Reminds me of Joe Haldeman's scifi short None So Blind. I won't spoil it but I'll give the first 2 sentences as a teaser:

    It all started when Cletus Jefferson asked himself 
    "Why aren't all blind people geniuses?" Cletus was only 
    13 at the time, but it was a good question, and he would
    work on it for 14 more years, and then change the world forever.

http://www.sff.net/people/joe.haldeman/story1.html