Widescreen Gaming Forum

[quote]Yes, Paradigm, but how does that physically damage your eyes?

I'm sure an ophthalmologist would be able to tell you. ;)


Not to beat a dead horse here, but the links I included in my post to demonstrate that this belief is a myth, were from the American Academy of Ophthalmology :)

Eye damage from what, exactly? I know you can strain your eyes, reading print that is too small, or dimly lit, etc, which is what a lot of people are talking about when they talk about "hurting" their eyes, but that is only temporary, it goes away. How can a computer monitor permanently damage your eyes?

It depends on the person of course as everyone has there own distances their eyes can comfortably focus at. There are general rules of thumb based on averages but it's not of course an exact science. I disagree that the such strain is always temporary. Although many people's eyes age at different rates, excessive eye strain almost always accelerates the process and is why many end up wearing glasses well before they would otherwise.

Here are just a few links (of many available) indicating what I'm talking about:
http://www.checkyearly.com/eye-health-101/preventive-care/Computer-eye-strain.html

http://www.office-ergo.com/12things1.htm

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=83596

It depends on the person of course as everyone has there own distances their eyes can comfortably focus at. There are general rules of thumb based on averages but it's not of course an exact science. I disagree that the such strain is always temporary. Although many people's eyes age at different rates, excessive eye strain almost always accelerates the process and is why many end up wearing glasses well before they would otherwise.

This really does not make much sense, and none of the links you list provide any actual evidence for it. You can certainly strain or tire your eyes, but it is hard to imagine any plausible way this would produce long-term damage. Focusing to close distances is done by the ciliary muscle, which tenses to relax the lens of the eyes. The notion that exercising this muscle "ages" the eye is fairly nonsensical; muscles normally get stronger with exercise. Moreover, tensing this muscle improves the drainage of they eye, which if anything would tend to be protective against glaucoma. Development of presbyopia (difficulty focusing up close) seems to be related to age, not what you looked at.

I work for Essilor, and while I'm certainly no Ophthalmologist, I can attest to having perfect vision, day in, day out, even though I sit close to my beast of a CRT @ 60Hz. Do my eyes get tired after a while? Sure, but only after maybe 4-5 hours of straight staring.

Everybodies eyeballs are different. Sometimes it just takes a little eyestrain to send one particular persons eyes over the edge. We were not all born with some bionic eyeball

Dim light can cause permanent eye damage...ask Abraham Lincoln, he read and studied law by candlelight for decades and it permanently damaged his eyes beyond repair, this is fact

Everybodies eyeballs are different. Sometimes it just takes a little eyestrain to send one particular persons eyes over the edge. We were not all born with some bionic eyeball

Dim light can cause permanent eye damage...ask Abraham Lincoln, he read and studied law by candlelight for decades and it permanently damaged his eyes beyond repair, this is fact

Are you serious? "Abraham Lincoln?" That's your evidence?

I know that the ability to think critically is not the most valued commodity these days, but come on. Just because some eighth grade history teacher told you Lincoln ruined his eyesight by reading by candlelight, doesn't make it so. Do you also believe George Washington really chopped down that cherry tree?

If I had to take a wild guess, I'd say that the science of ophthalmology is a little more advanced now than it was back in Lincoln's day. So even if Lincoln had been diagnosed by a doctor who concluded that his poor eyesight was due to candlelight (it sounds absurd just typing that!) - that don't make it so. There are a million things that could have permanently degraded his vision, many of them hereditary. Candlelight ... isn't one of them.

From the American Academy of Ophthalmology's webpage on myths:

"Reading in dim light is harmful to your eyes." True or False?

False. Using your eyes in dim light does not damage them. For centuries, all nighttime reading and sewing was done by candlelight or with gas or kerosene lamps. However, good lighting does make reading easier and can prevent eye fatigue.

http://www.medem.com/medlb/article_detaillb.cfm?article_ID=ZZZ8BUZTYIE&sub_cat=0

It has nothing to do with "bionic eyes."

We all have things we believe that aren't true. Maybe our parents taught them to us, or our friends, or the media or whatever. I have them, and you have them. We all do. But it's important to question those beliefs, to ask what really lies behind them. Is there any factual evidence for them? Or do we just believe them ... because we believe them?

[quote]This really does not make much sense, and none of the links you list provide any actual evidence for it. You can certainly strain or tire your eyes, but it is hard to imagine any plausible way this would produce long-term damage. Focusing to close distances is done by the ciliary muscle, which tenses to relax the lens of the eyes. The notion that exercising this muscle "ages" the eye is fairly nonsensical; muscles normally get stronger with exercise. Moreover, tensing this muscle improves the drainage of they eye, which if anything would tend to be protective against glaucoma. Development of presbyopia (difficulty focusing up close) seems to be related to age, not what you looked at.

LOL, of course it makes sense, you're just not getting it. What did you expect, pictures of people wearing glasses after years of abusing their eyes? The articles I linked to point out several ways eye damage can occur, one of which you are obviously oblivious to.

You took everything I said out of context and somehow managed to twist it into your own interpretation of too much focusing rather than the viewing distance. Viewing objects too close or too far can indeed be a strain for many people as everyone's eyes are different. Somehow you turned what I said into the eye focusing Olympics, not to mention trying to impress with facts that are common sense really.

In doing so you totally overlooked and/or ignored one of the points in those articles that indicates focusing on an object of fixed distance day in and day out for hours a day can have harmful effects do to a LACK of a normal amount of focusing.

Look, those that want to can be doubting Thomases all they want when it comes to potential eye strain/damage, just don't whine about it when you get fitted for specs.

You took everything I said out of context and somehow managed to twist it into your own interpretation of too much focusing rather than the viewing distance. Viewing objects too close or too far can indeed be a strain for many people as everyone's eyes are different. Somehow you turned what I said into the eye focusing Olympics, not to mention trying to impress with facts that are common sense really.

In doing so you totally overlooked and/or ignored one of the points in those articles that indicates focusing on an object of fixed distance day in and day out for hours a day can have harmful effects do to a LACK of a normal amount of focusing.

Look, those that want to can be doubting Thomases all they want when it comes to potential eye strain/damage, just don't whine about it when you get fitted for specs.

You still have not provided any actual evidence, or even any plausible mechanism. How, specifically, do you imagine that focusing at a "fixed distance" is going to do physical damage to the eye? Can you provide any study whatsoever that offers any evidence for this? Even if you imagine that somehow, by some unknown mechanism, spending a lot of time looking at things at a fixed distance causes the eye to "stick" at that focus, you would predict that people who read a lot would tend to become nearsighted as they age. But in fact, it is the other way around--people tend to lose the ability to focus at their accustomed reading distance and have to hold the book further away.

Here is yet another fact site pointing out that you can't damage your eyes by what you look at:
http://www.uwhealth.org/servlet/Satellite?cid=1105110069590&pagename=B_EXTRANET_HEALTH_INFORMATION%2FFlexMember%2FShow_Public_HFFY&c=FlexGroup

Can you provide any study whatsoever that offers any evidence for this?

http://www.accessible-devices.com/excessive.html

http://www.optivision.co.il/infoeng.htm#2

http://ezinearticles.com/?At-Risk-Computer-Screen-Glare-and-Eye-Damage&id=740410

This is an issue that has been argued both ways and there are those that say no actual damage is possible and those that disagree. Whether you are inclined to believe anything I've linked to they ARE opinions based on experience and/or studies. At the very least things such as "computer vision syndrome" ARE in fact things that need to be addressed by ANY heavy computer user.

The problem is there are those whom are aware they need to take precautions and those that aren't or just don't care. Obviously there are lot's of people backing the computer industry in general as well because modern technology revolves around it.

Anything that causes enough eyestrain to be termed a "syndrome" though is something to be concerned about. Such "syndromes" if left unaccounted for can lead to premature use of corrective eyewear. As I implied before, you can dissect this into all the technical talk you want, but what it really boils down to is common sense. Even things as simple as eating well have shown to prevent premature eye degeneration.

It wouldn't surprise me a bit if many if not most of those refuting such causes of eye damage is possible are already wearing glasses themselves. Funny how society still often stereotypes those whom wear them to be smarter people.

Correct me if I am wrong...but staring directly at the Sun for a period of time can blind you permanently.

So you see light is a direct result of damage to the eye dependent on the intensity... and intensity is a subjective individual thing according to ones own eyeball

A person could stare at a lightbulb and go blind. Stands to reason staring at a monitor for a prolonged period of time could also result in blindness depending on what you were looking at and dependent on whose eye it was doing the staring

Common sense people... use it. The problem is people who bury their head in the sand and behave as if the world is the size of their own neighborhood. Look outside the box and quit being so tunnel visioned and expand your thought process.

Yea, there are human beings on this planet who are not like you, rofl

Correct me if I am wrong...but staring directly at the Sun for a period of time can blind you permanently.

So you see light is a direct result of damage to the eye dependent on the intensity... and intensity is a subjective individual thing according to ones own eyeball

A person could stare at a lightbulb and go blind. Stands to reason staring at a monitor for a prolonged period of time could also result in blindness depending on what you were looking at and dependent on whose eye it was doing the staring

Common sense people... use it. The problem is people who bury their head in the sand and behave as if the world is the size of their own neighborhood. Look outside the box and quit being so tunnel visioned and expand your thought process.

Yea, there are human beings on this planet who are not like you, rofl

Sorry, but this is ignorant, simplistic thinking. The intensity of the sun's light is of an entirely different magnitude compared to that of a light bulb or a computer screen. There is no comparison.

As for there being "human beings on this planet who are not like" me, not sure where you've been getting your information, but the human eye is structured the same for all homosapiens. There are people with slightly better or worse vision, people with physical defects, etc etc, but the structure and function of the human eye remains the same. This is basic, elemental science. It has nothing to do with "expanding your thought process," "thinking outside the box," "tunnel vision" or any other catch phrase.

G'Day, not sure if I picked the right forum for this, so please redirect me if it's not.

I tried searching for this but couldn't find anything; anyway.. I have a 32" Samsung I'll run at 1920 * 1080, and I wanted to know the general guidelines for how far away one should sit from screens to keep ones eyes from bleeding. Does it depend on the resolution or the physical size, etcetera?

All help is appreciated.

Forget about size and tangus calculations...

If you are going to use it as a computer monitor, then there are two main concerns you need to adress:

1. The most straining task when using the computer are when you read text. Therefore, you need to find the distance where you normally can read the text with least amount of strain.

2. Secondly, you should look DOWN on screen as much as possible. This releaves strain from your neck.

Regardless of where you sit, you should always stand up, take a walk around once in a while, so to releave body of the stress you get from sitting infront of a screen to begin with! :)