And when he's old and macular degenerative disease has reduced his eyesight to a white blurry spot with some dark spots...
...and he's sitting in the living room with his sighted relatives, and there's silence, will someone else narrate for him?
Maybe it's because I have a lot of contact with the visually impaired elderly, but I find it amazing how many times people fail to take this kind of thing into consideration.
Like it or not, TV is what radio once was for news. As the deaf were at a disadvantage when news came only in aural format, so the blind cannot hear an image. If there is no sound, nor any other sensory input, they are cut off. Braille TV? I don't think so.
I understand Mr. Lileks's annoyance. I feel the same way watching baseball. But I have a solution! The volume button!
You don't like the noise? Turn it down.