When is the empty set used in the Braille system? (blind writing system)

[Kyriakos]

I have this question, given i might use it in some story. The standard Braille (including the variation for current Greek) uses cells of 6 dots, for each letter (or along with grammar symbols), so the full amount of possibly different symbols in each cell is given by 2X2X2X2X2X2, ie probabilities of arrangements differing, with full repetition included (and 2 is there since there are only two possibilities for each dot of the cell, namely either a raised or a deepened cylindrical dot- or an absence of any dot to stand for the previous case).
The full possibilities therefore are 64, but Braille himself did not mean the empty set to be used (eg no raised dots at all in the cell).

A couple of other questions too:

-In finishing a line, or an entire book, does one use a 'fullstop' symbol anywhere? Also are commas used? (i know that pronounciation marks are used when they are needed, eg in Greek Braille).

-How would one go about creating a manuscript of Braille using just a pen and paper? (ie is it reasonably easy? And if not, would there be some common instrument to use instead of the pen?).

-Some images of printed books using Braille show a third variation, not just raised dots or inverted such dots, but also absence of any dot. Is that more standard or not?

Thanks in advance

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Braille

 

[Borachio]

I'm not sure what you mean. It seems to me that when Braille wants a space it uses a space, just like any other graphic system.

Here is a link to the punctuation that Braille uses.

Moreover, as you can see, Braille sometimes uses more than one cell to code a character. So this 2^6 business doesn't seem right either.

As for making Braille yourself manually, I don't see why not. It's how Braille did it originally.

Braille created his own raised-dot system by using an awl, the same kind of implement which had blinded him.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Braille#Braille_system

Just get some thick paper and poke it with a blunt instrument.

 

[Kyriakos]

I'm not sure what you mean. It seems to me that when Braille wants a space it uses a space, just like any other graphic system.

Here is a link to the punctuation that Braille uses.

Moreover, as you can see, Braille sometimes uses more than one cell to code a character. So this 2^6 business doesn't seem right either.

As for making Braille yourself manually, I don't see why not. It's how Braille did it originally.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Braille#Braille_system

Just get some thick paper and poke it with a blunt instrument.

Hey, it still is 2^6, cause any single dot cell group is counted within those, as are any numbers of dots (up to all six dotted in the cell group). But i read that Braille did not include an empty set (no dots), and given from images it seems that they use raised cylindrical protrusions for dots, and the inverse for lack of dot, an empty space (neither raised nor deepened) maybe is what a <space> means, but that still would not be the same as an empty cell-group (the latter being potentially 6 deepened cylinders)

Btw, very cool find/detail that Braille used the same instrument he managed to blind himself with, to start morphing his system. Is that info utterly reliable, though? (i mean it seems at least a bit strange, or even sinister).

Btw, don't money notes also use the Braille system, with glyph-like protrusions or deepenings?