4 ms·

Train your brain to deconvolve blurry images instead of using reading glasses

32 points by gdelfino01 9y ago

karmakaze 9y ago
I just discovered the other day that I had unknowingly achieved this. Used to dealing with a phone display, I was reading a book which was blurry but I wanted to read faster, so I just did and was surprised to be able to comprehend everything.
falcolas 9y ago
Given the eyestrain I get when reading without reading glasses (when wearing contacts) and without contacts, no. I get enough headaches without adding to them by intentionally not using purpose-made tools.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
Bitcoin_McPonzi 9y ago
I haven't tried the glasses-off product yet, past their demonstration pages, but I did practice this technique for a while based on the recommendations of a friend who similarly discovered it. The "trick" as I see it is to become comfortable enough with the appearance of blurry text, and be relaxed enough so your eyes aren't constantly trying to focus, and straining the muscles. Once your eyes relax, it's amazing how well a person who's already a proficient reader can get enough information out of blurry text to read at normal speeds. In fact after a while, my brain kicks in and I'd swear that the text is sharp, even though if I pay too much attention it will appear blurry again as I realize my mind is playing tricks on me.
_mhr_ 9y ago
Aaron Swartz used to do this: - http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/001083 http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/001083 - http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/000432 http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/000432
- ipsum2 9y ago
  This is really cool! One important distinction to be made is that Glassesoff claims to cure presbyopia (the thing that makes you wear reading glasses) while Aaron probably had myopia (nearsightedness). Also, I'm not certain that looking at Gabor patches can translate to fixing myopia.
JumpCrisscross 9y ago
Does this have any reputable research attached to it?
- ipsum2 9y ago
  Yes, did you click on the "Our Science" link? Also, it was covered by NYTimes, which talks about the research as well https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/27/upshot/training-your-brain-so-that-you-dont-need-reading-glasses.html https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/27/upshot/training-your-brai...
  - IntronExon 9y ago
    That article claims “a number of studies support” while citing one study at first, then two more. The first study is solely authored by Uri Polat. The other two also include him as an author. In addition to the fact that the article reads like a submarine, I’m curious what if any link Dr. Polat has to the product in question. Oh wait... https://www.crunchbase.com/person/uri-polat https://www.crunchbase.com/person/uri-polat
    - ipsum2 9y ago
      That's a great catch, I didn't notice that while reading the papers. Here's one that cites Polat's papers, but doesn't seem directly influenced by GlassesOff: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0042698913002770 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004269891...
rectangletangle 9y ago
This reminds me of the phenomena where individuals with mild-moderate acquired hearing loss often don't realize they're somewhat impaired, until they take a hearing test. The brain is very adept at piecing together incomplete/inaccurate information and contextual clues into a cohesive message.
- bvinc 9y ago
  I just ended up having permanent hearing loss that I was unaware of until a hearing test. Here is one thing that I learned that surprised me. I thought that hearing loss was experienced like someone turned down a volume knob. That's not how it works. People experience hearing loss only on certain frequencies. If someone is experiencing hearing loss at high frequencies, they might have trouble hearing only certain sounds like "s" sounds when someone speaks. This leads them to believe that everyone is just mumbling. Because they sound loud, they're just not clear.
marknadal 9y ago
Does this work for near sighted ness?
IntronExon 9y ago
The only supporting studies on this method are authored by URI Polat, the Chief Science Officer of GlassesOff. https://www.crunchbase.com/person/uri-polat https://www.crunchbase.com/person/uri-polat Apply grains of salt liberally.
ars 9y ago
Apparently has something to do with this: http://www.cogsci.nl/blog/miscellaneous/226-can-you-brain-train-your-way-to-perfect-eyesight http://www.cogsci.nl/blog/miscellaneous/226-can-you-brain-tr...
kjaku 9y ago
I made a little playground "game" for training with gabor patches if someone would like to try, if it will improve your sight. (hide the menu) https://kjaku.github.io/eye/index.html https://kjaku.github.io/eye/index.html
teilo 9y ago
My optometrist told me about this 30 years ago. He called it learning to "interpret the blur." He also encouraging people to use glasses as little as possible so that the eye muscles don't get lazy. It may not eliminate myopia, but it can slow it down, especially in the milder cases.
romdev 9y ago
I've been experimenting with this chart that claims good results in reversing presbyopia: http://www.robert-silverman.net/presbeninst.htm http://www.robert-silverman.net/presbeninst.htm I've only tried it a few times, but there were temporary noticeable results. Unfortunately there are no quick fixes for my floaters that have gotten worse over the years.

32 points by gdelfino01 9y ago

I just discovered the other day that I had unknowingly achieved this. Used to dealing with a phone display, I was reading a book which was blurry but I wanted to read faster, so I just did and was surprised to be able to comprehend everything.

falcolas 9y ago

Given the eyestrain I get when reading without reading glasses (when wearing contacts) and without contacts, no. I get enough headaches without adding to them by intentionally not using purpose-made tools.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]

Bitcoin_McPonzi 9y ago

I haven't tried the glasses-off product yet, past their demonstration pages, but I did practice this technique for a while based on the recommendations of a friend who similarly discovered it. The "trick" as I see it is to become comfortable enough with the appearance of blurry text, and be relaxed enough so your eyes aren't constantly trying to focus, and straining the muscles. Once your eyes relax, it's amazing how well a person who's already a proficient reader can get enough information out of blurry text to read at normal speeds. In fact after a while, my brain kicks in and I'd swear that the text is sharp, even though if I pay too much attention it will appear blurry again as I realize my mind is playing tricks on me.

_mhr_ 9y ago

Aaron Swartz used to do this: - http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/001083 http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/001083 - http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/000432 http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/000432

ipsum2 9y ago
This is really cool! One important distinction to be made is that Glassesoff claims to cure presbyopia (the thing that makes you wear reading glasses) while Aaron probably had myopia (nearsightedness). Also, I'm not certain that looking at Gabor patches can translate to fixing myopia.

JumpCrisscross 9y ago

Does this have any reputable research attached to it?

ipsum2 9y ago
Yes, did you click on the "Our Science" link? Also, it was covered by NYTimes, which talks about the research as well https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/27/upshot/training-your-brain-so-that-you-dont-need-reading-glasses.html https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/27/upshot/training-your-brai...
- IntronExon 9y ago
  That article claims “a number of studies support” while citing one study at first, then two more. The first study is solely authored by Uri Polat. The other two also include him as an author. In addition to the fact that the article reads like a submarine, I’m curious what if any link Dr. Polat has to the product in question. Oh wait... https://www.crunchbase.com/person/uri-polat https://www.crunchbase.com/person/uri-polat
  - ipsum2 9y ago
    That's a great catch, I didn't notice that while reading the papers. Here's one that cites Polat's papers, but doesn't seem directly influenced by GlassesOff: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0042698913002770 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004269891...

rectangletangle 9y ago

This reminds me of the phenomena where individuals with mild-moderate acquired hearing loss often don't realize they're somewhat impaired, until they take a hearing test. The brain is very adept at piecing together incomplete/inaccurate information and contextual clues into a cohesive message.

bvinc 9y ago
I just ended up having permanent hearing loss that I was unaware of until a hearing test. Here is one thing that I learned that surprised me. I thought that hearing loss was experienced like someone turned down a volume knob. That's not how it works. People experience hearing loss only on certain frequencies. If someone is experiencing hearing loss at high frequencies, they might have trouble hearing only certain sounds like "s" sounds when someone speaks. This leads them to believe that everyone is just mumbling. Because they sound loud, they're just not clear.

marknadal 9y ago

Does this work for near sighted ness?

IntronExon 9y ago

The only supporting studies on this method are authored by URI Polat, the Chief Science Officer of GlassesOff. https://www.crunchbase.com/person/uri-polat https://www.crunchbase.com/person/uri-polat Apply grains of salt liberally.

ars 9y ago

Apparently has something to do with this: http://www.cogsci.nl/blog/miscellaneous/226-can-you-brain-train-your-way-to-perfect-eyesight http://www.cogsci.nl/blog/miscellaneous/226-can-you-brain-tr...

kjaku 9y ago

I made a little playground "game" for training with gabor patches if someone would like to try, if it will improve your sight. (hide the menu) https://kjaku.github.io/eye/index.html https://kjaku.github.io/eye/index.html

teilo 9y ago

My optometrist told me about this 30 years ago. He called it learning to "interpret the blur." He also encouraging people to use glasses as little as possible so that the eye muscles don't get lazy. It may not eliminate myopia, but it can slow it down, especially in the milder cases.

romdev 9y ago

I've been experimenting with this chart that claims good results in reversing presbyopia: http://www.robert-silverman.net/presbeninst.htm http://www.robert-silverman.net/presbeninst.htm I've only tried it a few times, but there were temporary noticeable results. Unfortunately there are no quick fixes for my floaters that have gotten worse over the years.