards might help other people not feel so shut out too,” he said.