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Only One Eye at a Time?

“Oupa” could read a book as well as shoot a buck 300 metres away without glasses – how come?

The eye is the most amazing organ. One of the many fascinating functions is that it is self-focusing. Like the autofocus on your mobile, but without electronics. With normal-sighted eyes, this is possible for people up to about forty years of age (in South Africa). Thereafter it becomes progressively harder to focus on things up close until it is impossible to read and see finer details. Medically, we call this ‘Presbyopia’ and it happens to each and every person on earth. So what is the story regarding “oupa”?

In “oupa’s” case, he was easily able to read and see far without glasses, but he didn’t realise that he could only see far with one eye, and only see near with the other (being a myopic or “short-sighted” eye). Oupa was no different to any other presbyopic person. He was definitely presbyopic, but his one short-sighted (myopic) eye enabled him to see up close without glasses. 

It is strange that many people with oupa’s eye condition never realise that they only use one eye at a time, depending on where they want to see. So, unfortunately, oupa was nothing special, just a normal chap with a handy eye disorder.