From aeulenbe@indiana.edu Ukn Feb 19 16:02:48 1995 Date: Fri, 17 Feb 1995 12:57:47 -0400 (EST) From: Alex Eulenberg Subject: Pinhole glasses Status: RO X-Status: >From the misc.health.alternative newsgroup: >From: hutchens@clark.net (Michael P. Hutchens) >Newsgroups: misc.health.alternative >Subject: Re: Eye Exercise Glasses? >Date: Thu, 16 Feb 1995 17:29:35 -0500 In article <3hu1h3$5lp@news.tamu.edu>, leslies@tam2000.tamu.edu (Leslie Rena Sims) wrote: > Hi has anyone heard of eye exercise glasses? They are plastic black opaque > glasses with tiny pin holes cut out. You wear them and your eyes have to focus > thru the holes.. They are used to strengthen the eye muscles. If you know where > I can find them, please e-mail me. Thanks, > > Leslie > leslies@tamu.edu Leslie, I've used pinhole glasses, and also had a hard time finding them. I finally found them in two places: cheaper ones with bigger holes at a local health food store, and expensive ones with smaller holes from a catalogue (1-800-634-9057). I decided to stick with the larger holes because they let in more light and can be used in darker situations, such as indoors. The smaller holes focused my vision more dramatically, but I could really only use them in brightly lit situations. They really help you focus, and I find that they make my eyes feel really good and relaxed, but my partner says they give him a headache, so I guess you'll have to see for yourself. Good luck. --Alison -- "Two roads diverged in a wood and I took both." -- Robert Lost Hutchens@clark.net -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.6 mQBPAy8uU0IAAAECAOnospom98WySdqTNkw2Z//4PMnjxv9E/diIp71Xivitx68B k4B6V2cUfxm/A0dK1eLAz444vCJddP8AhldKr6EAEQEAAbQoTWljaGFlbCBQLiBI dXRjaGVucyA8aHV0Y2hlbnNAY2xhcmsubmV0Pg== =CcXA -----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- ========================================================================= From aeulenbe@indiana.edu Ukn Feb 19 16:59:25 1995 Date: Sun, 19 Feb 1995 16:34:23 -0400 (EST) From: Alex Eulenberg Subject: Pinhole Glasses update Status: RO X-Status: I just called the supplier of pinhole glasses mentioned in the previous post (Pacific Spirit 1-800-634-9057). The saleswoman, "Shannon", said they were discontinued because "the state" wouldn't let the maker sell the glasses with a full moneyback guarantee. Of course, the manufacturer wouldn't be able to sell them at all without the guarantee, seeing that they shouldn't work according to any mainstream theory of vision. Sounds like good evidence that pinhole glasses do work, despite current theories, and some opto-organization put some pressure on some legislators to stop them from being distributed. By the way, you can make your own pinhole glasses by looking through a comb. --Alex ========================================================================= From owner-i_see@indiana.edu Sun Nov 19 16:34:26 EST 1995 Date: Sun, 19 Nov 95 13:14 PST From: Beyond_20/20@Sunshine.net (Beyond 20/20 Vision) Subject: Pinhole Glasses Status: RO X-Status: On November 7th, 1995 Larry Kline wrote: Subject: Re: Pinholes Date: Sun, 10 Dec 1995 03:32:22 +1100 (EST) Status: RO X-Status: >_From: William Stacy > > To the list people: > Sorry about that message duplication that I caused inadvertently. > Here's what I meant to send: > > Chen Hanwen wrote: > > > > Hi! More questions about the pinholes here. > > > > What is the effect of wearing pinholes on the brain and eyes? Does > it > >actively promote the reduction of myopia, or does it help only by > lessening > >the need to wear glasses? > > It's just an optical trick. Increases your depth of focus by stopping > > Please answer this seriously as I feel that the pinholes is one of > the > >more viable alternatives for me. Thanks! > > It may make you feel better, but it's just an (old) optical trick. this has not been a very helpful post, I am afraid. pinholes are useful! if you need to see for extended periods of time then pin holes will allow you to do so without straining. If you are like me and your eyes hurt after using a computer all day, then pinhole are a viable alternative. pinholes may help any tension problems you do have, by teaching your brain to relax and not squeeze your eyes. my behavioral optometrist highly recomends them. Vic ========================================================================= From owner-i_see@indiana.edu Sat Dec 9 13:50:28 EST 1995 Date: Sat, 9 Dec 1995 13:42:24 -0500 (EST) From: Alex Eulenberg Subject: Re: Pinholes Status: RO X-Status: > Chen Hanwen wrote: > Hi! More questions about the pinholes here. Bill Stacy: > It's just an optical trick. Increases your depth of focus by stopping > down (just like a camera f-stop) the system and eliminating the out of > focus rays. Using the same principle you can make a camera out of a > shoe box and a pinhole at one end. Both are interesting quirks, > neither are very useful in real life. Pinhole glasses, however, consist of many many holes. A perforated opaque lens, if you will. It is not the same thing as the "lens" of a pinhole camera. The result of looking through it with an improperly focused eye is not one clear image, but a kaleidoscope. (Why this is, I don't know. You can get the same effect by looking through a comb.) Learning to focus correctly reduces the multiple images. Some myopia researchers have proposed that myopia is caused by the eye elongating "in response to blur" although the mechanism for this is unclear. Many people have noted, however, that people tend to focus for near (optically equivalent to elongating) as a reflex whenever they see anything blurry, even a distant blur. If this is true, by eliminating blur, and replacing it with a kaleidoscope, it might encourage more appropriate focusing behavior. That's just my guess. I've never heard anybody else explain it this way. --Alex ========================================================================= From owner-i_see@indiana.edu Sat Dec 9 13:56:08 EST 1995 Date: Sat, 9 Dec 1995 10:41:53 -0800 From: dennis@netcom.com (Dennis Yelle) Subject: Re: Pinholes Status: RO X-Status: Bill writes about pinholes: >They reduce the incoming light by >over 95% so you're operating in a pretty dim, though clearer, >environment. Plus you have to keep trying to line up a little hole with >what you're trying to see. Probably hard on your neck muscles, too. Well, I suppose there may be more than one product that is sold as "pinhole glasses" but the ones I have seen have many pinholes (at least 50) in front of each eye. This would remove the problem of "trying to line up a little hole with what you're trying to see". Maybe the original poster would let us know if in fact the glasses he/she was talking about have only one pinhole in front of each eye. Dennis ========================================================================= From ws@ix.netcom.com Sat Dec 9 13:58:03 EST 1995 Date: Sat, 9 Dec 1995 10:56:39 -0800 From: ws@ix.netcom.com (William Stacy ) Subject: Re: Pinholes Status: RO X-Status: You wrote: >Pinhole glasses, however, consist of many many holes. A perforated opaque >lens, if you will. It is not the same thing as the "lens" of a pinhole >camera. The result of looking through it with an improperly focused eye is >not one clear image, but a kaleidoscope. (Why this is, I don't know. You >can get the same effect by looking through a comb.) Learning to focus >correctly reduces the multiple images. Sorry, Alex, but it IS the same as the pinhole camera. You can get a fine photo using a shoebox with one pinhole or multiple pinholes. Not a kaleidoscopic image at all. It's simple geometry. And the comb is analogous, using multiple steopaic slits. Same thing. When I look thru a comb, uncorrected, at a tree, I see one tree. No kaleidoscopic multiplicity. When you look thru your pinhole glasses, you see one tree also. >Some myopia researchers have proposed that myopia is caused by the eye >elongating "in response to blur" although the mechanism for this is >unclear. Many people have noted, however, that people tend to focus for >near (optically equivalent to elongating) as a reflex whenever they see >anything blurry, even a distant blur. If this is true, by eliminating >blur, and replacing it with a kaleidoscope, it might encourage more >appropriate focusing behavior. That's just my guess. I've never heard >anybody else explain it this way. I don't think so. I think a lens which places the object at your far point is more effective in eliminating accommodative effort. Bill ========================================================================= From owner-i_see@indiana.edu Sat Dec 9 10:43:46 EST 1995 Date: Sat, 9 Dec 1995 07:27:15 -0800 From: ws@ix.netcom.com (William Stacy ) Subject: Pinholes Status: RO X-Status: To the list people: Sorry about that message duplication that I caused inadvertently. Here's what I meant to send: Chen Hanwen wrote: > > Hi! More questions about the pinholes here. > > What is the effect of wearing pinholes on the brain and eyes? Does it >actively promote the reduction of myopia, or does it help only by lessening >the need to wear glasses? It's just an optical trick. Increases your depth of focus by stopping down (just like a camera f-stop) the system and eliminating the out of focus rays. Using the same principle you can make a camera out of a shoe box and a pinhole at one end. Both are interesting quirks, neither are very useful in real life. I asked this because the brochure that comes with >my pinholes says that they promote blood circulation and exercise the eyes. That claim is fairly preposterous on its face. >My eyes certainly feel tired and "exercised" after a while. Yet none of this >is mentioned in the posts so far. Haven't seen the others; just joined this list. You may be getting some asthenopia from straining to see. They reduce the incoming light by over 95% so you're operating in a pretty dim, though clearer, environment. Plus you have to keep trying to line up a little hole with what you're trying to see. Probably hard on your neck muscles, too. > > The instructions also warned against use of pinholes in dark conditions. >How dark is too dark? Less than 5% of dark is REALLY dark. Is it okay to watch TV at night with ordinary room >lighting? I certainly hope I am not damaging my eyes by doing so, as I use >my T-glasses most often during TV, No harm done, except to your ego when anyone who sees you doing this starts laughing. > > There is a significance in degree between my eyes. The FAQ said to use >patching, but I find it cumbersome and uncomfortable. Patching wont help unless you've got amblyopia (lazy eye), a condition which only occurs when one is turned (crossed, e.g.) or when the refractive errors are much different (anisometropia). Do pinholes help? One >might think so since the images received by both eyes are now equally clear, >the brain won't favour one eye over the other. Not in the case of amblyopia. The brain would still favor the non-amblyopic eye. > > Please answer this seriously as I feel that the pinholes is one of the >more viable alternatives for me. Thanks! It may make you feel better, but it's just an (old) optical trick. > Bill ========================================================================= From owner-i_see@indiana.edu Sat Dec 9 12:08:44 EST 1995 Date: Sat, 9 Dec 1995 08:50:58 -0800 From: ws@ix.netcom.com (William Stacy ) Subject: Pinholes Status: RO X-Status: To be more 'serious', I would say that there might be a protective feature in the pinhole glasses, especially when viewing a nearby electromagnetic emitter such as a computer screen. This could be easily studied. Also, I believe that pinholes may actually *increase* accommodative effort, another thing that could be easily studied and measured. The human vision system accommodates to blur and certainly the image thru pinholes is blurred, although of course less blurred than without, in the case of ametropia. Bill ========================================================================= From owner-i_see@indiana.edu Tue Dec 12 23:40:23 EST 1995 Date: Tue, 12 Dec 95 22:29 EST From: John Richter <0007249877@mcimail.com> Subject: Re: 10 messages on pinhole glasses! Status: RO X-Status: > Bill writes about pinholes: > Sorry, Alex, but it IS the same as the pinhole camera. You can get a fine > photo using a shoebox with one pinhole or multiple pinholes. Not a > kaleidoscopic image at all. It's simple geometry. I've never been a much of a photographer (the Kodac "point and shoot" cameras work best for me!) and Geometry is not one of my favorite subjects. My uncorrected vision is around -6.0 in each eye. I get the "kaleidoscope" effect that Alex mentioned when I use my pinhole glasses without corrective lenses. Even with this effect I have about the same amount of correction as with my 20/80 reading/computer glasses. Of course, they work much better outside on a sunny day. They are not as effective inside or with dim lighting. John =========================================================================