Seeing the world with new eyes and corrected lenses, too

Ophthalmologist's retail section for eyeglass frames

Seeing so many eyeglass frames on display can be akin to the experience of facing Too Much Information, TMI. But with the experience from earlier frames, the customer can usually narrow the search and only look for something similar, rather than having to study each and every variation on size, shape, color, texture and so on. If it is the first pair ever worn, then the staff can make suggestions to begin with, too. But a larger reflection from seeing this scope of choices and range in prices levels is that good vision is usually available to everyone who has no large visual impairment. Those with insurance subsidy do not have to pay out of pocket for the entire expense. Those with no insurance, and who cannot afford any payment probably will be eligible for basic eyeglasses paid for by the business owner, a local funding source, or possibly a program of the state government or a charitable (service) club with focus on vision, such as Lions/Lioness Clubs.

Besides the fact that modern life allows most people to have some kind of corrected vision, including the well-developed ecosystem or infrastructure (testing, trained professionals and licensing, supply chains and production capacity), there is the philosophical dimension of extending the useful life of vision for most everyone. Centuries ago, a variety of eye problems - congenital, developmental, or by accidents of life and livelihood - reduced the visual powers and pleasures and functionality of people young and old. In addition to the eye conditions at birth or later on in life, the aging process generally results in weaker visual power ('old eyes' or prebyopia). At the same time, literacy was less important to most people's day. So impaired vision was perhaps perceived as normal and less a hindrance than it would be today when oceans of printed matter fill the landscape and mailboxes, too. On top of that are the tiny screens and microscopic text size of Internet portable electronic devices.

In summary, as a practical matter it is good that modern life's literacy-dependent routines and decisions also come with relatively ubiquitous eyeglasses (or contact lenses, or corrective surgical procedures). Being able to see clearly is not simply a quality-of-life issue, it is basic to survival in the Information Age. But good vision is also a philosophical matter, since "I see" means both visual perception but also "I understand." In other words, what we see is often the same as what we know. Naturally, there are times when the meaning of something is NOT what it looks like at first glance ("don't judge a book by its cover," and "looks can be deceiving" since "you only see what you want to see"). However, there is a close relationship between good vision and good understanding. A land of poor vision may well also be a land of poor understanding or incomplete (mental) pictures of life. 

So at this high-altitude, abstract and philosophical level, when looking at this photo of hundreds of eyeglass frames, it is fair to think of all the people now walking around with corrective lenses (contacts or eyeglasses) in modern times who, long ago, may have gotten along in life with weak or even non-functional vision. Stated in reverse: the fact that most people today do have the opportunity to see clearly suggests that most people today also have the opportunity to scrutinize, focus on, and look into matters in such a way that they expect to produce sharp images and understandings; not a blurry or an unknowable grasp of reality. Widespread visual health may be overlooked or taken for granted, but it is more than a mere convenience and a basic condition for living in a word-heavy cultural landscape. It is also a worldview; a set of assumptions that one's surrounding life should be in focus and transparent.