4 ms·

This is mostly bollocks. Sure modern technologies is a big reason, but another reason is people caring about eyesight now. Before, if you had a bad eyesight,

by rg111 5y ago

This is mostly bollocks. Sure modern technologies is a big reason, but another reason is people caring about eyesight now. Before, if you had a bad eyesight, you just thought "life...!" and lived with it. The old world was segregated into a very very tiny upper class and the rest. When people from the latter part had diminished eyesight, they didn't bother. They thought that it was natural. Now, with so many people in the middle class who need good eyesight to browse Facebook, read books, or do a job, glasses are needed.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
steve_adams_86 5y ago
I didn’t even realize I had bad eye sight as a kid. I still remember the first time I put on glasses (age 12) and feeling both sick and elated at how poor my eyesight had become, yet how much more I could now see. Your brain adapts remarkably well. Can’t see people you’re approaching? Alright, don’t try - just try to see when you know they’re close enough. Can’t see the chalk board? Whatever, just move closer. I suspect a lot of times I couldn’t see things, I didn’t even realize it too. What’s to be upset about if you can’t see it, and don’t realize you’re supposed to? I like my glasses and being able to see, but I doubt growing up like this without glasses would have mattered all that much to me. It would be a deal breaker for driving; I can’t consider for a second driving without glasses. Otherwise I could do a lot of the things I do the most, and I could do it well.
- tommiegannert 5y ago
  Right after picking up my first glasses, me and my father sat down to have a snack in a café. I wasn't wearing the glasses, because they made the world bob around. Safely at the table, I put them on and looked out the window. That's when I felt, for the first time, that trees have individual leaves even when you're not close by. They even flutter in the wind, even at the top of the tree. I'd never been able to see the top of a tree in detail. Still remember that weird moment from 30 years ago. Addicted to glasses ever since.
  - rg111 5y ago
    Yes, wearing a glass certainly feels good, just like eating something you like, or a favorite smell. Being able to see much clearer than before is definitely a nice feeling.
  - steve_adams_86 5y ago
    Yes, I especially love the leaves with lighter undersides which seem to flicker in a breeze. Those were so gratifying to look at, and still are. My test to see if I need a new prescription is looking at the tops of trees and assessing how much detail I can see, because the proper amount of detail is so imprinted in my mind now. Another thing I love looking at is distant mountains. They are covered in so many fascinating details. Before glasses, they were dark walls with white caps. With glasses, they are like small worlds standing in front of me. The trees themselves become the leaves of the mountain. It’s very cool to actually see what’s on them. Last year I spotted a waterfall on one and sat for half an hour or so picking out where the stream was above and below it, began to notice patterns in the vegetation that would help me follow the stream, saw things like landslides which disrupted the patterns, began to notice a colour gradient in the same species of tree as the altitude lowered, etc. Endless details. Without glasses that experience would have been impossible.
- rg111 5y ago
  Exactly my point. Unless you experienced some barrier that made you sure that you had a problem, you wouldn't even know that you had a problem (unless we are talking about advanced stage glaucoma or something like that- but these are mostly age-related ailments). And the more you go back in time, the less the number of people that would find out. Glasses were certainly an upper-class thing, as reading was an upper class thing. I did not even realize that I had a problem with my eyes until I found out that I could not see the blackboard from a distance that other kids could. Before that, I just thought that the blackboard couldn't be seen at all from that distance, and I found a nice zone from where I could read everything without risking the chalk-dust. Until I compared my reading ability at distance with several friends, I did not even know that I had a problem.
AniseAbyss 5y ago
Yep people don't understand history very well. Just a hundred years ago half of the population worked in agriculture. The only education you got was primary school. I am glad I live in the 21st century were I don't have to spend a single second doing farm work or heavy manual labor.

by rg111 5y ago

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

steve_adams_86 5y ago

I didn’t even realize I had bad eye sight as a kid. I still remember the first time I put on glasses (age 12) and feeling both sick and elated at how poor my eyesight had become, yet how much more I could now see. Your brain adapts remarkably well. Can’t see people you’re approaching? Alright, don’t try - just try to see when you know they’re close enough. Can’t see the chalk board? Whatever, just move closer. I suspect a lot of times I couldn’t see things, I didn’t even realize it too. What’s to be upset about if you can’t see it, and don’t realize you’re supposed to? I like my glasses and being able to see, but I doubt growing up like this without glasses would have mattered all that much to me. It would be a deal breaker for driving; I can’t consider for a second driving without glasses. Otherwise I could do a lot of the things I do the most, and I could do it well.

tommiegannert 5y ago
Right after picking up my first glasses, me and my father sat down to have a snack in a café. I wasn't wearing the glasses, because they made the world bob around. Safely at the table, I put them on and looked out the window. That's when I felt, for the first time, that trees have individual leaves even when you're not close by. They even flutter in the wind, even at the top of the tree. I'd never been able to see the top of a tree in detail. Still remember that weird moment from 30 years ago. Addicted to glasses ever since.
- rg111 5y ago
  Yes, wearing a glass certainly feels good, just like eating something you like, or a favorite smell. Being able to see much clearer than before is definitely a nice feeling.
- steve_adams_86 5y ago
  Yes, I especially love the leaves with lighter undersides which seem to flicker in a breeze. Those were so gratifying to look at, and still are. My test to see if I need a new prescription is looking at the tops of trees and assessing how much detail I can see, because the proper amount of detail is so imprinted in my mind now. Another thing I love looking at is distant mountains. They are covered in so many fascinating details. Before glasses, they were dark walls with white caps. With glasses, they are like small worlds standing in front of me. The trees themselves become the leaves of the mountain. It’s very cool to actually see what’s on them. Last year I spotted a waterfall on one and sat for half an hour or so picking out where the stream was above and below it, began to notice patterns in the vegetation that would help me follow the stream, saw things like landslides which disrupted the patterns, began to notice a colour gradient in the same species of tree as the altitude lowered, etc. Endless details. Without glasses that experience would have been impossible.
rg111 5y ago
Exactly my point. Unless you experienced some barrier that made you sure that you had a problem, you wouldn't even know that you had a problem (unless we are talking about advanced stage glaucoma or something like that- but these are mostly age-related ailments). And the more you go back in time, the less the number of people that would find out. Glasses were certainly an upper-class thing, as reading was an upper class thing. I did not even realize that I had a problem with my eyes until I found out that I could not see the blackboard from a distance that other kids could. Before that, I just thought that the blackboard couldn't be seen at all from that distance, and I found a nice zone from where I could read everything without risking the chalk-dust. Until I compared my reading ability at distance with several friends, I did not even know that I had a problem.

AniseAbyss 5y ago

Yep people don't understand history very well. Just a hundred years ago half of the population worked in agriculture. The only education you got was primary school. I am glad I live in the 21st century were I don't have to spend a single second doing farm work or heavy manual labor.