Line of Code Reflecting in Glasses worn by Software Engineer Working on Computer

Eyeglasses: Extraordinary Ordinary Things

Ubiquity is dedicated to helping professionals and informed laymen better imagine and understand the future of computing. Extraordinary Ordinary Things (EOT) is dedicated to bringing to mind truly world-transforming things that have become so embedded in daily life that we scarcely even notice them. These two ideas may seem rather far apart, if not incongruous. In reality, they are quite close together, almost like conjoined twins. Computers today underly virtually everything that makes up the modern world, directly, but most often indirectly, by how they permit commercial, cultural, and scientific ideas to be converted into life-altering products and services. Extraordinary!

If you don’t have to wear eyeglasses, chances are you don’t fully realize the panic some people feel when they mislay them or leave them somewhere with little chance of recovering them. I know, because I have worn eyeglasses since the age of 10 to compensate for a serious case of myopia (U.K. = short-sightedness; U.S. = near-sightedness). Without my eyeglasses, I would be virtually helpless. Likewise for people with presbyopia (U.K. = long-sightedness; U.S. = far-sightedness).

Because so many people today wear them, eyeglasses almost seem to be an extension of the human face, and thus unremarkable. However, the invention and evolution of eyeglasses (including contact lenses, which are virtually invisible) represent one of the most important developments in human history. This is why eyeglasses (generally referred to simply as “glasses”) unquestionably deserve a place of honor on the list of what I like to call “extraordinary ordinary things.

Short History of Eyeglasses

Today, eyeglasses routinely ensure improved vision to most people. However, what we now take for granted is the result of a long history, indeed millennia, of incremental developments.

 The ancient Romans are generally credited with discovering how to use glass to improve their ability to read small text by employing tiny magnifying glass spheres. Although effective, using hand-held magnifying glasses for reading was quite clumsy.

 The first “wearable” eyeglasses were developed in 13th-century Italy. However, they were not “wearable” in the modern sense, consisting only of two glass-blown lenses set into a leather or wooden frame, which was hand-held in front of the face or at most precariously perched on the nose. Initially, such glasses were used essentially by monks. However, their usefulness outside of the monasteries quickly became recognized, so it wasn’t long before their popularity grew and the technology for fabricating them rapidly progressed.

Renaissance glassblowers in Italy made lenses of different thicknesses based on simple vision testing. These Italian creations quickly began spreading throughout Europe. However, because they were individually handcrafted, early glasses were available mainly to the rich and powerful. Because scholarship was a leitmotif of the Renaissance, possessing glassing became almost synonymous with superior intelligence.

For centuries, these early glasses were hand-held. Although it may now seem to be the self-evident next step, glasses did not become “hands-free” until the 1700s with the addition of temples extending from the frame that holds the lenses back over the ears. Although these wearable eyeglasses were considerably more convenient, they were rather heavy and uncomfortable, which spurred the development of technology to make the frames less bulky and weighty, and the development of lenses that were thinner, lighter, and more accurately accommodated the wearer’s corrective needs.

In addition to the “over-the-ear” innovation and more accurate lenses, the 1700s saw a number of other notable developments. For example, American scientist and diplomat Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) conceived the bifocal lens to accommodate the needs of people afflicted with both near-sightedness and far-sightedness. He achieved this by cutting a lens for near-sightedness in half and a lens for far-sightedness in half, then putting the two half-lenses together into a single frame. Before Franklin’s innovation, people with both afflictions needed two pairs of glasses, which they continually had to exchange depending on the viewing situation. With bifocals, it was necessary only to slightly reposition the head according to the viewing situation. Constantly changing glasses was no longer required.

The beginning of the 19th century (early 1800s) saw the introduction of cylindrical lenses for the correction of astigmatism. Astigmatism is a condition in which the eyeball is irregularly shaped. When the eyeball is perfectly round, incoming light is evenly bent, which is vital for clear vision. However, when the eyeball is not perfectly round, incoming light is bent unevenly, such that the image created in the eye is blurred.

Another style that was prominent during this time was “scissor spectacles” (spectacles is another name for eyeglasses). Some men didn’t enjoy wearing glasses full time, these were the answer: glasses that could be folded up on a hinge like a pair of scissors., stored in a pocket,   and taken out when needed.

As has frequently happened throughout history, important technologies such as eyeglasses initially benefitted mainly the rich and powerful. Then came the Industrial Revolution (early 1800s). Until machines began taking over the job, glasses were individually handcrafted and thus dramatically expensive. Mass production of both frames and lenses made glasses considerably cheaper, and therefore within the reach of the common people.

Also as has frequently happened throughout history, once an innovation became widespread, and thus “ordinary”, purchasers and manufacturers turned to thoughts of fashion and style. Frames with different shapes, materials, and colors became readily available for those who wanted glasses to match their face shape, eye color, and even clothing.

For example, U.S. President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt (1901–1909) helped popularize the pince-nez, a type of eyeglasses without branches to the ears. Rather, they are held in place with a nose clip (pince-nez = French for nose clip). This style of glasses was very popular in the early part of the 20th century. However, later in the century, it lost popularity when it began becoming associated with older generations.

Perhaps the greatest influence on style and fashion in eyeglasses in the early 20th century was the development and increasing availability of strong plastics. Since plastics could be molded into many different shapes and sizes, the restrictions caused by making frames from horn, metal, and wood no longer held sway.

The 20th century also saw the rise of sunglasses, which is a story in itself. So-called “sunglasses,” i.e., glasses with colored lenses, were already known in 12th-century China. However not to protect the wearer against the sun. Rather, they were used to obscure the eyes of judges to help them maintain impartiality during courtroom trials.

Other glasses with colored (tinted) lenses were developed over succeeding centuries, but once again not to protect against the sun. In the first decade of the 1900s, glasses with tinted lenses were used primarily to protect against light sensitivity caused by certain medical conditions. It was only at the end of the second decade of the century that tinted-lens glasses spread beyond medical applications. Starting in 1929, such glasses became mass-produced expressly to protect against solar rays, thus meriting the name “sunglasses.”

The 1980s saw the introduction of plastic lenses, which are lighter, thinner, and less breakable than glass lenses. This was a great boon to me, who had a correction for nearsightedness of -11 diopters. This measurement of vision is shown negatively. Zero diopter means no correction is required. My correction of -11 diopters was virtually off the scale. So you can imagine just how thick and weighty my glasses were and how much lighter they became when they could be made of plastic. Wow! What a relief!

Plastic lenses can also more easily be covered with special coatings to reduce glare and protect against the harmful effects of UV light. Again, what a relief!

Structure of Eyeglasses

By most definitions, eyeglasses consist of most or all nine fundamental parts, as per the American Academy of Ophthalmology:

  1. Lenses. Clear pieces of glass, plastic, or other materials are crafted to a person’s individual prescription to help the wearer see clearly.
  2. Rims. The parts that hold the two lenses.
  3. Bridge. The center of the frame rests on the nose and joins the two rims together.
  4. End pieces. Small parts on the frame extend outward to connect the lenses to the temples.
  5. Temples. Long arms on either side of the frame that fit over the wearer’s ears to hold the glasses in place.
  6. Hinges. Small pieces sit between the end pieces and the temples, allowing the glasses to be closed by folding the temples inward.
  7. Screws. Small metal fasteners near the hinges connect the end pieces to the temples.
  8. Nose pads. Round pieces under the bridge sit on the nose to give glasses a more comfortable and secure fit.
  9. Pad arms. Small pieces extend from the rim to hold the nose pads in place. In most cases, the arms are adjustable to fit the natural shape of the wearer’s face for the greatest comfort.

However, there are other types of seeing aids which, while not fitting this classic definition, are also considered to be glasses because they help improve vision.

For example, the monocole. The monocle is a single corrective lens used for only one eye. It was invented to help people with a visual deficiency in one eye and normal vision in the other. In use, it is held in place in front of the eye via pressure from the brow bone above and the cheekbone below. They are typically worn by near-sighted (long-sighted) people to magnify small texts for easier reading. Being attached to a small chain which in turn is attached to the user’s clothing, when not in use the monocle can be easily tucked away in a breast pocket or other convenient location, instantly ready for the next time it is needed.

Once quite popular, the monocle has largely fallen out of use (but not entirely), having been replaced mainly by the contact lens.

Contact lenses, those minuscule corrective lenses that are put directly into the eye, do not really qualify as eyeglasses according to the above definition because they are solely lenses. However, given their undeniable importance in correcting poor vision, it would be churlish not to give them a special mention in this blog. And perhaps later an entire blog devoted to this extraordinary ordinary technology.

Short History of Contact Lenses

Most people probably think of contact lenses as a rather modern innovation, certainly of the 20th century (1900s) and possibly even the latter half of the 20th century. To a certain degree, this is true, because it was only in the 20th that the materials, techniques, and tools for making and fitting contact lenses became commonplace. However, the concept of the contact lens and early attempts to make them are far older.

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), the Renaissance’s “man-of-all-things,” is frequently credited with introducing the idea of contact lenses in his 1508 Codex of the Eye. Although theoretically workable, at the time none of his ideas were practical; however, the seed had been sown.

René Descartes (1596-1650), another giant of the Renaissance, proposed a device for correcting vision consisting of a liquid-filled glass tube capped with a lens. Unfortunately, the idea proved impracticable since it would have required placing the device in direct contact with the eye’s cornea and thus would have made blinking impossible.

It was only in the 1880s that various technologies needed to make practical contact lenses became available. But not immediately. There was still a very long road to travel before contact lenses became commonplace—and even items of fashion.

Short History of Intraocular Lenses

Like the contact lenses with which most people are familiar, interocular lenses (IOL) are lenses placed directly into the eye, but with a fundamental difference. Instead of being placed over the eye’s natural lens, the IOL replaces the eye’s own internal lens as part of cataract surgery. The lens of the eye, also called the crystalline lens, is an important part of the eye’s structure that allows the eye to clearly focus on objects at varying distances.

Normally, the lens is clear and allows light to easily pass through. However, when cataracts develop, the lens becomes cloudy, leading to blurred vision and other visual disturbances. In cataract surgery, the eye’s natural lens is removed and replaced by an IOL.

As described in a 2023 article published by the American Acadamy of Ophthalmology:

An intraocular lens (or IOL) is a tiny, artificial lens for the eye. It replaces the eye’s natural lens that is removed during cataract surgery. The lens bends (refracts) light rays that enter the eye, helping you to see. Your lens should be clear. But if you have a cataract, your lens has become cloudy. Things look blurry, hazy, or less colorful with a cataract. Cataract surgery removes this cloudy lens and replaces it with a clear IOL to improve your vision.

IOLs come in different focusing powers, just like prescription eyeglasses or contact lenses. Your ophthalmologist will measure the length of your eye and the curve of your cornea. These measurements are used to set your IOLs focusing power . . . Most IOLs are made of silicone, acrylic, or other plastic compositions. They are also coated with a special material to help protect your eyes from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays.

The most common type of lens used with cataract surgery is called a monofocal IOL. It has one focusing distance. It is set to focus for up close, medium range, or distance vision. Most people have them set for clear distance- vision. Then they wear eyeglasses for reading or close work.

Some IOLs have different focusing powers within the same lens. These are called presbyopia-correcting IOLs. These IOLs reduce your dependence on glasses by giving you clear vision for more than one set distance. Multifocal IOLs provide both distance and near focus at the same time. The lens has different zones set at different powers.

I have a very personal history both contact lenses and interocular lenses. Because of my ugly, weighty, glass lenses to correct my extraordinary -9 diopters nearsightedness, when the first commercial contact lenses hit the market, I was eager to try them. My first attempt was discouraging. While correcting my near-sightedness, the lenses were unstable and kept moving around in my eyes. Every time an advancement was announced, I tried the new lenses with the same discouraging results.

Finally, some 20 years later, I tried a new type of contact lens. This time the lenses stayed in place in my eyes and caused no irritation. When I returned to my ophthalmologist after a two-week trial period, he took one look at my eyes and said, “I am going to immediately take these lenses away from you. They’re blocking all oxygen from getting into your eyes. If you continue to wear them, within six months you will be blind.” I was crushed. This was the last attempt with contact lenses I ever made.

Many years later, I developed cataracts and had to be operated on to have them removed. At the same time, as was standard practice, the surgeon removed my natural lenses and replaced them with IOLs The difference was astounding. I didn’t regain perfect vision, but my nearsightedness had been reduced from a mind-boggling -9 diopers to -3 diopters. This could be easily corrected with considerably less weighty and more comfortable eyeglasses. The heavy, ugly, and distorting glasses I had endured for decades could be thrown away and never thought of again. Wow, what a relief!

Alternative Terms for Eyeglasses

It is odd that given their incalculable impact on society, in English eyeglasses have given rise to hardly any idiomatic expression. The only one of any note is “to see the world through rose-colored glasses,” meaning to see things as we wish them to be rather than as they really are.

On the other hand, eyeglasses have given rise to numerous terms, both for the objects themselves and the people who wear them. The most common alternative for eyeglasses is simply “glasses.” Other examples include:

  • Cheaters; cheap reading glasses.
  • Clout-goggles; trendy, oversized glasses
  • Coke-bottle lenses; extremely thick lenses reminiscent of the bottom of Coca-Cola bottles when the soft drink was still sold mainly in glass bottles. The type of lenses I wore before my cataract operations.
  • Eye-catchers; fashionable glasses.
  • Eye-jewels; expensive, high-end, luxury glasses
  • Four-eyes; an unflattering term for eyeglass wearers.
  • Goggles; protective glasses. Also slang for exceptionally thick glasses
  • Lookers; stylish glasses
  • Nerd glasses; glasses with little or no esthetic qualities worn by someone who has little or no interest in fashion or style, e.g. a nerd
  • Shades; sunglasses
  • Specs; short for spectacles, a generally accepted neutral alternative name for eyeglasses. The word spectacles derives from the Latin spectare, meaning to observe or look at.
  • Sunnies; a casual term for sunglasses.
  • Visors; wrap-around sports glasses.

Quotations About Glasses

You can often gain unexpected insights into a topic by looking at what people say about it. Here are several pithy quotations about eyeglasses that prove the point.

“A celebrity is a person who works hard all of their life to become well known, and then wears dark glasses to avoid being recognized.”—Fred Allen

“It never gets old watching someone receive their first pair of glasses and regain their vision and their life.”—Neil Blumenthal

“Being sick feels like you’re wearing someone else’s glasses.”—Megan Boyle

“Love at first sight? Let me just put on my glasses.”—Ljupka Cvetanova

“People have a tendency to see country life through rose-colored glasses.”—P. J. Harvey

“Don’t call the world dirty because you forgot to clean your glasses.”—Aaron Hill

“May we always see life through love-coloured glasses.”—Kamand Kojouri

“When people think about computer science, they imagine people with pocket protectors and thick glasses who code all night.”—Marissa Mayer

“12 percent of people with glasses wear them in an attempt to see better. 88 percent of people with glasses wear them as an attempt to appear smarter.”—Mokokoma Mokhonoana

“Everybody comes with prejudices, colored glasses on their eyes. Then they see everything colored according to their glasses. Yes, a few people come just like you, unprejudiced, without any idea gathered from yellow journalism”—Osho

“The greatest magnifying glasses in the world are a man’s own eyes when they look upon his own person.”—Alexander Pope

“If you had weak eyes, they needed exercises to get strong. Glasses were like crutches. They prevented people with feeble eyes from seeing the world on their own.”—Jeannette Walls

“With the right glasses, a girl can conquer the world.”—Unattributed

“Life’s too short to wear boring glasses.”—Unattributed

The pièce de résistance must certainly be the humorous little poem by Dorothy Parker, published in 1926 under the title “News Item.” It counsels that:

Men seldom make passes
At girls who wear glasses

The eyewear industry would certainly argue that a lot has changed over the 98 years since it was first published due to the introduction of high-fashion glasses and contact lenses. The poem has also inspired numerous satirical rephrasings. For example, in 1931 famed journalist and gossip columnist Walter Winchell noted: “It is Dorothy Parker’s theory that men never make passes at girls who wear glasses. David Murray queries “but how about girls who empty ’em?”

Another version of this same thought is: “Men often make passes at girls who drain glasses. Still another version is “Men always make passes at girls who drain glasses.”

I have no reference for it, but certainly, some enterprising eyeglasses retailer somewhere must recast the line to read, “Men most certainly make passes at girls who wear our glasses.”

Eyeglasses and Computers

As noted at the beginning of this EOT essay, the design, production, distribution, and sale of virtually any mass-produced product of any kind involves the use of computers all along the supply chain. The way computers are used at these different stages can be highly complex, depending on the nature of the product and the nature of the end users (purchasers).

Why? Because of all the myriad products we use every day, few are custom-manufactured. Mass manufacturing is vital to ensure that the products we want are available when we want them, where we want them, and at an affordable price. Eyewear not only defies this general pattern. They run virtually counter to it.

You can of course buy certain types of eyewear off the shelf, such as reading glasses and sunglasses. However, if you have a serious vision problem, or need eyewear to use for a specific purpose, then custom manufacturing is the only way to go.

Custom-made eyewear, because it is custom-made, is more expensive than mass-produced eyewear. But not outrageously so. And today less costly than they used to be due to the influence of computers and computer technology at virtually every stage of their design and production.

At their heart, all types of eyeglasses (conventional lenses, contact lenses, intraocular lenses) do essentially the same thing. They refract (bend) the rays of light coming into your eye so that they focus precisely on the retina, instead of in front or or in back of the retina, which is what causes nearsighteness or farsightedness. Eyeglasses correct such misalignments.

For best results, the corrective lenses must be tailor-made for each patient. The technology behind tailor-made (prescription) eyewear therefore involves precise measurement of refractive errors in the eye and precise creation of lenses with the specific optical properties needed to correct refractive errors. The need for highly accurate, individually tailored lenses at affordable prices implies the use of computers and computing technology at every stage of the process. For example:

  • Eye examination
    An eye examination is conducted by an optometrist or ophthalmologist during which the eye care professional assesses the refractive error (distortion) in each eye, using sophisticated computer-based equipment to determine the prescription needed for the corrective lenses.
  • Lens manufacturing
    Once the prescription has been determined, the lens or lenses are custom-manufactured to each individual patient’s precise prescription. Modern lens manufacturing involves sophisticated, computer-based technologies and processes such as grinding and polishing.
  • Lens coating
    Anti-reflective, scratch-resistant, and UV-protection coatings may be applied to the lenses to enhance visual comfort and lens durability.
  • Bifocals and progressive lenses
    Some people need different corrections for distance and near vision. This used to require two different glasses. Today, bifocals (two lenses melded together as one) or progressive lenses (a single lens that allows smooth transition from near and distance vision) correct for both near and distant vision in a single lens.

The use of computer technology for the design and use of contact lenses and intraocular lenses is much more sophisticated and painstaking than for conventional glasses. Why? Because unlike conventional lenses, which are located away from the eye, contact lenses actually touch the eye (hence the name “contact”), while intraocular lenses are installed directly inside the eye (hence the name “intraocular”). Thus, while errors in making conventional eyewear can be easily corrected (simply make a new pair), errors in contact lenses and intraocular lenses cannot be so easily corrected—and can cause irreparable damage.

I need only refer to my personal experience with contact lenses, which my ophthalmologist assured me would render me blind if I didn’t give them up. Which, with great regret, I of course did. However, if something goes wrong with an intraocular lens, it is generally necessary to undergo surgery to correct the fault. Quite a different story!

Practicality of  Computer Glasses

If you grew up in the 1950s, you probably remember your parents telling you not to sit too close to the television screen because it would hurt your eyes. However since TV screens then were about the size of a postage stamp, there really wasn’t much choice.

When screens got bigger, TV transmissions also turned to color. So parents began to tell their children not to spend too much time in front of the television screen because it would hurt their eyes.

Today, many people spend enormous amounts of time in front of a computer screen. So the question is: Will spending too much time in front of a computer screen damage eyesight?

To date, there is no scientific evidence to support such a hypothesis. However, people who spend too much time in front of a computer screen may experience a certain amount of discomfort generally known as eye strain. The easiest way to avoid these symptoms is to periodically look away from the screen to give your eyes some rest.

Increasing numbers of intensive computer users are turning to so-called “computer glasses”. These are glasses specifically designed to filter out blue light coming from the screen and are hypothesized to possibly do long-term damage to the eye (again with no real evidence to support the hypothesis).

Increasing numbers of people who spend long hours in front of a computer screen resort to wearing so-called “computer glasses”.

Such glasses are designed to filter out blue light from computers, smartphones, and tablets are becoming increasingly popular. Overexposure to blue light is claimed to cause a number of problems, e.g. eye strain, sleep cycle disruption, and even blinding eye diseases.

Without going to such extremes, computer glasses do have generally recognized pros and cons.

Pros of Using Computer Glasses

  • Fitted to your prescription
    If you are already either near-sighted (short-sighted) or far-sighted (long-sighted), computer glasses can be made to fit your prescription. Doing so relieves muscle tension in the eye and around the muscles outside the eye.
  • Improve your vision
    The magnifying power of the glasses makes text easier to read. Since your eyes don’t have to work as hard, reducing the effect of strain, your vision may slowly start to improve. Thus, if you spend a lot of time in front of your computer screen and you are worried about your vision degrading, wearing computer glasses can help slow (and even reverse) the decline.
  • Improve general health
    Blue light can disturb your circadian rhythm and can affect your sleep cycles, which is why doctors recommend staying away from computer screens near bedtime. Since computer glasses filter out blue light, they can help you get a better night’s sleep.
  • Reduce glare and reflections
    Glare and reflections from computer screens can decrease visual acuity. Most computer glasses feature an anti-glare or anti-reflective coating tp minimize the problem. In particular, they help the wearer see the screen more clearly, thus reducing eyestrain and headaches.

Cons of Using Computer Glasses

  • Expense
    While it is possible to buy generic computer glasses with approximately your best corrective prescription—as it is with ordinary eyeglasses—when buying computer glasses specifically designed and manufactured to your precise corrective prescription (such as correcting for astigmatism), be prepared to pay the price. If you really need them, then they are worth the cost. If you don’t really need them, then they aren’t worth the cost.
  • Finding the right fit
    As with other glasses, it can be difficult to find computer glasses with the right fit. This is especially true if you don’t already wear glasses because chances are you won’t know what will give you the best look, and more importantly the greatest comfort when you are using them. Bear in mind that even if you already wear regular glasses, computer glasses are somewhat different and may require a different prescription and frame for best results.
  • Difficult to keep clean
    If you currently wear conventional glasses, then you already know that they require a certain amount of maintenance. It’s not just about dirt or grime. Dust can build up on the lenses overnight. They can also get dirty if you have oily skin or wear makeup. These of course are not insurmountable obstacles. But if you don’t really need computer glasses, they can be extremely annoying.

Smart Glasses

It has been the premise of this essay that eyeglasses, whatever form they take, serve two essential purposes: 1) correct faulty vision (near-sightedness, far-sightedness, astigmatism, etc.), and 2) protect good vision (sunglasses, computer glasses). In recent years, a third purpose has been added—to improve vision in order to see things that previously couldn’t be seen.

This is the basic function of “smart glasses” (computer display glasses). Smart glasses came on the scene in the early 1990s when computer visionaries began developing the concept of wearable computers. Instead of users having to look at a separate screen to access digital information, the screen would be put on the user’s nose and would be able to display digital information directly into the user’s field of vision.

Consistent with the technology of the time, these pioneering early smart glasses were rudimentary in what they could display, bulky in design, and uncomfortable to wear. These fundamental faults of the 1990s have been largely overcome, such that the use of smart glasses has dramatically expanded.

For example, today an aircraft maintenance technician can call up an overlay display of a specific module and get visual guidance for locating parts, troubleshooting, and replacing defective parts. There are also online gamers who play using augmented reality (virtual reality) glasses for this challenging, rapid-action pursuit. AR glasses are a specialized form of small glasses capable of overlaying characters and scenes in the real world.

The very popular video game Pokemon GO has a version adapted to the use of AR glasses. Although Pokemon GO was originally designed to be played on a smartphone, it is now possible to use AR glasses to enhance the experience, both while using physical AR glasses for playing on a large computer screen and “virtual AR glasses” for playing on a smartphone. In this latter case, when the player turns on the smartphone’s camera, the screen shows both what the camera is actually seeing together with Pokemon characters overlaid onto the display. No physical virtual AR glasses are required.