StemCell Therapy

Title Length Color Rating Use of Blindness in Oedipus the King - Sophocles has been known for using his plays not merely to entertain his audience, but to deliver a message too. Out of all of the important lessons in his plays, Wisdom stands out as the most impact full. After all, "No law or ordinance is mightier than understanding"(Plato 1/2). In the play Oedipus the King, Sophocles uses the blindness of Teriesias, Jocasta, and Oedipus to point out how understanding is far greater than vision alone. In the play Oedipus the King, Sophocles use the blindness of Teiresias to point out the great power behind wisdom and understand.... [tags: Oedipus Rex, Sophocles] :: 5 Works Cited 914 words (2.6 pages) Better Essays [preview] Theme of Blindness in Sophocles' Oedipus the King - Theme of Blindness in Sophocles' Oedipus the King Sophocles?s play, ?Oedipus the King. is one of the most well known of the Greek tragedies. The play?s interesting plot, along with the incredible way it is written are only two of the many reasons why two thousand years later, it is still being read and viewed. For those who are not familiar with the story of ?Oedipus the King?, it is written about the results of a curse put on King Oedipus which claims that he will murder his father and marry his mother.... [tags: Oedipus King Plays Sophocles] 760 words (2.2 pages) Better Essays [preview] Blindness and Sight in Oedipus the King - Lack of Vision - Blindness in Oedipus the King People can be blinded to the truth. The answer to their question or solution to their problem may have been obvious. Yet, they could not "see" the answer. They were blinded to the truth. Associations have been made between being blind and enlightened. A blind person is said to have powers to see invisible things. They "see" into the future. The blind may not have physical sight, but they have another kind of vision. In Sophocles' King Oedipus, Teiresias, the blind prophet, presents the truth to King Oedipus and Jocasta.... [tags: Oedipus the King Oedipus Rex] 981 words (2.8 pages) FREE Essays [view] Sight vs. Blindness in Oedipus the King - Ancient Greeks cared deeply about the pursuit of knowledge. Although the truth was often a terrifying concept, they still saw it as a critical virtue. One of the main underlying themes in Oedipus the King is the struggle of sight vs. blindness. Oedipus blindness is not just physical blindness, but intellectual blindness as well. Sophocles has broken blindness into two distinct components. The first component, Oedipus's ability to "see" (ignorance or lack thereof), is a physical characteristic.... [tags: Oedipus Rex, Sophocles] 459 words (1.3 pages) FREE Essays [view] Blindness and Sight - Lack of Vision in Oedipus The King - Blindness in Oedipus The King (Rex) What is sight. Is it just the ability to recognize ones surroundings or is there more. Is it knowledge. Is it understanding. Can a blind man see. Can the sighted be blind. And beyond, when the truth is too terrible, do we choose not to see. The phrase "too see" has so very many connotations. One meaning is to know or to understand and the other is based on the physical aspects of things. As humans, we are distracted by the physical world, which causes us to be blinded by the most obvious of truths.... [tags: Oedipus the King Oedipus Rex] 922 words (2.6 pages) Better Essays [preview] Blindness in Oedipus the King - The blind man sees and the seeing man is blind. To what extent is this true in Oedipus the King. To be wise is to suffer. Throughout this play we see that after Oedipus suffers and loses his eyesight it is only then he is able to seek the truth. When we are first introduced to Oedipus, he is a strong leader who is thoroughly respected by the people of Thebes. O greatest of men. Oedipus was the saviour of Thebes 15 years before he solved the riddle of the Sphinx which freed the city from the plague and death.... [tags: Oedipus Rex, Sophocles] 441 words (1.3 pages) FREE Essays [view] Blindness and Sight - Irony and Lack of Vision in Oedipus the King - The Irony of Blindness in Oedipus The King Is there a single definition of what it is "to see". I can see the table, I can see your point, I see the real you, I don't see what you're saying. Sometimes the blind can "see" more than the sighted. During a scary movie or a horrific event, people may cover their eyes, choosing not to see the truth. As human beings, we often become entrenched in the material world, becoming oblivious to and unable to see the most apparent truths. Oedipus, the main character in Sophocles' play Oedipus Rex, could not see the truth, but the blind man, Teiresias, "saw" it plainly.... [tags: Oedipus the King Oedipus Rex] 911 words (2.6 pages) FREE Essays [view] Blindness In Oedipus The King - Blindness plays a two-fold part in Sophocles’ tragedy “Oedipus the King.'; First, Sophocles presents blindness as a physical disability affecting the auger Teiresias, and later Oedipus; but later, blindness comes to mean an inability to see the evil in one’s actions and the consequences that ensue. The irony in this lies in the fact that Oedipus, while gifted with sight, is blind to himself, in contrast to Teiresias, blind physically, but able to see the evil to which Oedipus has fallen prey to.... [tags: essays research papers] 717 words (2 pages) Unrated Essays [preview] Shame, Equality, and Blindness: Oedipus the King by Sophocles - Throughout Sophocles Oedipus the King, shame, equality, and blindness are all themes presented. Tiresias, a blind prophet attempts to convince King Oedipus that he has lived a shameful life by bringing light to the truth that Oedipus had no idea who his real parents are, and that he himself is the one who killed Laius. Tiresias, though blind, can clearly see the truth and shame that Oedipus lives in, while Oedipus, though he can see, is blind to the shameful truth he has brought upon himself and his family.... [tags: tiresias, unknown, Truth] :: 1 Works Cited 1201 words (3.4 pages) Strong Essays [preview] Blindness and Sight in Oedipus the King - In the play Oedipus the King by Sophocles, Oedipus's sight of mind continues to diminish throughout the play. While he first appears on stage as the all-knowing, honorable king, this image begins to unravel as information about his past and the murder of Laius is revealed. Oedipus loses sight of his purpose, instead choosing to shun the aid of Teiresias the blind prophet and of the gods when he is presented with startling and confusing possibilities. It is not until the entire truth is revealed to him and he gouges out his own eyes with the gold pins of his wife and mother that Oedipus if able to regain full insight and appreciation of the bitter, cursed world.... [tags: Oedipus Rex, Sophocles] 611 words (1.7 pages) Better Essays [preview] Blindness and Sight - Sight Versus Insight in Oedipus the King (Oedipus Rex) - Sight Versus Insight in Oedipus the King "Anyone who has common sense will remember that the bewilderments of the eye are of two kinds, and arise from two causes, either from coming out of the light or from going into the light,which is true of the mind's eye, quite as much as the bodily eye; and he who remembers this when he sees anyone whose vision is perplexed and weak, will not be too ready to laugh; he will ask whether that soul of man has come out of the brighter life, and is unable to see because unaccustomed to the dark, or having turned from darkness to the day is dazzled by excess light.... [tags: Oedipus the King Oedipus Rex] :: 6 Works Cited 1344 words (3.8 pages) Strong Essays [preview] Blindness, Sight and Eyes in Sophocles' Oedipus The King - The Deeper Meaning of Sight and Eyes in Sophocles' Oedipus The King In Sophocles' play, "Oedipus The King," the continuous references to eyes and sight possess a much deeper meaning than the literal message. These allusions are united with several basic underlying themes. The story contains common Ancient Greek philosophies, including those of Plato and Parmenides, which are often discussed and explained during such references. A third notion is the punishment of those who violate the law of the Gods.... [tags: Oedipus the King Oedipus Rex] :: 1 Works Cited 677 words (1.9 pages) Better Essays [preview] The Portrayal of Blindness in The Outsider and Oedipus the King - The Portrayal of Blindness in The Outsider and Oedipus the King A primitive motif in Oedipus the King by Sophocles and The Outsider by Albert Camus is blindness. The protagonists in the novels are blinded to a personal truth, and are physically blinded as well. In The Outsider, Meursaults blindness is metaphorical, as he is negligent to his own absurdity, which he later becomes categorized as. On the other hand, Oedipuss blindness is literal, as he is ignorant to the truth of his life; and the fact that he is incapable of escaping the destiny that the Gods have set out for him, which resulted in him gorging his eyes out.... [tags: Sophocles, Albert Camus] :: 2 Works Cited 1059 words (3 pages) Strong Essays [preview] Blindness and Sight - Lack of Vision in Oedipus the King - Parental Blindness in King Lear As Shakespeare presents to us a tragic pattern of parental and filial love, in which a prosperous man is devested of power and finally recognises his "folly", empathy is induced in the audience. In "King Lear", it is noted from the beginning of the play that both Lear and Gloucester suffer from self-approbation and will consequently find revelation by enduring "the rack of this tough world". While Lear mistakenly entrusts the shallow professions of love from his "thankless" daughters - Goneril and Regan - instead of the selfless words of Cordelia, Gloucester shadows a similar ignorance by initially entrusting love in the evil Edmund, rather than Edgar, whom... [tags: King Lear essays] 972 words (2.8 pages) FREE Essays [view] Oedipus the King by Sopohocles - Oedipus the King by Sopohocles Works Cited Not Included Throughout the play, Oedipus the King, Sophocles refers to site and blindness to relate attitudes and knowledge of the past. The irony of sight in this play can be marked by Oedipus inability to realize that which is evident to the reader. His extreme pride is his tragic flaw. It blinds him from the truth. Oedipus blinding himself symbolizes his increase of knowledge, his sensitivity, and gives him the ability to finally "see". He is now able to see the flaws of his hubris attitude, and the consequences of which his pride brought to him.... [tags: Oedipus King Sophocles Essays] 1579 words (4.5 pages) Powerful Essays [preview] Sight And Blindess Of Oedipus The King - Oedipus the King by Sophocles was a play written after a devastating plague struck the city of Athens in 430 B.C. The play is about how knowledge can lead to devastation and destruction based on how the characters find out the truth of the Delphic Oracle. Years before Oedipus became the king of Thebes, the previous king, Laius, had received a prophecy that his son would grow up to kill his father. With this information he gave his baby son to a sheperd to dispose of him. Years later Laius is murdered and the Sphinx emerges and locks down the city by refusing to let anybody enter or leave the city unless they can solve her riddle.... [tags: Sophocles Oedipus] 1468 words (4.2 pages) Better Essays [preview] Oedipus' Blindness and Self Discovery Illustrated in Sophocles Oedipus - From the very beginning of Oedipus, one can see that the main character of Oedipus is very sure about who he is and where he has come from. One of the most important motifs of the story is the idea of metaphorical blindness, and how Oedipus claims that everyone else around him is blind, and he is the only one that can see. However, what Oedipus soon finds out is that he has no idea who he is, and that all along he has been blind himself. Sophocles makes Oedipus suffer because of the fact that he actually has no idea who he is, and almost avoids figuring it out.... [tags: oedipus] 828 words (2.4 pages) Better Essays [preview] Sophocles' Clever Use of Dramatic Irony in Oedipus the King - Dramatic irony depends on the audiences knowing something that the character does not, and in this play the audience knows Oedipus faith before he knows it himself. In this play there are several parts where Sophocles conveys his plot through dramatic irony. Dramatic irony underlines how partial human perceptive can be even when it is most reasonable and how agonizing it can be to be the costs of the misinterpretation, in some sense foreseeable. Dramatic irony is also use by Sophocles to make the audience feel their taken part of the play knowing the fate of the main character, making the audience wait in suspense wanting to know how Oedipus would react to his fate.... [tags: Oedipus the King] 840 words (2.4 pages) Better Essays [preview] The Punishment of Oedipus the King (Oedipus Rex) - The Punishment of Oedipus the King At the end of Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, Oedipus, king of Thebes, ends up banished forever from his kingdom. Additionally, Oedipus physically puts out his own eyes, for several reasons which will be discussed later. The question is: Did Oedipus deserve his punishments. There are many factors that must be considered in answering this, including how Oedipus himself felt about his situation. His blinding was as much symbolic as it was physical pain.... [tags: Oedipus the King Oedipus Rex] 1180 words (3.4 pages) FREE Essays [view] The Arrogance and Hubris of Oedipus and Creon - In Antigone, Ismene says, To them that walk in power; to exceed is madness, and not wisdom. Her statement makes it clear, those who walk in power, allow it to corrupt them. Throughout the history of humanity there has been a correlation between those who have excessive power and corruption. Websters Dictionary defines corruption as, impairment of integrity, virtue, or moral principle. In the story of Antigone the tragic hero Creon, shows all of the common characteristics of corruption.... [tags: Oedipus and Creon] :: 4 Works Cited 721 words (2.1 pages) Unrated Essays [preview] The Pride of Sophocles' Oedipus The King - The Pride of Sophocles' Oedipus The King Greek tragedy is characterized by the emotional catharsis brought about by the horrific suffering of a heroic figure. In Oedipus The King, by Sophocles, the onslaught of pain assailing the protagonist is a result of his tragic flaw. Sophocles often used a characters hamartia to alter or influence the outcome or future of the hero. Oedipus' hubris traps him to fulfil the oracle and intensifies his punishment. Oedipus' pride is an innate characteristic.... [tags: Oedipus the King Oedipus Rex] :: 1 Works Cited 1434 words (4.1 pages) Powerful Essays [preview] The Cruel Transformation in Oedipus the King - The Cruel Transformation in Oedipus the King When we look in the mirror, do we see what other people see or do we see what we delude ourselves into believing is the truth? Self-realization is a complicated concept, one which many Greek dramatists used in order to clarify the themes of their tragedies. In Oedipus the King, Sophocles ties Oedipus journey to self-realization with the main theme of the story. As Oedipus slowly begins to realize his true self, he transforms from a proud and heroic king into a tyrant in denial into a scared, condemned man, humbled by his tragic fate. In the beginning, Oedipus is portrayed as a confident, powerful hero. His bravery and worth ar... [tags: Oedipus the King Oedipus Rex] :: 4 Works Cited 1302 words (3.7 pages) Better Essays [preview] Irony in Oedipus the King - Irony in Oedipus the King When Sophocles wrote Oedipus the King, he knew that his audience would have some idea as to the outcome, his tale being a Greek tragedy which follows a strict form. Not wanting to write a predictable, bland play, Sophocles used this knowledge to his advantage and created various situations in which dramatic irony plays a key role. Dramatic irony is present when the tragic truth is revealed to the audience before it is revealed to the characters within the story.... [tags: Oedipus the King Oedipus Rex] :: 3 Works Cited 972 words (2.8 pages) Strong Essays [preview] Freud and Sophocles' Oedipus Tyrannus - Were we to temporarily embrace the theories of Freud in our analysis of Oedipus Tyrannus and subsequent plays, we would find ourselves with an incestuous protagonist, so mad in his quest to power that he seeks to kill his father and will stop at nothing to achieve this. It is where Freud misconstrues the very essence of the play that the audience is intended to find its meaning. Were Oedipus aware of his actions throughout the course of the story there would have been no story. Never once was he in the conscious pursuit of his fathers death or mothers marriage bed, and upon hearing of his own actions falls into crippling despair.... [tags: Oedipus Tyrannus] 739 words (2.1 pages) Better Essays [preview] Free Oedipus the King Essays: Metamorphosis of Oedipus - Metamorphosis of Oedipus in Oedipus Rex (the King) The metamorphosis of Oedipus in Sophocles' "Oedipus Rex" is sudden and climactic. Sophocles wrote the tragedy to bring a certain moral conclusion to fruition by the end of the novel. To have change, the character of Oedipus first had to reveal his tragic flaw. He begins the story as a brilliant conqueror and becomes a bereft and blind man at the play's surface. However, the moral of the play is not merely the consequences of attempting to circumvent one's fate.... [tags: Oedipus the King Oedipus Rex] 517 words (1.5 pages) FREE Essays [view] tragoed Oedipus the King (Oedipus Rex) and Greek Tragedy - Oedipus Rex as a Great Greek Tragedy The reader is told in Aristotle's Poetics that tragedy "arouses the emotions of pity and fear, wonder and awe" (The Poetics 10). To Aristotle, the best type of tragedy involves reversal of a situation, recognition from a character, and suffering. The plot has to be complex, and a normal person should fall from prosperity to misfortune due to some type of mistake. Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles, is a great example of a Greek tragedy. Its main plot is Oedipus' goal to find out his true identity, the result being his downfall by finding out he has married his own mother and killed his father.... [tags: Oedipus the King Oedipus Rex] :: 4 Works Cited 1016 words (2.9 pages) Strong Essays [preview] Oedipus the King: Fate and Free Will - Tragedy is an imitation, not of men, but of action and life, of happiness and misery (Milch 12). This statement by Aristotle reflects the ideas portrayed in the play Oedipus Rex. Written by Sophocles, Oedipus Rex is a play which combines tragedy with irony to tell a story of a noble king who falls short of his greatness. The play was written around 430 BC and originally intended for an Athenian audience. They considered Sophocles their most successful playwright and consequently, his works continued to be valued highly throughout the Greek world long after his death.... [tags: Oedipus the King, Oedipus Rex 2014] :: 4 Works Cited 2547 words (7.3 pages) Powerful Essays [preview] Oedipus the King - The Character Transformations of Oedipus - Oedipus the King - The Character Transformations of Oedipus Through the character of Oedipus, Sophocles shows the consequences of defying the divine order. Oedipus served Thebes as a great ruler, loved by his subjects; but, like most in the human race, he slipped through the cracks of perfection. Oedipus had many faults, but it was primarily the tragic flaw of hubris, arrogance from excessive pride, which doomed his existence, regardless of the character attributes that made him such a beloved king.... [tags: Oedipus King Oedipus Rex Essays Papers] :: 5 Works Cited 1236 words (3.5 pages) Strong Essays [preview] The Downfall and Destruction of a King in the Play, Oedipus the King - The Downfall of a King in the Play, Oedipus the King I found the tragedy of "Oedipus the King" to be quite interesting. It was not as hard to read as an epic. "The purpose of tragedy is to arouse the emotions of pity and fear and thus to produce in the audience a catharsis of these emotions." (p488, A Handbook of Literature) A tragedy has more drama and builds to the climax. Oedipus' fate was set into motion by the circumstances he created himself because of his own rashness and arrogance. This is called an inciting incident.... [tags: Oedipus the King Oedipus Rex] 1641 words (4.7 pages) FREE Essays [view] An Intellectual and Emotional Response to Oedipus the King - An Intellectual and Emotional Response to Oedipus the King While reading the play Oedipus the King, my response to the work became more and more clear as the play continued. When I finished the play, my reaction to the work and to two particular characters was startling and very different from my response while I was still reading. My initial response was to the text, and it was mostly an intellectual one. I felt cheated by the play because the challenge of solving the mystery of the plot was spoiled for me by the obvious clues laid out in the work.... [tags: Oedipus the King Oedipus Rex] :: 1 Works Cited 1214 words (3.5 pages) FREE Essays [view] Tragic Flaws in Oedipus the King - Oedipus the King, Sophocles classical Greek tragedy, presents tragic flaw(s) as the cause of the near-total destruction of the life of the protagonist. This essay examines that flaw. In his essay Sophoclean Tragedy Friedrich Nietzsche agrees that there is an error within the protagonist, but refrains from specifying exactly what it is: The most pathetic figure of the Greek theatre, the unfortunate Oedipus, Sophocles takes to be a noble man called to error and alienation in spite of his wisdom, yet called too, in the end, through monstrous suffering, to radiate a magic power rich in a blessing which works even after he passes on.... [tags: Oedipus the King Essays] :: 12 Works Cited 3574 words (10.2 pages) Powerful Essays [preview] Oedipus The King by Sophocles - Oedipus the King by Sophocles is the story of a man who was destined to kill his father and marry his mother. The ancient Greeks believed that their gods decided what would ultimately happen to each and every person.Man was free to choose and was ultimately held responsible for his own actions. Both the concept of fate and free will played an important part in Oedipus' destruction. Although he was a victim of fate, he was not controlled by it. Oedipus was destined from birth to someday marry his mother and to murder his father.... [tags: Oedipus King Sophocles] 1284 words (3.7 pages) FREE Essays [view] The True Vision of Blindness in Oedipus Rex by Sophocles - People may be blinded to truth, and may not realize what truth is, even if truth is standing in front of them. They will never see truth becase they are blind to it. In Oedipus Rex by Sophocles it is easy to see how blindness affects the transition of the story. It is said that blind people see in a different manner because they sense the world in a totally diferent way, such as Teiresias in the play. Oedipus Rex is a tragedy due to the content the Sophocles, the playwright, decided to include, first, murdering his father, king Laius, then marrying his mother, Jocasta, and ending by blinding himself.... [tags: Literary Analysis, Analytical Essay] 973 words (2.8 pages) Strong Essays [preview] Concepts Of Sight in Sophocles Play Oedipus - Concepts Of Sight in Sophocles Play Oedipus The concept of sight is one of the major motifs throughout Sophocles play Oedipus the King. The play revolves primarily around series of events caused by many peoples insight or lack there of. Oedipus does not see that he is caught up in a web of cruel destiny that he cannot escape. The gods demonstrate foresight and insight into the play. In addition to this, Tiresias has physical blindness but also has prophetic insight. Finally, both Oedipus and Jocasta portray types of mental blindness and shortsightedness.... [tags: Sophocles Oedipus King Essays] 1334 words (3.8 pages) Strong Essays [preview] tragoed Free Essay: Oedipus the King (Oedipus Rex) as a Greek Tragedy - Oedipus the King as a Greek Tragedy The Greek tragedy, Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles (496-406 B.C.), adheres to Aristotles (384-322 B.C.) definition of a tragedy. The first criterion of a Greek tragedy is that the protagonist be a good person; doubly blessed with a good heart and noble intention. Sophocles reveals immediately at the start of the play that Oedipus is such a man. As is common in the Greek tragedy Oedipus is also an aristocrat. Born of the King and Queen of Thebes he is of true nobility.... [tags: Oedipus the King Oedipus Rex] 1603 words (4.6 pages) FREE Essays [view] Oedipus And Blindness Imagery - In the story of Oedipus the king, Sophocles beautifully demonstrates the imagery of sight versus blindness through the use of tragedy and ignorance. Oedipus is ignorant to his own incest, therefore causing the first instance of his blindness. The second instance of Oedipus blindness is the ignorance of his true parents identity. The third instance of Oedipus blindness is a literal one, in which he physically blinds himself after finding the body of his mother, or wife. Sophocles utilizes his skill of creating a tragic character by showing Oedipus as blind on multiple levels, all the while being unaware of his blindness until the end.... [tags: essays research papers] 505 words (1.4 pages) Unrated Essays [preview] Dramatic Irony in Sophocles' Oedipus the King - Dramatic Irony in Sophocles' Oedipus the King Oedipus the King is a Greek tragedy written by Sophocles. Sophocles knowing that his audience is aware of the outcome of the play utilizes that knowledge to create various situations in which dramatic irony play key roles. Dramatic irony is when the audience knows the tragic truth before the characters do. Through his use of irony Sophocles manages to avoid retelling an old tale, though the audience is cognizant of the story's end they are intrigued by the irony present in the story. Sophocles made liberal use of irony.... [tags: Oedipus King Oedipus Rex Essays Papers] 967 words (2.8 pages) Strong Essays [preview] Vision and Blindness In Oedipus Tyrannus by Sophocles - The play Oedipus Tyrannus, written by Sophocles, is a play filled with symbols and irony involving the aspect of both vision and blindness. This aspect of the novel takes on an important role in the life of Oedipus, the ruler of Thebes. He originally feels as though he knows and sees everything, nevertheless, as the motto of the Oracle at Delphi states, he does not "know thyself," as he will find out toward the end of the play. The notion of seeing and blindness becomes an important and ironic symbol in the tragic fall of Oedipus, a man who could not escape his lot or moira.... [tags: Oedipus Rex Essays] 670 words (1.9 pages) Unrated Essays [preview] Destiny, Fate, Free Will and Free Choice in Oedipus the King - The Paradox of Free Will - A Paradox: Oedipus's Free will in the Play Oedipus Rex William Shakespeare once wrote, "Who can control his fate?" (Othello, Act v, Sc.2).A hero and leader must acknowledge above all else his honor, and the pride of his image. In ancient Greek beliefs, a hero was a man who stood taller than the rest; he was able to better any conflict. He did this not for himself or for any token award that may be given to him, but for the security of his fellow man. Physical strength and superior wit are the two major characteristics of a hero. These characteristics may be destined; but the use of them to help his fellow man is will. Sophocles's short play Oedipus Rex is a tale of a hero's ascent t... [tags: Oedipus the King Oedipus Rex] 1309 words (3.7 pages) Strong Essays [preview] Oedipus the King by Sophocles - Oedipus the King, was a play by Sophocles, it takes place in the city of Thebes. The city swept with a plague, it was just like the one in Athens (Kennedy 710). The plague encourages Oedipus to find and exile the man who murdered Laios, the former king. Throughout the play Oedipus portrays his ignorance and innocence, but then he begins to question his upbringings and realizes the truth about his life. ...Oedipus gets his name through a complex pun. Odia means to know (from the root vid-, see), pointing to the tales contrasting themes of sight and blindness, wisdom and ignorance (Kennedy 710).... [tags: thebes, plague, athens] :: 1 Works Cited 1053 words (3 pages) Strong Essays [preview] Oedipus the King: The Tragic Flaws Of Oedipus - The ancient Greeks were fond believers of Fate. Fate, defined according to Websters, is the principle or determining cause or will by which things in general are believed to come to be as they are or events to happen as the do. The Greeks take on Fate was slightly modified. They believed that the gods determined Fate: fate, to which in a mysterious way the gods themselves were subject, was an impersonal force decreeing ultimate things only, and unconcerned with day by day affairs. It was thought that these gods worked in subtle ways; this accounts for character flaws (called harmatia in Greek).... [tags: Oedipus Rex, Sophocles] 1052 words (3 pages) FREE Essays [view] Oedipus the King - Spanning a period of thirty years, Sophocles produced three plays all with similar thematic qualities. One such production features "a noble man who seeks knowledge that in the end destroys him" (70). Although, the Athenian audience was familiar with the original narrative of Oedipus Rex, spectators still found joy in watching the play unfold before them. In the play, Sophocles demonstrates to the audience through the main character that blindness is not necessarily limited to physical blindness, but can equally afflict intellectually capabilities.... [tags: Oedipus Rex Essays] 439 words (1.3 pages) FREE Essays [view] Oedipus the King - Sophocles' Oedipus Rex Sophocles Oedipus Rex has fascinated readers for over two millennia with its tale of a man who falls from greatness to shame. The enigmatic play leaves many questions for the reader to answer. Is this a cruel trick of the gods. Was Oedipus fated to kill his father and marry his mother. Did he act of his own free will. Like the Greeks of centuries past, we continue to ponder these perennial questions. Part of the genius of Sophocles is that he requires a great deal of mental and spiritual involvement from his audience.... [tags: Oedipus Rex, Sophocles] :: 6 Works Cited 2144 words (6.1 pages) Term Papers [preview] Oedipus the King - Oedipus seeks knowledge, but only up to a point Sophocles' classical Greek tragedy Oedipus the King is one of the centrepieces of Western literature. It also has a broader place in modern Western culture, courtesy of Dr Freud and his Oedipus complex, in which the process of growing up male is bound up with competition for the mother and the symbolic overthrow and supplanting, or ``killing', of the father. The play can be read as a traditional study of the "fatal flaw' theory of tragedy, in which Oedipus is brought down by hubris.... [tags: Oedipus Rex, Sophocles] 814 words (2.3 pages) FREE Essays [view] Ensnared by the Gods in Oedipus Rex - Ensnared by the Gods in Oedipus Rex A citizen of Periclean Athens may not have been familiar with the term entrapment, but he or she would surely have recognized the case of Oedipus as such. The tragedy of Oedipus is that he was ensnared by the gods. As Teiresias points out, "I say that with those you love best you live in foulest shame unconsciously" (italics mine) God is continuously indicted for having caused Oedipus troubles. The chorus asks, "What evil spirit leaped upon your life to your ill-luck?" And Oedipus himself is well aware of the source of his troubles: "It was Apollo, friends, Apollo, that brought this bitter bitterness, my sorrows to completion." Blinded an... [tags: Oedipus the King Oedipus Rex] 1143 words (3.3 pages) Strong Essays [preview] Oedipus the King - Strength Equals Downfall Aristotle defined a tragic story as the adventure of a good man who reaches his ultimate downfall because he pushed his greatest quality too far. Sophocles advocates the definition in the tragic play Oedipus Rex. He develops the play with the great polarities of fame and shame, sight and blindness, and ignorance and insight to show Oedipus’ experiences in search for knowledge about his identity. Through his search, Oedipus pushes his quest for truth too far and ultimately reaches his doom.... [tags: Oedipus Rex, Sophocles] 547 words (1.6 pages) FREE Essays [view] Oedipus the King: Fate, Destiny, and Symbolism - In the classic tale of Oedipus the King, the author uses Oedipus as a symbolic symbol of betrayal, nave, and despair. The tale in itself is a classic tragedy; it depicts characters in which is an act of betrayal, yet of the truth. Aristotle and Freud both have their own interpretation of the classic story of Oedipus. Aristotle idolizes tragedy in a significant manner as opposed to Freud emphasizing the true destiny and fate of Oedipus himself. Somehow, they are all juxtaposed into one complete symbolic meaning.... [tags: character analysis, thebes, sophocles] :: 2 Works Cited 960 words (2.7 pages) Better Essays [preview] Oedipus The King: Role Of Gods - Gods can be evil sometimes. In the play Oedipus the King, Sophocles defamed the gods reputation, and lowered their status by making them look harmful and evil. It is known that all gods should be perfect and infallible, and should represent justice and equity, but with Oedipus, the gods decided to destroy him and his family for no reason. It might be hard to believe that gods can have humanistic traits, but in fact they do. The gods, especially Apollo, are considered evil by the reader because they destroyed an innocent mans life and his family.... [tags: Oedipus Rex, Sophocles] 1054 words (3 pages) Strong Essays [preview] The Philosophy of Sophocles in Oedipus the King - o Structure: The play is divided into three parts. This is very logical. In The first part we have the problem and the accusation of Creon. In part two we have the discovery of the truth. At the end of the play we find the truth and the consequences of it. Oedipus admits his blindness, feels ashamed and is pious. The strengh of the dialogue is not felt as it is translated from Latin into English. o In what way classical and Greek drama are different from modern drama.

1. - greek drama is not concerned with the description of life.... [tags: Oedipus Rex Essays] 1019 words (2.9 pages) FREE Essays [view] Oedipus the King as a Tragic Hero - Oedipus as a Tragic Hero According to Aristotle's theory of tragedy and his definition of the central character, Oedipus the hero of Sophocles is considered a classical model of the tragic hero. The tragic hero of a tragedy is essential element to arouse pity and fear of the audience to achieve the emotional purgation or catharathis. Therefore, this character must have some features or characteristics this state of purgation. In fact, Oedipus as a character has all the features of the tragic hero as demanded by Aristotle.... [tags: Oedipus Rex Essays] 954 words (2.7 pages) Unrated Essays [preview] Oedipus the King: Reason and Passion - Oedipus the King: Reason and Passion In the play, Oedipus the King, there are dual parts of reason and passion. Oedipus primarily acts with both reason and passion at different stages in the play. There are several points in the play where Oedipus acts with reason. The first such point occurs when he is asked by his followers to help save Thebes. He acts with reason when he immediately decides to heed to their demands and find help for them. However, he may also have been deciding to do this through passion.... [tags: Oedipus Rex Essays] 1020 words (2.9 pages) FREE Essays [view] The Role of Teiresias in Sophocles' Oedipus Rex - The Role of Teiresias in Sophocles'Oedipus Rex (the King) Teiresias uses his psychic abilities to foreshadow the anguish and destruction that Oedipus will encounter after he learns the truths of his life. Teiresias is also responsible for further developing the theme of blindness by using his own physical blindness to reveal to Oedipus his mental blindness. Lastly, Teiresias is ultimately responsible for imposing dramatic irony because of his great knowledge of the truth of Oedipus. In the play, Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles, the minor character of Teiresias is responsible for foreshadowing Oedipus fate, developing the theme of blindness, and also illustrating dramatic irony.... [tags: Oedipus the King Oedipus Rex] :: 1 Works Cited 1417 words (4 pages) Powerful Essays [preview] Irony in Oedipus the King - Irony in Oedipus Rex Oedipus Rex, by the Greek playwright Sophocles, is, without a doubt, one of the greatest examples of dramatic irony. There are many instances where the audience knows so much more than the main characters, and Sophocles uses irony to point to Oedipus as Laius' murderer as well. Additionally, Oedipus is most definitely a tragic hero-he had a tragic flaw, namely that he was relentless and often rash in his search for the truth about Laius' death and his killer; this ultimately lead to Oedipus' own destruction.... [tags: Oedipus Rex, Sophocles] 545 words (1.6 pages) Unrated Essays [preview] Mythology in Oedipus Rex - Mythology in Oedipus Rex E. T. Owen in Drama in Sophocles Oedipus Tyrannus comments on the mythological beginnings of Oedipus Rex: Professor Goodell says: Given an old myth to be dramatized, Sophocles primary question was, Just what sort of people were they, must they have been, who naturally did and suffered what the tales say they did and suffered? That was his method of analysis (38). The Greek Sophoclean tragedy Oedipus Rex is based on a myth from the Homeric epic Odysseus.... [tags: Oedipus the King Oedipus Rex] :: 13 Works Cited 3973 words (11.4 pages) Powerful Essays [preview] Oedipus the King - Title In the play, Oedipus the King, blindness is used metaphorically and physically to characterize several personas , and the images of clarity and vision are used as symbols for knowledge and insight. Enlightenment and darkness are used in much the same manner, to demonstrate the darkness of ignorance, and the irony of vision without sight. they will never see the crime I have committed or had done upon me! These are the words Oedipus shouted as he blinds himself upon learning the truth of his past.... [tags: essays research papers] 461 words (1.3 pages) FREE Essays [view] Use of Dramatic Irony in Oedipus the King - In the play "Oedipus the King" by Sophocles, the author presents us with several instances of dramatic irony. Dramatic irony occurs when the meaning of the situation is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play. Dramatic irony plays an important part in "Oedipus the King", because it is used to describe Oedipus' character as arrogant and blind toward the truth. The audience is expected to understand Oedipus' history well before he does. In the first three episodes, Oedipus uses a lot of dramatic irony in his speeches.... [tags: Oedipus Rex Essays] 406 words (1.2 pages) FREE Essays [view] Oedipus the King: A Painful Path to Truth - Truth in Oedipus Rex The play "Oedipus Rex" is a very full and lively one to say the least. Everything a reader could ask for is included in this play. There is excitement, suspense, happiness, sorrow, and much more. Truth is the main theme of the play. Oedipus cannot accept the truth as it comes to him or even where it comes from. He is blinded in his own life, trying to ignore the truth of his life. Oedipus will find out that truth is rock solid. The story is mainly about a young man named Oedipus who is trying to find out more knowledge than he can handle.... [tags: Oedipus Rex Essays] 742 words (2.1 pages) FREE Essays [view] Oedipus the King: Light vs. Dark - Light vs. Darkin Oedipus Throughout Oedipus the King, Sophocles employs one continuous metaphor: light vs. darkness, and sight vs. blindness. A reference to this metaphor occurs early in the play, when Oedipus falsely accuses Tiresias and Creon of conspiracy: Creon, the soul of trust, my loyal friend from the start steals against me... so hungry to overthrow me he sets this wizard on me, this scheming quack, this fortune-teller peddling lies, eyes peeled for his own profitseer blind in his craft.... [tags: Oedipus Rex Essays] 411 words (1.2 pages) FREE Essays [view] Self-Discovery and the Pursuit of Truth in Sophocles' Oedipus - Self-Discovery and the Pursuit of Truth in Sophocles' Oedipus It is said that the truth will set you free, but in the case of Sophocles Oedipus, the truth drives a man to imprison himself in a world of darkness by gouging out his eyes. As he scours the city for truth, Oedipus ruin is ironically mentioned and foreshadowed in the narrative. With these and other devices Sophocles illuminates the kings tragic realization and creates a firm emotional bond with the audience.... [tags: Oedipus Rex Essays] 1141 words (3.3 pages) Strong Essays [preview] Oedipus the King - Many times humans do things that contradict another thing they do. An example of this is one thing may be good but also bad at the same time. A person who has done this more then once is Oedipus in the writer Sophocles plays. Sophocles uses imagery like light verses darkness, knowledge verses ignorance and sight verses blindness. Oedipus is very knowledgeable during the play and at some times still extremely ignorant. He doesnt always put pieces together. When they are right in front of him. Many people in the play call him ignorant when he still believes that he is knowledgeable.... [tags: Oedipus Rex, Sophocles] 993 words (2.8 pages) FREE Essays [view] Sight and Blindness in Oedipus Rex - Sight and Blindness in Oedipus Rex Oedipus Rex is a play about the way we blind ourselves to painful truths that we cant bear to see. Physical sight and blindness are used throughout the play, often ironically, as a metaphor for mental sight and blindness. The play ends with the hero Oedipus literally blinding himself to avoid seeing the result of his terrible fate. But as the play demonstrates, Oedipus, the man who killed his father and impregnated his mother, has been blind all along, and is partly responsible for his own blindness.... [tags: Papers] 733 words (2.1 pages) Unrated Essays [preview] Antigone and Oedipus by Sophocles - Antigone & Oedipus By Sophocles are great stories of Tragedy and adversity. Creon, Oedipus and Antigone are truly engaged in struggle with reality, destiny and self-pity, for life. Oedipus The King is the tragic story of a man of a noble structure but is triggered by great tragedies and realities of him-self that shatter his existence. From the beginning of the story Oedipus is shown as a noble caring man. He is greatly worried about the plague in Thebes but my spirit grieves for the city, for myself and all of you he tells the priest and his people of Thebes, however He is also impetuous and suspicious of the motive of His friends; But these flaws may not be considered as a reason to... [tags: Tragedy, Creon, Oedipus] 794 words (2.3 pages) Better Essays [preview] Oedipus Rex: Imagery of Blindness and Sight as a Medium to the Themes - In the play, Oedipus Rex, written by Sophocles, an honourable and admirable Greek king named Oedipus rules the town of Thebes. He is left in mental turmoil and decay as his unknown, corrupt and immoral past is slowly revealed during his quest to find the culprit who murdered King Laius. The newly exposed past suddenly transforms his glory and respect into shame and humiliation. After he learns about his wicked past he stabs his eyes, which lead to his blindness. During the course of the play, references to blindness and vision constantly recur, giving the reader an enhanced and more insightful look into the themes of the play.... [tags: Theatre] 1225 words (3.5 pages) Strong Essays [preview] Oedipus Rex and Gilgamesh - 'No two men are alike in the way they act, the way they think, or the way they look. However, every man has a little something from the other. Although Oedipus and Gilgamesh are entirely different people, they are still very similar. Each one, in their own way, is exceptionally brave, heroically tragic, and both encompass diverse strengths and weaknesses. One is strictly a victim of fate and the other is entirely responsible for his own plight. Out of the two men, Gilgamesh was far braver than Oedipus.... [tags: Compare Contrast Oedipus the King] :: 2 Works Cited 1027 words (2.9 pages) Strong Essays [preview] Cesure and Sympathy in Oedipus the King - Sophocles translates his philosophy of life, of there being a harmony in the workings out of the universal order of things, into a harmony in Oedipus Rex. In the play, Oedipus, for instance, is a free agent with, however, certain limits upon his freedom of action as determined by the will of the gods; a transgression by Oedipus would lead to intervention by the gods since justice must prevail as is evident by the admission of chorus in the play ("But all eyes fail before time's eye, / All actions come to justice there.").... [tags: Oedipus Rex Essays] 637 words (1.8 pages) Unrated Essays [preview] Analysis of Oedipus the King - In Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, the theme of irony plays an important part throughout the play. In the play, Oedipus Rex believes that if he leaves Corinth he will be able to avoid his fate. The oracle says the Oedipus will kill his father and bear children with his mother. Eventually, he unknowingly kills his father in a chance meeting and married his mother. Oedipus remains clueless that the oracles prediction has come to pass. The play is a tragedy, and Oedipus is a tragic hero because he has an act of injustice, because his downfall is the result of his own fault, because he gains and as well as loses.... [tags: Oedipus Rex, Sophocles] 559 words (1.6 pages) FREE Essays [view] Oedipus the King - Irony is incongruity between the actual results of a sequence of events and the normal or expected results (Merriam Webster). This means that a person may think that something is going to happen based on what they see or what they believe, when in reality the exact opposite happens. Irony can be further specified as dramatic or tragic irony. These types of irony often occur in plays, stories, and movies; where viewers or readers are led in one direction and director or author reveals different results than what is expected.... [tags: Shakespearean Literature ] :: 9 Works Cited 2010 words (5.7 pages) Term Papers [preview] Oedipus the King and Antigone: Rationality Versus Emotionalism - Rationality is the quality or state of being agreeable to reason; it is this item that separates man from animal. Man and beast, however, still have something in common: in an emotional state, both are subject to acting irrationally. For instance, a normally very loving pet can become violent simply because one of his toys was taken away - not to say that he is no longer loving, he is just overwhelmed by anger. Likewise, in Sophocles's Oedipus Rex and Antigone, the protagonists Oedipus and Creon (who appears in both stories) exhibit a similar disposition as the "loving pet:" while they are usually reasonable, having their fates verbally revealed to them triggers an emotion that results in th... [tags: Oedipus Rex, Sophocles] 779 words (2.2 pages) Unrated Essays [preview] King Oedipus - King Oedipus by Sophocles Blindness is the downfall of the hero Oedipus in the play King Oedipus by Sophocles. Not only does the blindness appear physically, but also egotistically as he refuses to acknowledge the possibility of him actually being the murderer of Laius, the former King of Thebes. Coincidentally, he is also Oedipuss biological father. The use of light and dark in the play is strategically applied in order to better understand the emotion that lies within the characters. As blame is placed upon Oedipus for the murder of Laius, he blinds himself from the possible reality that he may be the killer.... [tags: essays research papers] 850 words (2.4 pages) Unrated Essays [preview] The Use of Religion as a Literary Element in Oedipus Rex - The Use of Religion as a Literary Element in Oedipus Rex and how it Influences the Use of Religion in Modern Western Literature Famous novelist, C.S. Lewis, stated, Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become (Literature Quotes).... [tags: Oedipus Rex Essays] :: 8 Works Cited 1107 words (3.2 pages) Strong Essays [preview] Oedipus the King and Ghost - The two famous playwrights Oedipus the King by Sophocles, written thousands of years back for Greek audiences and Ghosts by Henrik Ibsen which was written as a criticism of the Norwegian society in the 1890s. The universal theme that both Sophocles and Ibsen explored in their plays is that people are punished through their own actions, and unfortunately those ungrateful events can occur to essentially good people, who suffer through no fault of their own, but as a result of the actions by others.... [tags: World Literature, Comparisons, Analysis] :: 2 Works Cited 1025 words (2.9 pages) Strong Essays [preview] Oedipus the King by Sophocles - Oedipus the King, a tragedy which was written by the ancient greek dramatist Sophocles, is often referred to as the perfect tragedy (McManus, 1999). According to Aristotle in his Poetics, in order for a story to be considered a tragedy, it must be realistic, evoke a series of emotions leading to catharsis, which is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as the process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions. A tragedy should also contain six key elements: Plot, Character, Thought, Diction, Melody, and Spectacle (McManus, 1999).... [tags: perfect tragedy, aristotle, greek] :: 8 Works Cited 1136 words (3.2 pages) Strong Essays [preview] Analysis of Oedipus the King - The tale of Oedipus and his prophecy has intrigued not only the citizens of Greece in the ancient times, but also people all over the world for several generations. Most notable about the play was its peculiar structure, causing the audience to think analytically about the outcomes of Oedipus actions and how it compares with Aristotles beliefs. Another way that the people have examined the drama is by looking at the paradoxes (such as the confrontation of Tiresias and Oedipus), symbols (such as the Sphinx), and morals that has affected their perceptions by the end of the play.... [tags: Sophocles, Greek Tragedy] :: 5 Works Cited 1823 words (5.2 pages) Powerful Essays [preview] Oedipus Rex - Sight is a very important sense to a human being. It is one of the things generally taken for granted, but without it, many people would find themselves helpless and lost. The eyes are used to navigate, to interact, and to learn. However, even with sight people can still go astray and often become oblivious to the most apparent truths. This mental blindness can be more detrimental to ones life than physical blindness. In the play Oedipus Rex, the title character Oedipus suffers from this kind of blindness.... [tags: Blindness, Analysis, Informative] 724 words (2.1 pages) Better Essays [preview] The Psychology of King Oedipus - Oedipus Rex, an ancient Greek tragedy authored by the playwright Sophocles, includes many types of psychological phenomena. Most prominently, the myth is the source of the well-known term Oedipal complex, coined by psychologist Sigmund Freud in the late 1800s. In psychology, complex refers to a developmental stage. In this case the stage involves the desire of males, usually ages three to five, to sexually or romantically posses their mother, and the consequential resentment of their fathers. In the play, a prince named Oedipus tries to escape a prophecy that says he will kill his father and marry his mother, and coincidentally saves the Thebes from a monster known as the Sphinx.... [tags: Character Analysis] 1027 words (2.9 pages) Strong Essays [preview] Oedipus Rex - Winston Churchill once said It is a mistake to look too far ahead. Only one link of the chain of destiny can be handled at a time. Throughout the story of Oedipus Rex we see continuing theme of sight and blindness, not only in a physical aspect but in a more universal theme of trying to see and navigate ones own destiny. King Oedipus Rex is a man that has be told of his future of killing his father and sleeping with his mother. In seeing this he makes an attempt to change what he thinks is true, when in reality he knows nothing and his blindness to this inevitably succumbs him to what is foretold.... [tags: blindness, knowledge, mother fixation] :: 1 Works Cited 884 words (2.5 pages) Better Essays [preview] Oedipus at Colonus - Sophocles was a Greek playwright who lived during the 5th century b.c. The Oedipus Cycle is one of his most famous works; the trilogy of plays traces the ill-fated life of a noble blooded man and his descendants. Oedipus at Colonus is the second play of the set. Oedipus at Colonus is set many years after Oedipus the King, and Oedipus has changed his perspective on his exile from Thebes. He has decided that he was not responsible for his fate and that his sons should have prevented his exile. His view has changed from the previous play when Oedipus proudly claimed responsibility for his actions, blinding himself and begging for exile.... [tags: Oedipus Rex, Sophocles] 660 words (1.9 pages) FREE Essays [view] Oedipus and Christianity - Responsibility was a big deal in the story Oedipus Rex. Even though the gods knew what he was going to do, he still had the free will to do so. This is quite similar to the beliefs of the Christian religion. Christians are accustomed to the idea that God is all knowing, yet we as humans have the gift of free will and that makes us responsible for our own actions. It seems to be similar in the tale of Oedipus Rex and in Greek mythology as a whole. The ideas of this story within the bounds of Greek mythology seem to coincide quite well with the Christian faith; it is almost as if Sophocles meant to copy the ideas of a religion that was not invented until 425 years after his story was written.... [tags: Oedipus Rex, Sophocles] 649 words (1.9 pages) Unrated Essays [preview] The Dichotomy of Sight in Oedipus at Colonus - The Dichotomy of Sight in Oedipus at Colonus A simple process formed the backbone of most Greek philosophy. The ancients thought that by combining two equally valid but opposite ideas, the thesis and the antithesis, a new, higher truth could be achieved. That truth is called the synthesis. This tactic of integrating two seemingly opposite halves into a greater whole was a tremendous advance in human logic. This practice is illustrated throughout Oedipus at Colonusin regard to Sophocles portrayal of vision, sight, and the eye. In Colonus, there are many and varied descriptions of the aspects of the eye, whether the eye be human or divine. To Sophocles, the eye must have been a sy... [tags: Oedipus at Colonus Essays] :: 1 Works Cited 1199 words (3.4 pages) Strong Essays [preview] Oedipus Rex: The Search for Truth - THESIS STATEMENT Throughout Sophocles Oedipus Rex, Oedipus frantically searched for the truth, but due to his pride, remained blind to his own connection to the dire plague that infected Thebes. PURPOSE STATEMENT Through critical analysis of Sophocles Oedipus Rex, the work Oedipus Rex, and other research it is affirmed that Oedipus searched for the truth but due to his pride could not see his connection to the plague that infected Thebes. INTRODUCTION Everyone desires to know the truth. It provides peace of mind, reassurance, closure, and a knowledge of what actually matters and what is superficial.... [tags: Literary Analysis ] :: 11 Works Cited 2217 words (6.3 pages) Term Papers [preview]

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Cataract. Photo courtesy of National Eye Institute, NIH

Cataracts are a clouding of the lenses in your eyes. They affect vision and are very common in older people. More than 22 million Americans have cataracts. They are the leading cause of blindness in the world. By age 80, more than half of all people in the United States either will have a cataract or have had cataract surgery.

Common symptoms are:

Treatment with new glasses, brighter lighting, anti-glare sunglasses, or magnifying lenses can help at first. Surgery is also an option. It involves removing the cloudy lens and replacing it with an artificial lens. Wearing sunglasses and a hat with a brim to block ultraviolet sunlight may help to delay cataracts.

Glaucoma. Photo courtesy of National Eye Institute, NIH

Glaucoma damages the eye's optic nerve and is a leading cause of blindness. It usually happens when the fluid pressure inside the eyes slowly rises, damaging the optic nerve. Often there are no symptoms at first, but a comprehensive eye exam can detect it. About 2.3 million Americans suffer from glaucoma. It is estimated that an additional 2 million have the disease but don't know it.

Glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness among African Americans and Hispanics. African Americans experience glaucoma at a rate three times that of whites. They suffer blindness four times more frequently. Between the ages of 45 and 64, glaucoma is 15 times more likely to cause blindness in African Americans than in whites.

People at risk should get eye exams at least every two years, especially:

Treatment usually includes prescription eye drops and/or surgery. There is no "cure" for glaucoma. Early diagnosis and treatment can control glaucoma before vision loss or blindness occurs. New research is focusing not only on lowering pressure inside the eye, but also exploring medications to protect and preserve the optic nerve from the damage that causes vision loss. There has been progress in understanding the genetics of glaucoma in the last few years, including the discovery of genes found to be associated with many forms of glaucoma.

Age-Related Macular Degeneration. Photo courtesy of National Eye Institute, NIH

Macular degeneration, often called age-related macular degeneration (AMD), is a leading cause of vision loss in Americans 60 and older. It is a disease that destroys the sharp, central vision needed to see objects clearly. This affects the ability to read, drive, watch television, and do routine daily tasks.

AMD affects the macula, the part of the eye that allows you to see fine detail. It does not hurt, but causes cells in the macula to die. In some cases, AMD advances so slowly that people notice little change in vision. In others, the disease progresses faster and may lead to vision loss in both eyes. There are two kinds of AMDwet and dry. Wet AMD occurs when abnormal blood vessels behind the retina start to grow under the macula. Dry AMD occurs when the light-sensitive cells in the macula slowly break down, gradually blurring central vision in the affected eye.

Treatment: Although there is no cure for AMD at this time, regular eye exams can detect the disease so treatment can be most effective. Findings from the NEI-supported Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) show that a specific combination of vitamins and minerals can help slow the progression of advanced AMD. Treatments for wet AMD include laser surgery, photodynamic therapy, and drugs injected into the eye. The NEI recently started a clinical trial to compare the relative safety and effectiveness of two drugs currently used to treat wet AMD. The two drugs, which are injected into the eye, are Lucentis (ranibizumab) and Avastin (bevacizumab). NEI is also supporting AREDS2 to learn whether a modified combination of vitamins and minerals can further help people with AMD.

Diabetic retinopathy is caused by diabetes. It affects the retina, the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye, and causes the most blindness in U.S. adults. It affects the vision of more than half of the 18 million people diagnosed with diabetes age 18 or older.

People with diabetes should have a complete eye exam through dilated pupils at least once a year.

Treatment: Diabetic retinopathy is treated with surgery or laser surgery. With timely treatment; adequate control of blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels; and regular follow up, 90 percent of all cases of blindness from diabetes can be prevented.

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Leading Causes of Blindness

Select Search World Factbook Roget's Int'l Thesaurus Bartlett's Quotations Respectfully Quoted Fowler's King's English Strunk's Style Mencken's Language Cambridge History The King James Bible Oxford Shakespeare Gray's Anatomy Farmer's Cookbook Post's Etiquette Brewer's Phrase & Fable Bulfinch's Mythology Frazer's Golden Bough All Verse Anthologies Dickinson, E. Eliot, T.S. Frost, R. Hopkins, G.M. Keats, J. Lawrence, D.H. Masters, E.L. Sandburg, C. Sassoon, S. Whitman, W. Wordsworth, W. Yeats, W.B. All Nonfiction Harvard Classics American Essays Einstein's Relativity Grant, U.S. Roosevelt, T. Wells's History Presidential Inaugurals All Fiction Shelf of Fiction Ghost Stories Short Stories Shaw, G.B. Stein, G. Stevenson, R.L. Wells, H.G. Verse > Anthologies > Arthur Quiller-Couch, ed. > The Oxford Book of English Verse CONTENTSBIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD Arthur Quiller-Couch, ed. 1919. The Oxford Book of English Verse: 12501900. John Milton.16081674 318.On His Blindness WHEN I consider how my light is spent E're half my days, in this dark world and wide, And that one Talent which is death to hide, Lodg'd with me useless, though my Soul more bent To serve therewith my Maker, and present 5 My true account, least he returning chide, Doth God exact day-labour, light deny'd, I fondly ask; But patience to prevent That murmur, soon replies, God doth not need Either man's work or his own gifts, who best 10 Bear his milde yoak, they serve him best, his State Is Kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed And post o're Land and Ocean without rest: They also serve who only stand and waite.

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318. On His Blindness. John Milton. The Oxford Book of ...

Red Green Color Blindness

Red Green Color blindness is predominantly found only in men. The gene that leads to red green color blindness is found in the X Chromosome. Males only have one X chromosome whereas females have 2; typically in females the stronger chromosome takes precedence so theyretain correctvision.The son of a woman carrying a faulty gene has a 50% chance of inheriting the faulty X chromosome and as a result suffering from color blindness. The daughter of the same woman is unlikely to be color blind unless her father is color blind; however she retains a 50% chance of being a carrier for the defective gene.

Blue color blindness (often referredto as blue yellow color blindness) is extremely rare, so rare that only 5% of color blind people suffer from it.Unlike red green color blindness, the chance of having blue color blindness is equal in both men and women as the gene is found on a different chromosome ( chromosome 7). This gene is shared equally by men and women and blue color blindness comes from a mutation of this gene.

One might expect the percentage of affected people to be relatively constant in all countries however this is far from the truth. In most Caucasian societies up to 1 in 10 men suffer, however only 1 in 100 Eskimos are color blind. There is no solid proof as to the cause of this however it is logical to assume that less of the original Eskimos carried the defective gene, so the likelihood of it infecting the gene pool was quite a lot lower.

Whilst almost all color blindness is inherited, infrequently a change in the chromosome during early development can cause color blindness. Various injuries involving trauma to the eye, and even some diseases can also cause color blindness to develop in a person of any age.

As mentioned elsewhere on this website, cataracts are not a form of color blindness, so you wont see them in the table below. Cataracts are a clouding that develops in the crystalline lens of the eye, and have the effect to dull colors, and blur vision. It is not common to mistake someone with cataracts as someone who is color blind, as color blindness normally becomes apparent early in life, whereas cataracts dont usually form until ones senior years. However if you are unsure, you can take the freeonlinetests available on this website in the menu on the left to find out now.

The Below table displays the percentage of men and women suffering the different forms of color blindness, you can click on each defectto learn more about it.

Continued here:
Prevalence Color Blindness

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Showing all 4 plot summaries

A city is ravaged by an epidemic of instant "white blindness". Those first afflicted are quarantined by the authorities in an abandoned mental hospital where the newly created "society of the blind" quickly breaks down. Criminals and the physically powerful prey upon the weak, hoarding the meager food rations and committing horrific acts. There is, however, one eyewitness to the nightmare. A woman whose sight is unaffected by the plague follows her afflicted husband to quarantine. There, keeping her sight a secret, she guides seven strangers who have become, in essence, a family. She leads them out of quarantine and onto the ravaged streets of the city, which has seen all vestiges of civilization crumble.

A doctor's wife becomes the only person with the ability to see in a town where everyone is struck with a mysterious case of sudden blindness. She feigns illness in order to take care of her husband as her surrounding community breaks down into chaos and disorder.

When a big city has a mysterious outbreak of blindness, the victims are quarantined by the government in a hospital without any medical care, treatment or hygiene. Among the first people affected by the so called "white blindness" are an ophthalmologist and his reluctant healthy wife who has not lost her sight but stays with him to help him in the difficult moment. The place immediately crowds and a group of criminals takes the power, demanding jewels and electronics first and sex later for the limited ratio of food they control.

A city is ravaged by an epidemic of instant white blindness.

The story of Blindness begins on a morning in an unnamed city during rush-hour traffic. As the traffic lights change...

Continue reading here:
Blindness (2008) - Plot Summary - IMDb

Vitamin A deficiency A few salient facts

Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is the leading cause of preventable blindness in children and increases the risk of disease and death from severe infections. In pregnant women VAD causes night blindness and may increase the risk of maternal mortality.

Vitamin A deficiency is a public health problem in more than half of all countries, especially in Africa and South-East Asia, hitting hardest young children and pregnant women in low-income countries.

Crucial for maternal and child survival, supplying adequate vitamin A in high-risk areas can significantly reduce mortality. Conversely, its absence causes a needlessly high risk of disease and death.

WHOs goal is the worldwide elimination of vitamin A deficiency and its tragic consequences, including blindness, disease and premature death. To successfully combat VAD, short-term interventions and proper infant feeding must be backed up by long-term sustainable solutions. The arsenal of nutritional well-being weapons includes a combination of breastfeeding and vitamin A supplementation, coupled with enduring solutions, such as promotion of vitamin A-rich diets and food fortification.

WHO/NHD

The impact of this single supplementation on childhood mortality is as great or greater than that of any one vaccine and it costs only a couple of cents a dose.

The basis for lifelong health begins in childhood. Vitamin A is a crucial component. Since breast milk is a natural source of vitamin A, promoting breastfeeding is the best way to protect babies from VAD.

For deficient children, the periodic supply of high-dose vitamin A in swift, simple, low-cost, high-benefit interventions has also produced remarkable results, reducing mortality by 23% overall and by up to 50% for acute measles sufferers.

Planting these seeds between 6 months and 6 years of age can reduce overall child mortality by a quarter in areas with significant VAD. However, because breastfeeding is time-limited and the effect of vitamin A supplementation capsules lasts only 4-6 months, they are only initial steps towards ensuring better overall nutrition and not long-term solutions.

Cultivating the garden, both literally and figuratively, is the next phase necessary to achieve long-term results.

Food fortification takes over where supplementation leaves off. Food fortification, for example sugar in Guatemala, maintains vitamin A status, especially for high-risk groups and needy families.

For vulnerable rural families, for instance in Africa and South-East Asia, growing fruits and vegetables in home gardens complements dietary diversification and fortification and contributes to better lifelong health.

In 1998 WHO and its partners UNICEF, the Canadian International Development Agency, the United States Agency for International Development and the Micronutrient Initiative launched the Vitamin A Global Initiative. In addition, over the past few years, WHO, UNICEF and others have provided support to countries in delivering vitamin A supplements. Linked to sick-child visits and national poliomylitis immunization days, these supplements have averted an estimated 1.25 million deaths since 1998 in 40 countries.

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WHO | Micronutrient deficiencies

Visual impairment, also known as vision impairment or vision loss, is a decreased ability to see to a degree that causes problems not fixable by usual means, such as glasses.[1][2] Some also include those who have a decreased ability to see because they do not have access to glasses or contact lenses.[1] Visual impairment is often defined as a best corrected visual acuity of worse than either 20/40 or 20/60.[3] The term blindness is used for complete or nearly complete vision loss.[3] Visual impairment may cause people difficulties with normal daily activities such as driving, reading, socializing, and walking.[2]

The most common causes of visual impairment globally are uncorrected refractive errors (43%), cataracts (33%), and glaucoma (2%).[4] Refractive errors include near sighted, far sighted, presbyopia, and astigmatism.[4] Cataracts are the most common cause of blindness.[4] Other disorders that may cause visual problems include age related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, corneal clouding, childhood blindness, and a number of infections.[5] Visual impairment can also be caused by problems in the brain due to stroke, prematurity, or trauma among others.[6] These cases are known as cortical visual impairment.[6] Screening for vision problems in children may improve future vision and educational achievement.[7] Screening adults may also be beneficial.[2] Diagnosis is by an eye exam.[2]

The World Health Organization estimates that 80% of visual impairment is either preventable or curable with treatment.[4] This includes cataracts, the infections river blindness and trachoma, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, uncorrected refractive errors, and some cases of childhood blindness.[8] Many people with significant visual impairment benefit from vision rehabilitation, changes in their environmental, and assistive devices.[2]

As of 2012 there were 285 million people who were visually impaired of which 246 million had low vision and 39 million were blind.[4] The majority of people with poor vision are in the developing world and are over the age of 50 years.[4] Rates of visual impairment have decreased since the 1990s.[4] Visual impairments have considerable economic costs both directly due to the cost of treatment and indirectly due to decreased ability to work.[9]

The definition of visual impairment is reduced vision not corrected by glasses or contact lenses. The World Health Organization uses the following classifications of visual impairment. When the vision in the better eye with best possible glasses correction is:

Blindness is defined by the World Health Organization as vision in a person's best eye of less than 20/500 or a visual field of less than 10 degrees.[3] This definition was set in 1972, and there is ongoing discussion as to whether it should be altered to official include uncorrected refractive errors.[1]

Severely sight impaired

Sight impaired

Low vision

In the UK, the Certificate of Vision Impairment (CVI) is used to certify patients as severely sight impaired or sight impaired.[11] The accompanying guidance for clinical staff states: "The National Assistance Act 1948 states that a person can be certified as severely sight impaired if they are "so blind as to be unable to perform any work for which eye sight is essential". The test is whether a person cannot do any work for which eyesight is essential, not just his or her normal job or one particular job."[12]

In practice, the definition depends on individuals' visual acuity and the extent to which their field of vision is restricted. The Department of Health identifies three groups of people who may be classified as severely visually impaired.[12]

The Department of Health also state that a person is more likely to be classified as severely visually impaired if their eyesight has failed recently or if they are an older individual, both groups being perceived as less able to adapt to their vision loss.[12]

In the United States, any person with vision that cannot be corrected to better than 20/200 in the best eye, or who has 20 degrees (diameter) or less of visual field remaining, is considered legally blind or eligible for disability classification and possible inclusion in certain government sponsored programs.

In the United States, the terms partially sighted, low vision, legally blind and totally blind are used by schools, colleges, and other educational institutions to describe students with visual impairments.[13] They are defined as follows:

In 1934, the American Medical Association adopted the following definition of blindness:

Central visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with corrective glasses or central visual acuity of more than 20/200 if there is a visual field defect in which the peripheral field is contracted to such an extent that the widest diameter of the visual field subtends an angular distance no greater than 20 degrees in the better eye.[14]

The United States Congress included this definition as part of the Aid to the Blind program in the Social Security Act passed in 1935.[14][15] In 1972, the Aid to the Blind program and two others combined under Title XVI of the Social Security Act to form the Supplemental Security Income program[16] which states:

An individual shall be considered to be blind for purposes of this title if he has central visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with the use of a correcting lens. An eye which is accompanied by a limitation in the fields of vision such that the widest diameter of the visual field subtends an angle no greater than 20 degrees shall be considered for purposes of the first sentence of this subsection as having a central visual acuity of 20/200 or less. An individual shall also be considered to be blind for purposes of this title if he is blind as defined under a State plan approved under title X or XVI as in effect for October 1972 and received aid under such plan (on the basis of blindness) for December 1973, so long as he is continuously blind as so defined.[17]

Kuwait is one of many nations that share the 6/60 criteria for legal blindness.[18]

Visual impairments may take many forms and be of varying degrees. Visual acuity alone is not always a good predictor of the degree of problems a person may have. Someone with relatively good acuity (e.g., 20/40) can have difficulty with daily functioning, while someone with worse acuity (e.g., 20/200) may function reasonably well if their visual demands are not great.

The American Medical Association has estimated that the loss of one eye equals 25% impairment of the visual system and 24% impairment of the whole person;[19][20] total loss of vision in both eyes is considered to be 100% visual impairment and 85% impairment of the whole person.[19]

Some people who fall into this category can use their considerable residual vision their remaining sight to complete daily tasks without relying on alternative methods. The role of a low vision specialist (optometrist or ophthalmologist) is to maximize the functional level of a patient's vision by optical or non-optical means. Primarily, this is by use of magnification in the form of telescopic systems for distance vision and optical or electronic magnification for near tasks.

People with significantly reduced acuity may benefit from training conducted by individuals trained in the provision of technical aids. Low vision rehabilitation professionals, some of whom are connected to an agency for the blind, can provide advice on lighting and contrast to maximize remaining vision. These professionals also have access to non-visual aids, and can instruct patients in their uses.

The subjects making the most use of rehabilitation instruments, who lived alone, and preserved their own mobility and occupation were the least depressed, with the lowest risk of suicide and the highest level of social integration.

Those with worsening sight and the prognosis of eventual blindness are at comparatively high risk of suicide and thus may be in need of supportive services. These observations advocate the establishment and extension of therapeutic and preventative programs to include patients with impending and current severe visual impairment who do not qualify for services for the blind. Ophthalmologists should be made aware of these potential consequences and incorporate a place for mental health professionals in their treatment of these types of patients, with a view to preventing the onset of depressive symptomatology, avoiding self-destructive behavior, and improving the quality of life of these patients. Such intervention should occur in the early stages of diagnosis, particularly as many studies have demonstrated how rapid acceptance of the serious visual handicap has led to a better, more productive compliance with rehabilitation programs. Moreover, psychological distress has been reported (and is exemplified by our psychological autopsy study) to be at its highest when sight loss is not complete, but the prognosis is unfavorable.10 Therefore, early intervention is imperative for enabling successful psychological adjustment.[21]

Blindness can occur in combination with such conditions as intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorders, cerebral palsy, hearing impairments, and epilepsy.[22][23] Blindness in combination with hearing loss is known as deafblindness.

It has been estimated that over half of totally blind people have non-24-hour sleepwake disorder, a condition in which a person's circadian rhythm, normally slightly longer than 24 hours, is not entrained (re-set) to the light/dark cycle.[24][25]

The most common causes of visual impairment globally in 2010 were:

The most common causes of blindness in 2010 were:

About 90% of people who are visually impaired live in the developing world.[4] Age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, and diabetic retinopathy are the leading causes of blindness in the developed world.[26]

Of these, cataract is responsible for >65%, or more than 22 million cases of blindness, and glaucoma is responsible for 6 million cases.

Cataracts: is the congenital and pediatric pathology that describes the greying or opacity of the crystalline lens, which is most commonly caused by intrauterine infections, metabolic disorders, and genetically transmitted syndromes.[27] Cataracts are the leading cause of child and adult blindness that doubles in prevalence with every ten years after the age of 40.[28] Consequently, today cataracts are more common among adults than in children.[27] That is, people face higher chances of developing cataracts as they age. Nonetheless, cataracts tend to have a greater financial and emotional toll upon children as they must undergo expensive diagnosis, long term rehabilitation, and visual assistance.[29] Also, according to the Saudi Journal for Health Sciences, sometimes patients experience irreversible amblyopia[27] after pediatric cataract surgery because the cataracts prevented the normal maturation of vision prior to operation.[30] Despite the great progress in treatment, cataracts remain a global problem in both economically developed and developing countries.[31] At present, with the variant outcomes as well as the unequal access to cataract surgery, the best way to reduce the risk of developing cataracts is to avoid smoking and extensive exposer to sun light (i.e. UV-B rays).[28]

Glaucoma is a congenital and pediatric eye disease characterized by increased pressure within the eye or intraocular pressure (IOP).[32] Glaucoma causes visual field loss as well as severs the optic nerve.[33] Early diagnosis and treatment of glaucoma in patients is imperative because glaucoma is triggered by non-specific levels of IOP.[33] Also, another challenge in accurately diagnosing glaucoma is that the disease has four etiologies: 1) inflammatory ocular hypertension syndrome (IOHS); 2) severe uveitic angle closure; 3) corticosteroid-induced; and 4) a heterogonous mechanism associated with structural change and chronic inflammation.[32] In addition, often pediatric glaucoma differs greatly in etiology and management from the glaucoma developed by adults.[34] Currently, the best sign of pediatric glaucoma is an IOP of 21mm Hg or greater present within a child.[34] One of the most common causes of pediatric glaucoma is cataract removal surgery, which lead to an incidence rate of about 12.2% among infants and 58.7% among 10 year olds.[34]

Childhood blindness can be caused by conditions related to pregnancy, such as congenital rubella syndrome and retinopathy of prematurity. Leprosy and onchocerciasis each blind approximately 1 million individuals in the developing world.

The number of individuals blind from trachoma has decreased in the past 10 years from 6 million to 1.3 million, putting it in seventh place on the list of causes of blindness worldwide.

Central corneal ulceration is also a significant cause of monocular blindness worldwide, accounting for an estimated 850,000 cases of corneal blindness every year in the Indian subcontinent alone. As a result, corneal scarring from all causes is now the fourth greatest cause of global blindness.[35]

Eye injuries, most often occurring in people under 30, are the leading cause of monocular blindness (vision loss in one eye) throughout the United States. Injuries and cataracts affect the eye itself, while abnormalities such as optic nerve hypoplasia affect the nerve bundle that sends signals from the eye to the back of the brain, which can lead to decreased visual acuity.

Cortical blindness results from injuries to the occipital lobe of the brain that prevent the brain from correctly receiving or interpreting signals from the optic nerve. Symptoms of cortical blindness vary greatly across individuals and may be more severe in periods of exhaustion or stress. It is common for people with cortical blindness to have poorer vision later in the day.

Blinding has been used as an act of vengeance and torture in some instances, to deprive a person of a major sense by which they can navigate or interact within the world, act fully independently, and be aware of events surrounding them. An example from the classical realm is Oedipus, who gouges out his own eyes after realizing that he fulfilled the awful prophecy spoken of him. Having crushed the Bulgarians, the Byzantine Emperor Basil II blinded as many as 15,000 prisoners taken in the battle, before releasing them.[36] Contemporary examples include the addition of methods such as acid throwing as a form of disfigurement.

People with albinism often have vision loss to the extent that many are legally blind, though few of them actually cannot see. Leber's congenital amaurosis can cause total blindness or severe sight loss from birth or early childhood.

Recent advances in mapping of the human genome have identified other genetic causes of low vision or blindness. One such example is Bardet-Biedl syndrome.

Rarely, blindness is caused by the intake of certain chemicals. A well-known example is methanol, which is only mildly toxic and minimally intoxicating, and breaks down into the substances formaldehyde and formic acid which in turn can cause blindness, an array of other health complications, and death.[37] When competing with ethanol for metabolism, ethanol is metabolized first, and the onset of toxicity is delayed. Methanol is commonly found in methylated spirits, denatured ethyl alcohol, to avoid paying taxes on selling ethanol intended for human consumption. Methylated spirits are sometimes used by alcoholics as a desperate and cheap substitute for regular ethanol alcoholic beverages.

It is critical that all people be examined by someone specializing in low vision care prior to other rehabilitation training to rule out potential medical or surgical correction for the problem and to establish a careful baseline refraction and prescription of both normal and low vision glasses and optical aids. Only a doctor is qualified to evaluate visual functioning of a compromised visual system effectively.[44]

The American Medical Association provide an approach to evaluating visual loss as it affects an individual's ability to perform activities of daily living.[19]

The World Health Organization estimates that 80% of visual loss is either preventable or curable with treatment.[4] This includes cataracts, onchocerciasis, trachoma, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, uncorrected refractive errors, and some cases of childhood blindness.[8] The Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that half of blindness in the United States is preventable.[2]

Aside from medical help, various sources provide information, rehabilitation, education, and work and social integration.

Many people with serious visual impairments can travel independently, using a wide range of tools and techniques. Orientation and mobility specialists are professionals who are specifically trained to teach people with visual impairments how to travel safely, confidently, and independently in the home and the community. These professionals can also help blind people to practice travelling on specific routes which they may use often, such as the route from one's house to a convenience store. Becoming familiar with an environment or route can make it much easier for a blind person to navigate successfully.

Tools such as the white cane with a red tip - the international symbol of blindness - may also be used to improve mobility. A long cane is used to extend the user's range of touch sensation. It is usually swung in a low sweeping motion, across the intended path of travel, to detect obstacles. However, techniques for cane travel can vary depending on the user and/or the situation. Some visually impaired persons do not carry these kinds of canes, opting instead for the shorter, lighter identification (ID) cane. Still others require a support cane. The choice depends on the individual's vision, motivation, and other factors.

A small number of people employ guide dogs to assist in mobility. These dogs are trained to navigate around various obstacles, and to indicate when it becomes necessary to go up or down a step. However, the helpfulness of guide dogs is limited by the inability of dogs to understand complex directions. The human half of the guide dog team does the directing, based upon skills acquired through previous mobility training. In this sense, the handler might be likened to an aircraft's navigator, who must know how to get from one place to another, and the dog to the pilot, who gets them there safely.

GPS devices can also be used as a mobility aid. Such software can assist blind people with orientation and navigation, but it is not a replacement for traditional mobility tools such as white canes and guide dogs.

Some blind people are skilled at echolocating silent objects simply by producing mouth clicks and listening to the returning echoes. It has been shown that blind echolocation experts use what is normally the "visual" part of their brain to process the echoes.[45][46]

Technology to allow blind people to drive motor vehicles is currently being developed.[47]

Government actions are sometimes taken to make public places more accessible to blind people. Public transportation is freely available to the blind in many cities. Tactile paving and audible traffic signals can make it easier and safer for visually impaired pedestrians to cross streets. In addition to making rules about who can and cannot use a cane, some governments mandate the right-of-way be given to users of white canes or guide dogs.

Most visually impaired people who are not totally blind read print, either of a regular size or enlarged by magnification devices. Many also read large-print, which is easier for them to read without such devices. A variety of magnifying glasses, some handheld, and some on desktops, can make reading easier for them.

Others read Braille (or the infrequently used Moon type), or rely on talking books and readers or reading machines, which convert printed text to speech or Braille. They use computers with special hardware such as scanners and refreshable Braille displays as well as software written specifically for the blind, such as optical character recognition applications and screen readers.

Some people access these materials through agencies for the blind, such as the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped in the United States, the National Library for the Blind or the RNIB in the United Kingdom.

Closed-circuit televisions, equipment that enlarges and contrasts textual items, are a more high-tech alternative to traditional magnification devices.

There are also over 100 radio reading services throughout the world that provide people with vision impairments with readings from periodicals over the radio. The International Association of Audio Information Services provides links to all of these organizations.

Access technology such as screen readers, screen magnifiers and refreshable Braille displays enable the blind to use mainstream computer applications and mobile phones. The availability of assistive technology is increasing, accompanied by concerted efforts to ensure the accessibility of information technology to all potential users, including the blind. Later versions of Microsoft Windows include an Accessibility Wizard & Magnifier for those with partial vision, and Microsoft Narrator, a simple screen reader. Linux distributions (as live CDs) for the blind include Oralux and Adriane Knoppix, the latter developed in part by Adriane Knopper who has a visual impairment. Mac OS also comes with a built-in screen reader, called VoiceOver.

The movement towards greater web accessibility is opening a far wider number of websites to adaptive technology, making the web a more inviting place for visually impaired surfers.

Experimental approaches in sensory substitution are beginning to provide access to arbitrary live views from a camera.

Modified visual output that includes large print and/or clear simple graphics can be of benefit to users with some residual vision.[48]

Blind people may use talking equipment such as thermometers, watches, clocks, scales, calculators, and compasses. They may also enlarge or mark dials on devices such as ovens and thermostats to make them usable. Other techniques used by blind people to assist them in daily activities include:

Most people, once they have been visually impaired for long enough, devise their own adaptive strategies in all areas of personal and professional management.

For the blind, there are books in braille, audio-books, and text-to-speech computer programs, machines and e-book readers. Low vision people can make use of these tools as well as large-print reading materials and e-book readers that provide large font sizes.

Computers are important tools of integration for the visually impaired person. They allow, using standard or specific programs, screen magnification and conversion of text into sound or touch (Braille line), and are useful for all levels of visual handicap. OCR scanners can, in conjunction with text-to-speech software, read the contents of books and documents aloud via computer. Vendors also build closed-circuit televisions that electronically magnify paper, and even change its contrast and color, for visually impaired users. For more information, consult Assistive technology.

In adults with low vision there is no conclusive evidence supporting one form of reading aid over another.[50] In several studies stand-based closed-circuit television and hand-held closed-circuit television allowed faster reading than optical aids.[50] While electronic aids may allow faster reading for individuals with low vision, portability, ease of use, and affordability must be considered for people.[50]

Children with low vision sometimes have reading delays, but do benefit from phonics-based beginning reading instruction methods. Engaging phonics instruction is multisensory, highly motivating, and hands-on. Typically students are first taught the most frequent sounds of the alphabet letters, especially the so-called short vowel sounds, then taught to blend sounds together with three-letter consonant-vowel-consonant words such as cat, red, sit, hot, sun. Hands-on (or kinesthetically appealing) VERY enlarged print materials such as those found in "The Big Collection of Phonics Flipbooks" by Lynn Gordon (Scholastic, 2010) are helpful for teaching word families and blending skills to beginning readers with low vision. Beginning reading instructional materials should focus primarily on the lower-case letters, not the capital letters (even though they are larger) because reading text requires familiarity (mostly) with lower-case letters. Phonics-based beginning reading should also be supplemented with phonemic awareness lessons, writing opportunities, and lots of read-alouds (literature read to children daily) to stimulate motivation, vocabulary development, concept development, and comprehension skill development. Many children with low vision can be successfully included in regular education environments. Parents may need to be vigilant to ensure that the school provides the teacher and students with appropriate low vision resources, for example technology in the classroom, classroom aide time, modified educational materials, and consultation assistance with low vision experts.

Communication with the visually impaired can be more difficult than communicating with someone who doesn't have vision loss. However, many people are uncomfortable with communicating with the blind, and this can cause communication barriers. One of the biggest obstacles in communicating with visually impaired individuals comes from face-to-face interactions.[51] There are many factors that can cause the sighted to become uncomfortable while communicating face to face.There are many non-verbal factors, which hinder communication between the visually impaired and the sighted, more often than verbal factors do. These factors, which Rivka Bialistock[51] mentions in her article, include:

The blind person sends these signals or types of non-verbal communication without being aware that they are doing so. These factors can all affect the way an individual would feel about communicating with the visually impaired. This leaves the visually impaired feeling rejected and lonely.

In the article Towards better communication, from the interest point of view. Orskills of sight-glish for the blind and visually impaired, the author, Rivka Bialistock [51] comes up with a method to reduce individuals being uncomfortable with communicating with the visually impaired. This method is called blind-glish or sight-glish, which is a language for the blind, similar to English. For example, babies, who are not born and able to talk right away, communicate through sight-glish, simply seeing everything and communicating non-verbally. This comes naturally to sighted babies, and by teaching this same method to babies with a visual impairment can improve their ability to communicate better, from the very beginning.

To avoid the rejected feeling of the visually impaired, people need to treat the blind the same way they would treat anyone else, rather than treating them like they have a disability, and need special attention. People may feel that it is improper to, for example, tell their blind child to look at them when they are speaking. However, this contributes to the sight-glish method.[51] It is important to disregard any mental fears or uncomfortable feelings people have while communicating (verbally and non-verbally) face-to-face.

Individuals with a visual disability not only have to find ways to communicate effectively with the people around them, but their environment as well. The blind or visually impaired rely largely on their other senses such as hearing, touch, and smell in order to understand their surroundings.[52]

Sound is one of the most important senses that the blind or visually impaired use in order to locate objects in their surroundings. A form of echolocation is used, similarly to that of a dolphin or bat.[53] Echolocation from a person's perspective is when the person uses sound waves generated from speech or other forms of noise such as cane tapping, which reflect off of objects and bounce back at the person giving them a rough idea of where the object is. This does not mean they can depict details based on sound but rather where objects are in order to interact, or avoid them. Increases in atmospheric pressure and humidity increase a person's ability to use sound to their advantage as wind or any form of background noise impairs it.[52]

Touch is also an important aspect of how blind or visually impaired people perceive the world. Touch gives immense amount of information in the persons immediate surrounding.Feeling anything with detail gives off information on shape, size, texture, temperature, and many other qualities. Touch also helps with communication; braille is a form of communication in which people use their fingers to feel elevated bumps on a surface and can understand what is meant to be interpreted.[54] There are some issues and limitations with touch as not all objects are accessible to feel, which makes it difficult to perceive the actual object. Another limiting factor is that the learning process of identifying objects with touch is much slower than identifying objects with sight. This is due to the fact the object needs to be approached and carefully felt until a rough idea can be constructed in the brain.[52]

Certain smells can be associated with specific areas and help a person with vision problems to remember a familiar area. This way there is a better chance of recognizing an areas layout in order to navigate themselves through. The same can be said for people as well. Some people have their own special odor that a person with a more trained sense of smell can pick up. A person with an impairment of their vision they can use this to recognize people within their vicinity without them saying a word.[52]

Visual impairment can have profound effects on the development of infant and child communication. The language and social development of a child or infant can be very delayed by the inability to see the world around them.

Social development includes interactions with the people surrounding the infant in the beginning of its life. To a child with vision, a smile from a parent is the first symbol of recognition and communication, and is almost an instant factor of communication. For a visually impaired infant, recognition of a parent's voice will be noticed at approximately two months old, but a smile will only be evoked through touch between parent and baby. This primary form of communication is greatly delayed for the child and will prevent other forms of communication from developing. Social interactions are more complicated because subtle visual cues are missing and facial expressions from others are lost.

Due to delays in a child's communication development, they may appear to be disinterested in social activity with peers, non-communicative and un-education on how to communicate with other people. This may cause the child to be avoided by peers and consequently over protected by family members.

With sight, much of what is learned by a child is learned through imitation of others, where as a visually impaired child needs very planned instruction directed at the development of postponed imitation. A visually impaired infant may jabber and imitate words sooner than a sighted child, but may show delay when combining words to say themselves, the child may tend to initiate few questions and their use of adjectives is infrequent. Normally the child's sensory experiences are not readily coded into language and this may cause them to store phrases and sentences in their memory and repeat them out of context. The language of the blind child does not seem to mirror his developing knowledge of the world, but rather his knowledge of the language of others.

A visually impaired child may also be hesitant to explore the world around them due to fear of the unknown and also may be discouraged from exploration by overprotective family members. Without concrete experiences, the child is not able to develop meaningful concepts or the language to describe or think about them.[55]

Visual impairment has the ability to create consequences for health and well being. Visual impairment is increasing especially among older people. It is recognized that those individuals with visual impairment are likely to have limited access to information and healthcare facilities, and may not receive the best care possible because not all health care professionals are aware of specific needs related to vision.

The WHO estimates that in 2012 there were 285 million visually impaired people in the world, of which 246 million had low vision and 39 million were blind.[4]

Of those who are blind 90% live in the developing world.[56] Worldwide for each blind person, an average of 3.4 people have low vision, with country and regional variation ranging from 2.4 to 5.5.[57]

By age: Visual impairment is unequally distributed across age groups. More than 82% of all people who are blind are 50 years of age and older, although they represent only 19% of the world's population. Due to the expected number of years lived in blindness (blind years), childhood blindness remains a significant problem, with an estimated 1.4 million blind children below age 15.

By gender: Available studies consistently indicate that in every region of the world, and at all ages, females have a significantly higher risk of being visually impaired than males.

By geography: Visual impairment is not distributed uniformly throughout the world. More than 90% of the world's visually impaired live in developing countries.[57]

Since the estimates of the 1990s, new data based on the 2002 global population show a reduction in the number of people who are blind or visually impaired, and those who are blind from the effects of infectious diseases, but an increase in the number of people who are blind from conditions related to longer life spans.[57]

In 1987, it was estimated that 598,000 people in the United States met the legal definition of blindness.[58] Of this number, 58% were over the age of 65.[58] In 1994-1995, 1.3 million Americans reported legal blindness.[59]

To determine which people qualify for special assistance because of their visual disabilities, various governments have specific definitions for legal blindness.[60] In North America and most of Europe, legal blindness is defined as visual acuity (vision) of 20/200 (6/60) or less in the better eye with best correction possible. This means that a legally blind individual would have to stand 20 feet (6.1m) from an object to see itwith corrective lenseswith the same degree of clarity as a normally sighted person could from 200 feet (61m). In many areas, people with average acuity who nonetheless have a visual field of less than 20 degrees (the norm being 180 degrees) are also classified as being legally blind. Approximately ten percent of those deemed legally blind, by any measure, have no vision. The rest have some vision, from light perception alone to relatively good acuity. Low vision is sometimes used to describe visual acuities from 20/70 to 20/200.[61]

The Moche people of ancient Peru depicted the blind in their ceramics.[62]

In Greek myth, Tiresias was a prophet famous for his clairvoyance. According to one myth, he was blinded by the Gods as punishment for revealing their secrets, while another holds that he was blinded as punishment after he saw Athena naked while she was bathing. In the Odyssey, the one-eyed Cyclops Polyphemus captures Odysseus, who blinds Polyphemus to escape. In Norse mythology, Loki tricks the blind God Hr into killing his brother Baldr, the God of happiness.

The New Testament contains numerous instances of Jesus performing miracles to heal the blind. According to the Gospels, Jesus healed the two blind men of Galilee, the blind man of Bethsaida, the blind man of Jericho and the man who was born blind.

The parable of the blind men and an elephant has crossed between many religious traditions and is part of Jain, Buddhist, Sufi and Hindu lore. In various versions of the tale, a group of blind men (or men in the dark) touch an elephant to learn what it is like. Each one feels a different part, but only one part, such as the side or the tusk. They then compare notes and learn that they are in complete disagreement.

"Three Blind Mice" is a medieval English nursery rhyme about three blind mice whose tails are cut off after chasing the farmer's wife. The work is explicitly incongruous, ending with the comment Did you ever see such a sight in your life, As three blind mice?

Poet John Milton, who went blind in mid-life, composed On His Blindness, a sonnet about coping with blindness. The work posits that [those] who best Bear [God]'s mild yoke, they serve him best.

The Dutch painter and engraver Rembrandt often depicted scenes from the apocryphal Book of Tobit, which tells the story of a blind patriarch who is healed by his son, Tobias, with the help of the archangel Raphael.[63]

Slaver-turned-abolitionist John Newton composed the hymn Amazing Grace about a wretch who "once was lost, but now am found, Was blind, but now I see." Blindness, in this sense, is used both metaphorically (to refer to someone who was ignorant but later became knowledgeable) and literally, as a reference to those healed in the Bible. In the later years of his life, Newton himself would go blind.

H. G. Wells' story "The Country of the Blind" explores what would happen if a sighted man found himself trapped in a country of blind people to emphasise societies attitude to blind people by turning the situation on its head.

Bob Dylan's anti-war song "Blowin' in the Wind" twice alludes to metaphorical blindness: How many times can a man turn his head // and pretend that he just doesn't see... How many times must a man look up // Before he can see the sky?

Read more:
Visual impairment - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

What is it?

Vischeck is a way of showing you what things look like to someone who is color blind. You can try Vischeck online- either run Vischeck on your own image files or run Vischeck on a web page. You can also download programs to let you run it on your own computer.

Roughly 1 in 20 people have some sort of color vision deficiency. The world looks different to these people: they often find it hard to tell red and green things apart. This often means that they sometimes can't see things that 'color normal' people can see (examples).

Many pictures, documents and web pages are hard for color blind people to read because the people who designed them didn't think about the problem. Vischeck lets them check their work for color blind visibility. It is also interesting to anyone who is just plain curious about what the world looks like if you're color blind.

Vischeck is a computer simulation of the entire process of human vision. The model can be divided into three parts.

The first stage includes the physical properties of the display devices (including various CRT and LCD monitors, and standard CYMK print on paper), the ambient lighting and the effects of physiological factors such as corneal haze, lens opacities and short or long-sightedness which might degrade the optical image.

The second stage of the model describes the transformation of optical image on the retina into a neural representation of that image in the optic nerve. At this point, visual disabilities and anomalies such as color-blindness or retinal degeneration can be included in the model.

The final stage in Vischeck is a model of human cortical vision. At this stage, we include information about the way in which color, spatial patterns and motion are combined and processed in the visual cortex, to form the observer's perception of the image

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Vischeck: About Vischeck

Author Message

James L McLeod

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Paul McChesney (Admin)

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Anonymous

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Paul McChesney (Admin)

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If you have significant vision problems in both eyes, that make it more difficult to work, that is a more complex question.

If you have an impairment in one eye only, you are probably going to have to find something else, such as severe headaches that interfere with concentration, to establish disability.

A local social security lawyer can better answer the question as to whether your situation justifies an SSI or social security disability claim.

D.Fowler

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Reply by Paul: See the preceeding answer for the best I can give as to proving disability by blindness.

The "grid" hardly applies to blindness. It is a set of rules that directs a finding of disabled or not disabled based on age, education, work experience, and degree of exertional limitations. The cases involving people with nonexertional limitations will not be controlled by the grids. Vision impairments are nonexertional.

KIM MELTON

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Reply by Paul Yes, if it is serious enough, and if you have worked enough. To win an SSI case you need not show you have worked, but need to show that your family has no income. But to win it needs to affect your ability to function in a work setting. In order to judge, you need to provide me with the limitations it causes in your case. Also your city and state.

(Message edited by admin on July 26, 2005)

heather@inorbit.com

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I quit in April of 2000 because I was pregnant and my vision got significently worse, I was tripping over everything and was scared I would fall and harm the baby. I was also getting severe strains from the computer glare and was advised to avoid computers at that time to "save" my vision. I have not worked since.

Is the above enough to qualify? I have 55 days left to appeal. Can you suggest an attorney in the Miami area? Thank You so much for your help.

Reply by Paul You have a very serious problem, and should definitely pursue a disability claim in addition to other avenues that might, if you are lucky, lead to employment. It seems to me that you are virtually legally blind, and have other problems, too.

If you get on disability, there are might be special programs that make it easier for you to experiment with working while you are drawing disability.

I would certainly get an attorney at this point; you have tried once on your own and been unsuccessful. If you have trouble getting an attorney right away, be sure to appeal on your own by going down to the Social Security office. GET A RECEIPT! That will give you a little extra time.

I will suggest an attorney by email.

anonnymous

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mary alston

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Paul McChesney (Admin)

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Ted Fogg

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Paul McChesney (Admin)

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misty traweek

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Paul McChesney (Admin)

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The crucial question in cases involving vision is how well you can see with best correction. You don't tell me what your corrected vision is, so I can't say.

The Snellen number, 20/20 or 20/400, tells how well you can see at a distance in the center of your field of vision. You also can be disabled because of narrowing of field of vision and difficulty with close vision, which is more relevant for work puroposes.

All eye doctors know what "legally blind" means, and if your doctor will say you are that, you can probably get benefits without an attorney.

Headaches can be disabling, but that sort of case is difficult to prove. If that is your main basis for your claim, get a lawyer before you file, even, and develop your case carefully.

Take care and good luck.

mbjbajjc

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Paul McChesney (Admin)

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Of course, as you probably know, legally blind people are not allowed to drive.

While you still have a job, you must be positive that you have all possible long and short term disability benefits that might be available to you.

I would talk to a good Social Security lawyer before I went out of work, in order to try to minimize any possible time without income.

You might look into a less demanding job that would enable you to earn your full state retirement.

Take care and good luck.

murlesl

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Paul McChesney (Admin)

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Mickey Unregistered guest

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Paul McChesney (Admin) Board Administrator Username: Admin

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Marie Unregistered guest

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Paul McChesney (Admin) Board Administrator Username: Admin

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That's the long answer. The short answer is get your medical records and sit down with a good disability lawyer, preferably before you stop working, and take your next steps very carefully.

Dan Williams Unregistered guest

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Paul McChesney (Admin) Board Administrator Username: Admin

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If you are not legally blind, the test for disability based on vision alone is complex; it is based on both your "visual field," meaning how far to the side, up and down you can see when you fix your eyes on a spot in front of you, and your "central visual acuity," meaning how well you can see at a spot in front of you with the glasses that help you most.

If you are not legally blind, and your vision is stable, disability based on eyesight is based on the product of your visual field and your central visual acuity, so that the better your central vision, the worse your visual field must be in order to establish disability.

I know that's confusing; the bottom line is that it is too complicated for me to answer.

On top of that, if you have a disease like sarcioidosis that causes ever varying impairment, it becomes more difficult to correct vision with glasses; the prescription that worked yesterday might not work tomorrow.

Maybe it would be wise to get your medical records and sit down with an attorney that handles a lot of these cases.

Take care and good luck.

joseph mantia Unregistered guest

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Paul McChesney (Admin) Board Administrator Username: Admin

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You have a good shot at continuing benefits, but you need to be ready to appeal quickly if they try to cut you off.

The fact that your primary problem has improved makes it more likely for them to cut you off.

But your condition has also worsend; you need to be sure that appears in the record. Be sure they get good records of each of your new problems.

If you get a termination notice, be sure to appeal, in person, within 10 days, and get a receipt proving you did so. If so, you can get benefits continued while you appeal. This will protect you from immediate catastrophe.

If they try to terminate you, you should immediately get legal aid involved, or else hire an attorney.

Brian (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest

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In the statement they sent me .it has alot of limitations on it......I can't lift anything over 50 pds....25 pds occasionally...I can't be up on ladders...I can walk or stand for 6 hours in an 8 hour work day..I can't handle small objects...and so forth.

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Social-Security-Disability-Forum: Blindness and Vision ...

Overview

Blindness is the inability to see anything, even light. If you are partially blind, you have limited vision. Complete blindness means that you cannot see at all and are in total darkness. Legal blindness refers to vision that is highly compromised: What a person with healthy eyes can see from 200 feet away, a legally blind person can see only from 20 feet away.

If you suddenly lose the ability to see, seek medical attention right away. Go to the emergency room for treatment. Do not simply wait for your vision to return. Immediate treatment increases the chances of restoring your vision, depending on the cause of your blindness. Treatment may involve surgery or medication.

Total blindness means that you cannot see anything. If you have partial blindness, you may suffer from blurry vision or the inability to distinguish the shapes of objects, depending on the cause of your vision impairment.

The following eye diseases and conditions can cause blindness:

If you suffer from diabetes or have a stroke, blindness is a potential complication. Birth defects, eye injuries, and complications from eye surgery are other common causes of blindness.

The following categories of people are at risk for blindness:

If you are completely blind, you can see nothing. If you are partially blind, you might experience the following symptoms:

A childs visual system begins to develop in the womb, but will not be fully formed until about 2 years of age. By 6 to 8 weeks of age, a baby should be able to fix his or her gaze on an object and follow its movement. By 4 months of age, the childs eyes should be properly aligned (not turned inward or outward).

A pediatrician will screen your baby for eye problems shortly after birth. At 6 months of age, you should have an eye doctor or pediatrician check your child again for visual acuity, focus, and eye alignment. The doctor will look at your babys eye structures and see whether the baby can follow a light or colorful object with his or her eyes.

The following conditions can cause vision impairment or blindness in infants:

Your child should be able to pay attention to visual stimuli by 6 to 8 weeks of age. If your child does not react to light shining in his or her eyes or focus on colorful objects by 2 to 3 months of age, or if you notice crossed eyes or any other symptoms of impaired vision, have your childs eyes examined right away.

Symptoms of visual impairment in young children include:

A thorough eye exam by an optometrist will help to determine the cause of your blindness or partial loss of vision. Eye doctors administer a series of tests that measure the clarity of your vision, the function of your eye muscles, and how your pupils react to light. The eye doctor will examine the general health of your eyes using a slit lamp, which is a low-power microscope paired with a high-intensity light.

In some cases of vision impairment, eyeglasses, surgery, or medication may help to restore your vision.

If you experience partial blindness that cannot be corrected, treatment usually involves guidance on how to function with limited vision. For example, you can use a magnifying glass to read, increase the text size on your computer, and use audio clocks and audiobooks.

Complete blindness requires approaching life in a new way and learning new skills, including:

The long-term outlook for restoring vision and slowing vision loss is better when treatment is preventive and is sought immediately. Cataracts can be treated effectively with surgery and do not necessarily result in blindness. Early diagnosis and treatment is also important in cases of glaucoma and macular degeneration to help slow down or stop vision loss.

To help prevent vision loss, get regular eye examinations to detect any eye diseases. If you are diagnosed with certain eye conditions, such as glaucoma, treatment with medication can help to prevent blindness.

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Blindness: Types, Causes & Symptoms - Healthline

Blindness: Introduction

Blindness: Any type of vision loss (e.g. blindness, blurred vision, double vision, etc.) is a symptom of great concern. Many of the causes are very serious ... more about Blindness.

Blindness: The inability to see out of the eyes. More detailed information about the symptoms, causes, and treatments of Blindness is available below.

Read more about symptoms of Blindness

Home medical testing related to Blindness:

Read more about Deaths and Blindness.

Read more about Types of Blindness

Read more about complications of Blindness.

See full list of 364 causes of Blindness

More information about causes of Blindness:

Research the causes of these diseases that are similar to, or related to, Blindness:

Commonly undiagnosed diseases in related medical categories:

Research related physicians and medical specialists:

Other doctor, physician and specialist research services:

More Blindness animations & videos

Visit our research pages for current research about Blindness treatments.

The US based website ClinicalTrials.gov lists information on both federally and privately supported clinical trials using human volunteers.

Some of the clinical trials listed on ClinicalTrials.gov for Blindness include:

See full list of 23 Clinical Trials for Blindness

Prevention information for Blindness has been compiled from various data sources and may be inaccurate or incomplete. None of these methods guarantee prevention of Blindness.

Read more about prevention of Blindness

Types of Blindness

Related forums and medical stories:

Read about other experiences, ask a question about Blindness, or answer someone else's question, on our message boards:

Visual impairments limiting one or more of the basic functions of the eye: visual acuity, dark adaptation, color vision, or peripheral vision. These may result from EYE DISEASES; OPTIC NERVE DISEASES; VISUAL PATHWAY diseases; OCCIPITAL LOBE diseases; OCULAR MOTILITY DISORDERS; and other conditions. Visual disability refers to inability of the individual to perform specific visual tasks, such as reading, writing, orientation, or traveling unaided. (From Newell, Ophthalmology: Principles and Concepts, 7th ed, p132) - (Source - Diseases Database)

Lack of sight - (Source - WordNet 2.1)

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Blindness Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatments and Causes ...

Blindness: Introduction

Any type of vision loss (e.g. blindness, blurred vision, double vision, etc.) is a symptom of great concern. Many of the causes are very serious medical conditions. Certain types of vision changes can be a medical emergency where delay can lead to loss of sight (e.g. for causes such as glaucoma, eye injury, retinal detachment) or loss of life (e.g. for causes such as stroke, TIA, etc.). Even transient or temporary blindness or loss of vision cannot be ignored because it can result from serious conditions such as stroke, TIA, hypertension, epilepsy, or migraine. Seek immediate professional medical attention for any such symptoms of vision changes....more

Review Causes of Blindness: Causes | Symptom Checker | Assessment Questionnaire

The following medical conditions are some of the possible causes of Blindness. There are likely to be other possible causes, so ask your doctor about your symptoms.

See full list of 496 causes of Blindness

Review Causes of Blindness: Causes | Symptom Checker | Assessment Questionnaire

Home medical tests possibly related to Blindness:

Review the causes of these more specific types of Blindness:

Review causes of types of Blindness in more specific categories:

Review causes of more specific types of Blindness:

See full list of 30 types for Blindness

Listed below are some combinations of symptoms associated with Blindness, as listed in our database. Visit the Symptom Checker, to add and remove symptoms and research your condition.

See full list of 501 Symptom Checkers for Blindness

Review further information on Blindness Treatments.

Real-life user stories relating to Blindness:

Symptom specific forums: The following patient stories in our interactive forums and message boards relate to Blindness or relevant symptoms:

Various tests are used in the diagnosis of Blindness. Some of these are listed below :

See full list of 16 diagnostic tests for Blindness

More Blindness animations & videos

Some of the comorbid or associated medical symptoms for Blindness may include these symptoms:

See all associated comorbid symptoms for Blindness

Research the causes of these more general types of symptom:

Research the causes of these symptoms that are similar to, or related to, the symptom Blindness:

During a consultation, your doctor will use various techniques to assess the symptom: Blindness. These will include a physical examination and possibly diagnostic tests. (Note: A physical exam is always done, diagnostic tests may or may not be performed depending on the suspected condition) Your doctor will ask several questions when assessing your condition. It is important to openly share any pertinent information to help your doctor make an accurate diagnosis.

It is also very important to bring an up-to-date list of all of your all medical conditions, medications including dosages, and names of numbers of any specialist you see.

Create your printable checklist here.

See Blindness Assessment Questionnaire (18 listings)

Read more about causes and Blindness deaths.

Other ways to find a doctor, or use doctor, physician and specialist online research services:

Conditions that are commonly undiagnosed in related areas may include:

Other medical conditions listed in the Disease Database as possible causes of Blindness as a symptom include:

See full list of 496 causes of Blindness - (Source - Diseases Database)

Visual impairments limiting one or more of the basic functions of the eye: visual acuity, dark adaptation, color vision, or peripheral vision. These may result from EYE DISEASES; OPTIC NERVE DISEASES; VISUAL PATHWAY diseases; OCCIPITAL LOBE diseases; OCULAR MOTILITY DISORDERS; and other conditions. Visual disability refers to inability of the individual to perform specific visual tasks, such as reading, writing, orientation, or traveling unaided. (From Newell, Ophthalmology: Principles and Concepts, 7th ed, p132) - (Source - Diseases Database)

Lack of sight - (Source - WordNet 2.1)

Inability to see or the loss or absence of perception of visual stimuli; condition may be the result of eye, optic nerve, optic chiasm or brain diseases effecting the visual pathways or occipital lobe. - (Source - CRISP)

The list of organs typically affected by Blindness may include, but is not limited to:

The list below shows some of the causes of Blindness mentioned in various sources:

See full list of 496 causes of Blindness

This information refers to the general prevalence and incidence of these diseases, not to how likely they are to be the actual cause of Blindness. Of the 496 causes of Blindness that we have listed, we have the following prevalence/incidence information:

See the analysis of the prevalence of 496 causes of Blindness

The following list of conditions have 'Blindness' or similar listed as a symptom in our database. This computer-generated list may be inaccurate or incomplete. Always seek prompt professional medical advice about the cause of any symptom.

Select from the following alphabetical view of conditions which include a symptom of Blindness or choose View All.

The following list of medical conditions have Blindness or similar listed as a medical complication in our database. The distinction between a symptom and complication is not always clear, and conditions mentioning this symptom as a complication may also be relevant. This computer-generated list may be inaccurate or incomplete. Always seek prompt professional medical advice about the cause of any symptom.

Ask or answer a question about symptoms or diseases at one of our free interactive user forums.

Medical story forums: If you have a medical story then we want to hear it.

See a list of all the medical forums

This information shows analysis of the list of causes of Blindness based on whether certain risk factors apply to the patient:

Depending on the seriousness of the onset of Blindness, you may want to consult one of the following medical professionals.

Important:In extreme cases, always seek advice from emergency services :

Vision disorders, Visual disturbance, Visual impairment, Blind or partially sighted - (Source - Diseases Database)

Subtypes of Blindness:

Night blindness (134 causes), Blind spot (51 causes), Blindness in one eye (9 causes), Acute blindness (14 causes), Blindness in both eyes (3 causes), Chronic blindness (6 causes), Fleeting blindness (14 causes), Floaters (18 causes), Eye floaters (9 causes), Eyeball spots (7 causes), Cotton wool spots (8 causes)

Medical Conditions associated with Blindness:

Vision changes (2526 causes), Vision loss (688 causes), Impaired vision (1545 causes), Visual problems (2143 causes), Vision symptoms (2526 causes), Eye symptoms (5412 causes), Face symptoms (8109 causes), Head symptoms (10192 causes), Vision distortion (1970 causes)

Symptoms related to Blindness:

Peripheral vision loss (72 causes), Floaters (18 causes), Flashes (29 causes), Blurred vision (982 causes), Double vision (221 causes), Vision changes (2526 causes), Eye symptoms (5412 causes), Eye pain (475 causes), Cataracts (330 causes), Glaucoma (150 causes), Age-related macular degeneration (AMD), Corneal opacity, Diabetic retinopathy (9 causes)

Doctor-patient articles related to symptoms and diagnosis:

These general medical articles may be of interest:

See full list of premium articles on symptoms and diagnosis

Our news pages contain the following medical news summaries about Blindness and many other medical conditions:

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Blindness - RightDiagnosis.com

Students who have no sight cannot access standard printed materials. Students who have been blind since birth may also have difficulty understanding verbal descriptions of visual materials and concepts.

Consider the description "This diagram of ancestral lineage looks like a tree." To someone who has never seen a tree, it may not be readily apparent that the structure discussed has several lines of ancestry that can be traced back to one central family. Students who lost their vision later in life may find it easier to understand such verbal descriptions. Additionally, directions and demonstrations based on color differences may be difficult to follow for students with blindness. During demonstrations, clear, concise narration of the basic points being represented in visual aids is important. This technique benefits other students as well. The assistance of a sighted person may be required in order for the student who is blind to gain access to visual content.

Ready access to the content of printed materials on computer or website can allow a blind student, who has access to technology to read text aloud and/or produce it in Braille. Some materials may need to be transferred to audiotape or embossed in Braille. Since it may take weeks or even months to create or procure these materials, it is essential that campus service staff select and prepare these materials well before they are needed. School services for students with disabilities typically coordinates Braille, electronic, and audiotape production in collaboration with staff, instructors and the student. They may also be able to locate or create tactile models and raised-line drawings of graphic images.

Computers with optical character readers, speech output, Braille screen displays, and Braille printers allow students who are blind to access electronic resources. The disabled student services office and/or computing services staff on your campus can be consulted when addressing computer access issues.

Web pages should be designed so that they are accessible to those using Braille and speech output systems. Your webmaster should be knowledgeable about accessible design of web pages.

Typical accommodations for students who are blind are:

Let's consider an example. How could a student who is blind access a campus map to understand the campus layout? Choose a response.

Responses:

For frequently asked questions, case studies, and promising practices, consult the searchable Knowledge Base.

Explore DO-IT Publications, Knowledge Base articles, and websites on this topic atAccommodation Resources: Blindness. To learn about specific accommodations for an academic activity, select from the list below.

Continued here:
Blindness | DO-IT - University of Washington

Blindness,transient or permanent inability to see any light at all (total blindness) or to retain any useful vision despite attempts at vision enhancement (functional blindness). Less-severe levels of vision impairment have been categorized, ranging from near-normal vision to various degrees of low vision to near-blindness, depending on the visual acuity and functional impact stemming from the vision loss. Legal blindness is a government-defined term that determines eligibility for various services or benefits as well as restrictions on certain activities such as driving.

Specific causes of impaired vision are too numerous to list. In general, any process that causes malfunction of the retina, the optic nerve, or the visual centres and pathways of the brain can reduce vision. In severe cases, blindness may result. Broad categories of conditions that impair vision include infections (e.g., gonorrhea or congenital rubella infection), inflammations (e.g., uveitis), congenital or hereditary diseases (e.g., retinitis pigmentosa), tumours, cataracts, trauma or mechanical injury, metabolic and nutritional disorders, glaucoma, vascular damage (e.g., diabetic eye disease or atherosclerosis), and refractive errors (e.g., nearsightedness or farsightedness). In addition, there are many vision-lowering conditions for which there is no well-understood cause (e.g., age-related macular degeneration).

blindness: football coachContunico ZDF Enterprises GmbH, MainzMany other potentially blinding disorders do not fit easily into general categories. Few of these conditions, however, lead to total blindness, and many of them have some form of available treatment. Even when the underlying problem cannot be corrected, multiple low-vision aids have been developed to optimize remaining vision. In cases of functional or total blindness, other senses and skills must be emphasized or developed. In addition, a strong psychosocial support system can greatly enhance a persons ability to cope with vision loss.

Continue reading here:
blindness | medical condition | Britannica.com

Blindness is a partial or total loss of vision that can be present from birth or happen suddenly due to injury or illness, or gradually due to old age or progressive diseases such as cataracts, retinal degeneration and glaucoma.

Gradual loss of vision can be hard to detect, but here are a few signs:

Though blindness can be a congenital condition or part of the aging process, the following conditions can also lead to vision loss in dogs:

Your vet can give your dog a preliminary exam and, if necessary, recommend a veterinary ophthalmologist who will perform a complete exam, during which hell look closely at a dogs retina and the outer parts of his eye.

Elderly dogs of all breeds can suffer from vision loss. Progressive retinal atrophy is most common in cocker spaniels, collies, Irish setters, Norwegian elkhounds, schnauzers and poodles, but can affect any breed. Collie eye anomaly usually affects collie breeds and retinal dysplasia is commonly seen in beagles and Labrador retrievers. Breeds that are predisposed to glaucoma include American cocker spaniels, basset hounds, Chow Chows and Labrador retrievers.

You can help your dog feel secure in his surroundings by providing a stable, accident-free environment.

Pet parents should not let eye infections go untreated and any signs of diabetes should be investigated. Cataracts should also be monitored by a veterinarian.

Loss of vision in dogs can be reversible, depending on the cause. Cataracts, which cause mild to total vision loss, can be removed by surgery. Veterinary ophthalmologists commonly perform cataract removals and are able to restore vision in their canine patients.

Immediately! If you even have a small suspicion your dogs eyesight might be failing, see your vet right away. Very often, one eye will fail first and the other will compensate, which makes it difficult to tell there is any loss of vision. If you see any changes in your dogs orientation or ability to locate places and objects, go for a check-up.

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Blindness | ASPCA

Any condition that blocks light from getting to the retina impairs a dogs vision. Corneal diseases and cataracts fall into this category. Glaucoma, uveitis, and retinal diseases are other important causes of blindness in dogs.

Most causes of blindness will not be evident on general observation of the eye itself. But there are some signs that suggest a dog may not be seeing as well as before. For example, a visually impaired dog may step high or with great caution, tread on objects that normally are avoided, bump into furniture, and carry his nose close to the ground. Dogs who normally catch well may suddenly start to miss objects thrown to them. The inactivity of older dogs is often attributed simply to old age, but failing eyesight may also be a cause.

Shining a bright light into the dogs eye to test for pupil constriction is not an accurate test for blindness, because the pupil can become smaller from a light reflex alone. This doesnt tell you whether the dog is able to form a visual image.

One way to test eyesight is to observe the dog in a dark room in which the furniture has been rearranged. As the dog begins to walk about, see if he moves with confidence or hesitates and collides with the furniture. Turn on the lights and repeat the test. A completely blind dog will perform the same way on both tests. A dog with some sight will show more confidence when the lights are on. Performance tests such as these give qualitative information about eyesight, but the degree of impairment can only be determined by veterinary examination.

A diagnosis of blindness or irreversible vision loss is not a catastrophe. The fact is that most dogs, even those with normal eyesight, do not really see very well. They rely to a greater extent on their keen senses of hearing and smell. These senses take over and actually become more acute as eyesight fails. This makes it relatively easy for visually impaired dogs to get around in areas they know. However, a blind dog should not be turned loose in unfamiliar surroundings or he could be injured. In the house, try to avoid moving furniture, because your dog will have a mental map of where things are. When left outdoors, confine a visually impaired dog to a fenced yard or run. Walking on a leash is safe exercise. The dog learns to rely on his owner as a seeing-eye person.

It is important to be aware of impending blindness while the dog is still able to see. This allows time for retraining in basic commands such as stop, stay, and come. When the dog actually does go blind, obedience training can be a lifesaver.

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Blindness in Dogs - WebMD

Inattentional blindness, also known as perceptual blindness, is a psychological lack of attention and is not associated with any vision defects or deficits. It may be further defined as the event in which an individual fails to recognize an unexpected stimulus that is in plain sight. The term was coined by Arien Mack and Irvin Rock in 1992 and was used as the title of their book of the same name, published by MIT press in 1998.[1] Here, they describe the discovery of inattentional blindness and include a collection of procedures used describing the phenomenon.[2] Research[citation needed] on inattentional blindness suggests that the phenomenon can occur in any individual, independent of cognitive deficits. When it simply becomes impossible for one to attend to all the stimuli in a given situation, a temporary blindness effect can take place as a result; that is, individuals fail to see objects or stimuli that are unexpected and quite often salient.[citation needed]

Inattentional blindness also has an effect on peoples perception. There have been numerous experiments performed that demonstrate this phenomenon.[3]

The following criteria are required to classify an event as an inattentional blindness episode: 1) the observer must fail to notice a visual object or event, 2) the object or event must be fully visible, 3) observers must be able to readily identify the object if they are consciously perceiving it,[2] and 4) the event must be unexpected and the failure to see the object or event must be due to the engagement of attention on other aspects of the visual scene and not due to aspects the visual stimulus itself.[2] Individuals who experience inattentional blindness are usually unaware of this effect, which can play a subsequent role on behavior.

Inattentional blindness is related to but distinct from other failures of visual awareness such as change blindness, repetition blindness, visual masking, and attentional blink. The key aspect of inattentional blindess which makes it distinct from other failures in awareness rests on the fact that the undetected stimulus is unexpected.[4] It is the unexpected nature of said stimulus that differentiates inattentional blindness from failures of awareness such as attentional failures like the aforementioned attentional blink. It is critical to acknowledge that occurrences of inattentional blindness are attributed to the failure to consciously attend to an item in the visual field as opposed the absence of cognitive processing.

Findings such as inattentional blindness - the failure to notice a fully visible but unexpected object because attention was engaged on another task, event, or object - has changed views on how the brain stores and integrates visual information, and has led to further questioning and investigation of the brain and importantly of cognitive processes.

Cognitive capture or, cognitive tunneling, is an inattentional blindness phenomenon in which the observer is too focused on instrumentation, task at hand, internal thought, etc. and not on the present environment. For example, while driving, a driver focused on the speedometer and not on the road is suffering from cognitive capture.[5]

One of the most foremost conflicts among researchers of inattentional blindness surrounds the processing of unattended stimuli. More specifically, there is disagreement in the literature about exactly how much processing of a visual scene is completed before selection dictates which stimuli will be consciously perceived, and which will not be (i.e. inattentional blindness). There exists two basic schools of thought on the issue - those who believe selection occurs early in the perceptual process, and those who believe it occurs only after significant processing.[6] Early selection theorists propose that perception of stimuli is a limited process requiring selection to proceed. This suggests that the decision to attend to specific stimuli occurs early in processing, soon after the rudimentary study of physical features; only those selected stimuli are then fully processed. On the other hand, proponents of late selection theories argue that perception is an unlimited operation, and all stimuli in a visual scene are processed simultaneously. In this case, selection of relevant information is done after full processing of all stimuli.[7]

While early research on the topic was heavily focused on early selection, research since the late 1970s has been shifted mainly to the late selection theories. This change resulted primarily from a shift in paradigms used to study inattentional blindness which revealed new aspects of the phenomenon.[8] Today, late selection theories are generally accepted, and continue to be the focus of the majority of research concerning inattentional blindness.

A significant body of research has been gathered in support of late selection in the perception of visual stimuli.

One of the popular ways of investigating late selection is to assess the priming properties (i.e. influencing subsequent acts[9]) of unattended stimuli. Often used to demonstrate such effects is the stem completion task. While there exist a few variations, these studies generally consist of showing participants the first few letters of words, and asking them to complete the string of letters to form an English word.[9] It has been demonstrated that observers are significantly more likely to complete word fragments with the unattended stimuli presented in a trial than with another similar word.[1] This effect holds when stimuli are not words, but instead objects. When photos of objects are shown too quickly for participants to identify, subsequent presentation of those items lead to significantly faster identification in comparison to novel objects.[9]

A notable study by Mack and Rock has also revealed that showing a word stimulus differing from the participant's name by one letter did not generally call conscious attention. By simply changing a character, transforming the presented word into the observer's first name, the now highly meaningful stimulus is significantly more likely to be attended to. This suggests that the stimuli are being extensively processed, at least enough to analyze their meaning. These results point to the fact that attentional selection may be determined late in processing.[1]

The evidence outlined above suggests that even when stimuli are not processed to the level of conscious attention, they are nonetheless perceptually and cognitively processed, and can indeed exert effects on subsequent behavior.[10]

While the evidence supporting late selection hypotheses is significant and has been consistently reproduced, there also exists a body of research suggesting that unattended stimuli in fact may not receive significant processing.

For example, in an functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study by Rees and colleagues, brain activity was recorded while participants completed a perceptual task. Here they examined the neural processing of meaningful (words) and meaningless (consonant string) stimuli both when attended to, and when these same items were unattended. While no difference in activation patterns were found between the groups when the stimuli were unattended, differences in neural processing were observed for meaningful versus meaningless stimuli to which participants overtly attended. This pattern of results suggests that ignored stimuli are not processed to the level of meaning, i.e. less extensively than attended stimuli.[11] Participants do not seem to be detecting meaning in stimuli to which they are not consciously attending.

This particular hypothesis bridges the gap between the early and late selection theories. Authors integrate the viewpoint of early selection stating that perception is a limited process (i.e. cognitive resources are limited), and that of the late selection theories assuming perception as an automatic process.[7] This view proposes that the level of processing which occurs for any one stimulus is dependent on the current perceptual load. That is, if the current task is attentionally demanding and its processing exhausts all the available resources, little remains available to process other non-target stimuli in the visual field. Alternatively, if processing requires a small amount of attentional resources, perceptual load is low and attention is inescapably directed to the non-target stimuli.[6]

The effects of perceptual load on the occurrence of inattentional blindness is demonstrated in a study by Fougnie and Marois. Here, participants were asked to complete a memory task involving either the simple maintenance of verbal stimuli, or the rearrangement of this material, a more cognitively demanding exercise. While subjects were completing the assigned task, an unexpected visual stimulus was presented. Results revealed that unexpected stimuli were more likely to be missed during manipulation of information than in the more simple rehearsal task.[12]

In a similar type of study, fMRI recordings were done while subjects took part in either low-demand or high-demand subtraction tasks. While performing these exercises, novel visual distractors were presented. When task demands were low and used a smaller portion of the finite resources, distractors captured attention and sparked visual analysis as shown by brain activation in the primary visual cortex. These results, however, did not hold when perceptual load was high; in this condition, distractors were significantly less often attended to and processed.[6]

Thus, higher perceptual load, and therefore more significant use of attentional resources, appears to increase the likelihood of inattentional blindness episodes.

The theory of inattentional amnesia provides an alternative in the explanation of inattentional blindness in suggesting that the phenomenon does not stem from failures in capture of attention or in actual perception of stimuli, but instead from a failure in memory. The unnoticed stimuli in a visual scene are attended to and consciously perceived, but are rapidly forgotten rendering them impossible to report.[13] In essence, inattentional amnesia refers to the failure in creating a lasting explicit memory: by the time a subject is asked to recall seeing an item, their memory for the stimulus has vanished.[14]

While it is difficult to tease apart a failure in perception from one in memory, some research has attempted to shed light on the issue. In a now-classic study of inattentional blindness, a woman carrying an umbrella through a scene goes unnoticed. Despite stopping the video while she is walking through and immediately asking participants to identify which of two people they have seen - leaving as little delay as possible between presentation and report - observers very often fail to correctly identify the woman with the umbrella. No differences in performance were identified whether the video was stopped immediately after the unexpected event or moments later. These findings would seem to oppose the idea of inattentional amnesia, however advocates of the theory could always contend that the memory test simply came too late and that the memory had already been lost.[15]

The very phenomenon of inattentional blindness is defined by a lack of expectation for the unattended stimulus. Some researchers believe that it is not inattention that produces blindness, but in fact the aforementioned lack of expectation for the stimuli.[10] Proponents of this theory often state that classic methods for testing inattentional blindness are not manipulating attention per se, but instead the expectation for the presentation of a visual item.[16]

Studies investigating the effect of expectation on episodes of inattentional blindness have shown that once observers are made aware of the importance of the to be presented stimuli, for example stating that one will later be tested on it, the phenomenon essentially disappears.[1] While admitting to possible ambiguities in methodology, Mack, one of the foremost researchers in the field, holds strongly that inattentional blindness stems predominantly from a failure of attentional capture. She points out that if expectation does not mediate instances of very closely linked phenomena such as attentional blink and change blindness (whereby participants have difficulty identifying the changing object even when they are explicitly told to look for it), it is unlikely that inattentional blindness can be explained solely by a lack of expectation for stimulus presentation.[10]

The perceptual cycle framework has been used as another theoretical basis for inattentional blindness. The perceptual cycle framework describes attention capture and awareness capture as occurring at two different stages of processing. Attention capture occurs when there is a shift in attention due to the salience of a stimuli, and awareness capture refers to the conscious acknowledgement of stimuli. Attentional sets are important because it is composed of characteristics of stimuli an individual is processing. Inattentional blindness occurs when there is an interaction between an individual's attentional set and the salience of the unexpected stimulus. Recognizing the unexpected stimulus can occur when the characteristics of the unexpected stimulus resembles the characteristics of the perceived stimuli. The attentional set theory of inattentional blindness has implications for false memories and eyewitness testimony. The perceptual cycle framework offers four major implications about inattentional blindness 1) environmental cues aid in the detection of stimuli by providing orienting cues but is not enough to produce awareness, 2) perception requires effortful sustained attention, interpretation, and reinterpretation, 3) implicit memory may precede conscious perception, and 4) visual stimuli that is not expected, explored, or interpreted may not be perceived.[17]

Other bases for attentional blindness include top down and bottom up processing.

To test for inattentional blindness, researchers ask participants to complete a primary task while an unexpected stimulus is presented. Afterwards, researchers ask participants if they saw anything unusual during the primary task. Arien Mack and Irvin Rock describe a series of experiments that demonstrated inattentional blindness in their 1998 book, Inattentional Blindness.

The best-known study demonstrating inattentional blindness is the Invisible Gorilla Test, conducted by Daniel Simons of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Christopher Chabris of Harvard University. This study, a revised version of earlier studies conducted by Ulric Neisser, Neisser and Becklen in 1975, asked subjects to watch a short video of two groups of people (wearing black and white t-shirts) pass a basketball around. The subjects are told to either count the number of passes made by one of the teams or to keep count of bounce passes vs. aerial passes. In different versions of the video a woman walks through the scene carrying an umbrella (as discussed above), or wearing a full gorilla suit. After watching the video the subjects are asked if they noticed anything out of the ordinary take place. In most groups, 50% of the subjects did not report seeing the gorilla (or the woman with the umbrella). The failure to perceive the anomalies is attributed to the failure to attend to it while engaged in the difficult task of counting the number of passes of the ball. These results indicate that the relationship between what is in one's visual field and perception is based much more on attention than was previously thought.[18]

Although it was found that 50% of the test subjects demonstrated change blindness to the introduction of the gorilla or the umbrella, it is difficult to find published information on what percentage of study participants were able to accurately count the passes.[19]

The basic Simons and Chabris study was re-used on British television as a public safety advert designed to point out the potential dangers to cyclists caused by inattentional blindness in motorists. In the advert the gorilla is replaced by a moon-walking bear.[20]

In 1995, Officer Kenny Conley was chasing a shooting suspect. An undercover officer was in the same vicinity and was mistakenly taken down by other officers while Conley ran by and failed to notice. A jury later convicted Officer Conley of perjury and obstruction of justice, believing he had seen the fight and lied about it to protect fellow officers, yet he stood by his word that he had, in fact, not seen it.[21]

Christopher Chabris, Adam Weinberger, Matthew Fontaine and Daniel J. Simons took it upon themselves to see if this scenario was possible. They designed an experiment in which participants were asked to run about 30 feet behind Officer Conley himself, and count how many times he touched his head. A fight was staged to appear about 8 meters off the path, and was visible for approximately 15 seconds. The procedure in its entirety lasted about 2 minutes and 45 seconds, and participants were then asked to report the number of times they had seen Officer Conley touch his head with either hand (medium load), both hands (high load), or were not instructed to count at all (low load). After the run, participants were asked 3 questions: 1) If they had noticed the fight; 2) if they had noticed a juggler, and 3) if they had noticed someone dribbling a basketball. Questions 2) and 3) were control questions, and no one falsely reported these as true.

Participants were significantly more likely to notice the fight when the experiment was done during the day as opposed to in the dark. Additionally, sightings of the fight were most likely to be reported in the low load condition (72%) than in either the medium load (56%), or high load conditions (42%).[22] These results exemplify a real world occurrence of inattentional blindness, and provide evidence that officer Conley could indeed have missed the fight because his attention was focused elsewhere. Moreover, these results add to the body of knowledge suggesting that as perceptual load increases, less resources remain to process items not explicitly focused on, and in turn episodes of inattentional blindness become more frequent.

Another experiment was conducted by Steven Most, along with Daniel Simons, Christopher Chabris and Brian Scholl. Instead of a basketball game, they used stimuli presented by computer displays. In this experiment objects moved randomly on a computer screen. Participants were instructed to attend to the black objects and ignore the white, or vice versa. After several trials, a red cross unexpectedly appeared and traveled across the display, remaining on the computer screen for five seconds. The results of the experiment showed that even though the cross was distinctive from the black and white objects both in color and shape, about a third of participants missed it. They had found that people may be attentionally tuned to certain perceptual dimensions, such as brightness or shape. Inattentional blindness is most likely to occur if the unexpected stimuli presented resembles the environment.[23]

One interesting experiment displayed how cell phones contributed to inattentional blindness in basic tasks such as walking. The stimuli for this experiment was a brightly colored clown on a unicycle. The individuals participating in this experiment were divided into four sections. They were either talking on the phone, listening to an mp3 player, walking by themselves or walking in pairs. The study showed that individuals engaged in cell phone conversations were least likely to notice the clown. This experiment was designed by Ira E. Hyman, S. Matthew Boss, Breanne M. Wise, Kira E. Mckenzie and Jenna M. Caggiano at Western Washington University.[24]

Daniel Memmert conducted an experiment which suggests that an individual can look directly at an object and still not perceive it. This experiment was based on the invisible gorilla experiment. The participants were children with an average age of 7.7 years. Participants watched a short video of a six player basketball game (three with white shirts, three with black shirts). The participants were instructed to watch only the players wearing black shirts and to count the number of times the team passed the ball. During the video a person in a gorilla suit walks through the scene. The film was projected onto a large screen (3.2 m X 2.4 m) and the participants sat in a chair 6 meters from the screen. The eye movement and fixations of the participants were recorded during the video and afterward the participants answered a series of questions.

Only 40% of the participants reported seeing the gorilla, leaving 60% who did not report seeing the gorilla. There was no significant difference in accuracy of the counting between the two groups. Analyzing the eye movement and fixation data showed no significant difference in the time spent looking at the players (black or white) between the two groups. However, the 60% of participants who did not report seeing the gorilla spent an average of 25 frames (about one second) fixated on the gorilla, despite not perceiving it.[25]

A more common example of the above is illustrated in the game of Three-card Monte.

Another experiment conducted by Daniel Memmert tested the effects of different levels of expertise can have on inattentional blindness. The participants in this experiment included six different groups: Adult basketball experts with an average of twelve years of experience, junior basketball experts with an average of five years, children who had practiced the game for an average of two years, and novice counterparts for each age group. In this experiment the participants watched the invisible gorilla experiment video. The participants were instructed to watch only the players wearing white and to count the number of times the team passed the ball.

The results of the experiment showed that experts did not count the number of passes more accurately than novices but did show that adult subjects were more accurate than the junior and children subjects. A much higher percentage of experts noticed the gorilla compared to novices and even the practiced children. 62% of the adult experts and 60% of the junior experts noticed the gorilla, suggesting that the difference between five and twelve years of experience has minimal effect on inattentional blindness. However, only 38% of the adult, 35% of the junior, and none of the children novices noticed the gorilla. Only 18% of the children with two years of practice noticed. This suggests that both age and experience can have a significant effect on inattentional blindness.[25]

Arien Mack and Irvin Rocks concluded in 1998 that no conscious perception can occur without attention.[1] Evidence through research on inattentional blindness contemplates that it may be possible that inattentional blindness reflects a problem with memory rather than with perception.[1] It is argued that at least some instances of inattentional blindness are better characterized as memory failures than perceptual failures. The extent to which unattended stimuli fail to engage perceptual processing is an empirical question that the combination of inattentional blindness and other various measures of processing can be used to address.[2]

The theory behind inattentional blindness research suggests that we consciously experience only those objects and events to which we directly attend.[1] That means that the vast majority of information in our field of vision goes unnoticed. Thus if we miss the target stimulus in an experiment, but are later told about the existence of the stimulus, this sufficient awareness allows participants to report and recall the stimulus now that attention has been allocated to it.[2] Mack and Rock, and their colleagues discovered a striking array of visual events to which people are inattentionally blind.[1] However the debate arises whether this inattentional blindness was due to memory or perceptual processing limitations.

Mack and Rock note that explanations for inattentional blindness can reflect a basic failure of perceptual processes to be engaged by unattended stimuli. Or that it may reflect a failure of memorial processes to encode information about unattended stimuli. It is important to note that the memory failure does not have to do with forgetting something that has been encoded by losing access to the memory of the stimulus from time of presentation to time of retrieval, rather that the failure is attributed to information not being encoded when the stimulus was present.[1] It seems that inattentional blindness can be explained by both memory and perceptual failures because in experimental research participants may fail to report what was on display due to failures in encoded information (memory) or a failure in perceptually processed information (perception).[1]

There are similarities in the types of unconscious processing apparent in inattentional blindness and in neuropsychological syndromes such as visual neglect and extinction. The analogy between these phenomenons seems to generate more questions as well as answers. These answers are fundamental for our understanding of the relationship between attention, stimulus coding and behavior.

Research has shown that some aspects of the syndrome of unilateral visual neglect appear to be similar to normal subjects in a state of inattentional blindness. In neglect, patients with lesions to the parietal cortex fail to respond to and report stimuli presented on the side of space contralateral to damage.[10][26] That is, they appear to be functionally blind to a range of stimuli. Since such lesions do not result in any sensory deficits, shortcomings have been explained in terms of a lack of attentional processing, for which the parietal cortex plays a large role.[27] These phenomena draw strong parallels to one another, as in both cases stimuli are perceptible but unreported when unattended.

In the phenomenon of extinction, patients can report the presence of a single stimulus presented on the affected side, but then fail to detect it when a second stimulus is presented simultaneously on the "good" (ipsilateral) side.[28] Here the stimulus on the affected side seems to lose under conditions of attentional competition from stimuli in the ipsilesional field.[28] The consequence of this competition is that the extinguished items may not be detected.

Similar to studies of inattentional blindness, there is evidence of processing taking place in the neglected field. For example, there can be semantic priming from a stimulus presented in the neglected field, which affects responses to stimuli subsequently presented on the unimpaired side.[29] Apparently in both neglect and inattentional blindness, there is some level processing of stimuli even when they are unattended.[29] However one major difference between neuropsychological symptoms such as neglect and extinction, and inattentional blindness concerns the role of expectation.[29] In inattentional blindness, subjects do not expect the unreported stimulus. In contrast, in neglect and extinction, patients may expect a stimulus to be presented on the affected side but still fail to report it when another it may be that expectation affects reportability but not the implicit processing of stimuli.[29]

Further explanations of the phenomenon of inattentional blindness include inattentional amnesia, inattentional agnosia and change blindness.

An explanation for this phenomenon is that observers see the critical object in their visual field but fail to process it extensively enough to retain it. Individuals experience inattentional agnosia after having seen the target stimuli but not consciously being able to identify what the stimuli is. It is possible that observers are not even able to identify that the stimuli they are seeing are coherent objects.[30] Thus observers perceive some representation of the stimuli but are actually unaware of what that stimulus is. It is because the stimulus is not encoded as a specific thing, that it later is not remembered. Individuals fail to report what the stimuli is after it has been removed. However, despite a lack in ability to fully process the stimuli, experiments have shown a priming effect of the critical stimuli. This priming effect indicates that the stimuli must have been processed to some degree, this occurs even if observers are unable to report what the stimuli is.[31]

Inattentional blindness is the failure to see a stimulus, such as an object that is present in a visual field. However, change blindness is the failure to notice something different about a visual display. Change blindness is a directly related to memory, individuals who experience the effects of change blindness fail to notice something different about a visual display from one moment to the next.[4] In experiments that test for this phenomenon participants are shown an image that is then followed by another duplicate image that has had a single change made to it. Participants are asked to compare and contrast the two images and identify what the change is. In inattentional blindness experiments, participants fail to identify some stimulus in a single display, a phenomenon that doesnt rely on memory the way change blindness does.[4] Inattentional blindness refers to an inability to identify an object all together where as change blindness is a failure to compare a new image or display to one that was previously stored in memory.[4]

In 2006, Daniel Memmert conducted a series of studies in which he tested the how age and expertise of participants affect inattentional blindness. Using the gorilla video, he tested 6 different groups of participants. There were 2 groups of children (average age=7) half with no experience in basketball, and the other half with 2 years experience; 2 groups of juniors (average age=13) half with no experience in basketball, and the other half with 5 years of experience; and 2 groups of adults (average age = 24) half with no experience in basketball, the other half with over 12 years of experience. He then instructed all the groups to keep track of how many passes the people on the black team made.

Overall, the children with or without any basketball experience failed to perceive the gorilla more than the juniors or the adults. There were no significant difference between the inexperienced junior and adult groups, or between the experienced junior and adult groups.[32] This pattern of results suggests that until the approximate age of 13, presumably because certain aspects of cognition are still under development, inattentional blindness occurrences are more frequent, but become consistent throughout the remainder of the life span.

Additionally, the juniors with basketball experience noticed the gorilla significantly more than the juniors with no basketball experience; and the group of experienced adults noticed the gorilla significantly more than the non-experienced adults. This suggests that if one has had much experience with the stimuli in a visual field, they are more likely to consciously perceive the unexpected object.

A series of studies conducted to test how similarity can influence the perception of a present stimulus. In the study, they asked participants to fixate on a central point on a computer screen and count how many times either white or black letters bounced off the edges of the screen. The first 2 trials did not contain an unexpected event, but the third trial was the critical trial in which a cross that had the same dimensions as the letters and varied in colour (white/light gray/dark gray/black) moved from the right side of the screen to the left side and passed through the central point. The results revealed the following: during the critical event, the more similar the colour of the cross was to the colour of the attended letters, the more likely the participants were to perceive it, and the less similar the colour of the cross was to the attended colour decreased the likelihood of the cross being noticed. For the participants attending to the black letters, 94% perceived the black cross; 44% perceived the dark gray cross; 12% perceived the light gray cross, and only 6% perceived the white cross. Similarly, if the participant was attending to the white letters, they were more likely to notice the cross it was white (94%) than if it was light gray (75%), dark gray (56%), or black (0%).[33] This study demonstrates that the more similar an unexpected object is to the attended object, the more likely it is to be perceived, thus reducing the chance of inattentional blindness.

The research that has been done on inattentional blindness suggests that there are four possible causes for this phenomenon. These include: conspicuity, mental workload, expectations, and capacity.[34]

Conspicuity refers to an object's ability to catch a person's attention. When something is conspicuous it is easily visible. There are two factors which determine conspicuity: sensory conspicuity and cognitive conspicuity. Sensory conspicuity factors are the physical properties an object has. If an item has bright colors, flashing lights, high contrast with environment, or other attention-grabbing physical properties it can attract a persons attention much easier. For example, people tend to notice objects that are bright colors or crazy patterns before they notice other objects. Cognitive conspicuity factors pertain to objects that are familiar to someone. People tend to notice objects faster if they have some meaning to their lives. For example, when a person hears his/her name, their attention is drawn to the person who said it. The cocktail party effect describes the cognitive conspicuity factor as well. When an object isnt conspicuous, it is easier to be inattentionally blind to it. People tend to notice items if they capture their attention in some way. If the object isnt visually prominent or relevant, there is a higher chance that a person will miss it.

Mental workload is a person's cognitive resources. The amount of a person's workload can interfere with processing of other stimuli. When a person focuses a lot of attention on one stimulus, he/she focuses less attention on other stimuli. For example, talking on the phone while driving the attention is mostly focused on the phone conversation, so there is less attention focused on driving. The mental workload could be anything from thinking about tasks that need to be done to tending to a baby in the backseat. When people have most of their attention focused on one thing, they are more vulnerable to inattentional blindness. However, the opposite is true as well. When a person has a very small mental workload he/she is doing an everyday task the task becomes automatic. Automatic processing can lessen one's mental workload, which can lead to a person to missing the unexpected stimuli. Working memory also has an effect on inattentional blindness. Those that experience inattentional blindness are more likely to have a lower working memory capacity.

Working memory also contributes to inattentional blindness. Cognitive psychologists have examined the relationship between working memory and inattention, but evidence is inconclusive. For example, some researchers state that individuals that have more space in their working memory and those with stronger working memory are less likely to be susceptible to inattentional blindness. Other researchers state that working memory does not influence inattentional blindness because working memory does not influence all attentional processes. For example, research conducted by Bredemeier and Simons, participants were given working memory tasks and a sustained-attention task. The first working memory task required participants to indicate whether a combination of letters matched a previous combination of letters that appeared earlier on a computer screen. The second working memory task required participants to determine if a target letter was in the same position as previous letters. For the sustained-attention task, participants were asked to count how many times a white square touched the edges of a computer screen. Once the tasks were completed, researchers asked participants if they noticed anything else besides the white squares during the sustained-attention task. During the sustained-attention task, a grey cross moved around the screen during some of the trails. Results indicated that 70% of participants did notice the grey cross moving on the computer screen, suggesting working memory does not have an influence on susceptibility to inattentional blindness.

On the other hand, a follow-up study to the Bredemeiser and Simons was conducted to further explore the impact of working memory using another working memory task. For this study, participants were asked to complete a math problem, and a letter was presented after each problem. After completing the math problems, participants were asked to recall the series of letters in sequential order. This task served as a working memory measure. The same sustained attention task was completed after the working memory task. Using this method, only 27% of participants noticed the grey square. Researchers concluded that working memory does influence one's experience of attentional blindness, but not an individual's ability to handle the task demands. These two studies demonstrate the inconsistencies in the relationship between working memory and inattentional blindness.[35]

When a person expects certain things to happen, he/she tends to block out other possibilities. This can lead to inattentional blindness. For example, person X is looking for their friend at a concert, and that person knows their friend (person Y) was wearing a yellow jacket. In order to find person Y, person X looks around for people wearing yellow. It is easier to pick a color out of the crowd than a person. However, if person Y took off the jacket, there is a chance person X could walk right past person Y and not notice because he/she was looking for the yellow jacket. Because of expectations, experts are more prone to inattentional blindness than beginners. An expert knows what to expect when certain situations arise. Therefore, that expert will know what to look for. This could cause that person to miss out on other important details that he/she may not have been looking for.

Attentional capacity, or neurological salience, is a measure of how much attention must be focused to complete a task. For example, an expert pianist can play a piano without thinking much, but a beginner would have to consciously think of every note they hit. This capacity can be lessened by drugs, alcohol, fatigue, and age. With a small capacity, it is more possible to miss things. Therefore, if a person is drunk, he/she will probably miss more than a sober person would. If your attentional capacity is large, you are less likely to experience inattentional blindness.

William James addressed the benefits of attention by saying, "Only those items which I notice shape my mind without selective interest, experience is utter chaos".[36] Humans have a limited mental capacity that is incapable of attending to all the sights, sounds and other inputs that rush the senses every moment. Inattentional blindness is beneficial in the sense that it is a mechanism that has evolved with attention to help filter out irrelevant input, allowing only important information to reach consciousness.[36] Several researchers, notably James J. Gibson, have argued that, even before the retina, perception begins in the ecology, which has turned perceptual processes into informational relationships in the environment through evolution.[37] This allows humans to focus our limited mental resources more efficiently in our environment. For example, New et al. maintain that survival required monitoring animals, both human and non-human, to become part of the evolutionary adaptiveness of the human species. They found that when participants were shown an image with a rapidly altering scene where the scene change included an animate or inanimate object that the participants were significantly better at identifying humans and animals. New et al. argue that better performance in detecting animals and humans is not a factor of acquired expertise, rather it is an evolved survival mechanism in human perception.[37]

Although the bulk of inattentional blindness research has been conducted in laboratory studies, the phenomenon occurs in a variety of everyday contexts. Depending upon the context, the occurrence of inattentional blindness could range from embarrassing and/or humorous to potentially devastating.

Several recent studies of explicit attention capture have found that when observers are focused on some other object or event, they often experience inattentional blindness.[38] This finding has potentially tragic implications for distracted driving. If a persons attention is focused elsewhere while driving, carrying on a conversation or text messaging, for example, they could fail to notice salient and distinctive objects, such as a stop sign, which could lead to serious injury and possibly even death. There have also been heinous incidents attributed to inattentional blindness behind the wheel. For example, a Pennsylvania highway crew accidentally paved over a dead deer that was lying on the road. When questioned regarding their actions, the workers claimed to have never seen it.[39]

Many policies are being implemented around the world to decrease the competition for explicit attention capture while operating a vehicle. For example, there are legislative efforts in many countries aimed at banning or restricting the use of cell phones while driving. Research has shown that the use of both hands-free and hand-held cellular devices while driving results in the failure of attention to explicitly capture other salient and distinctive objects, leading to significantly delayed reaction times, as well as inattentional blindness.[40] A study published in 1997, based on accident data in Toronto, found the risk involved in driving while using a cell phone to be similar to that of driving drunk. In both cases, the risk of a collision was three to six times higher compared to a sober driver not using a cell phone.[41] Moreover, Strayer et al. (2003) found that when controlling for driving difficulty and time on task, cell-phone drivers exhibited greater impairment than intoxicated drivers, using a high-fidelity driving simulator.[42]

Inattentional blindness is also prevalent in aviation. The development of heads-up display (HUD) for pilots, which projects information onto the windshield or onto a helmet-mounted display, has enabled pilots to keep their eyes on the windshield, but simulator studies have found that HUD may cause runway incursion accidents, where one plane collides with another on the runway.[36] This finding is particularly concerning because HUDs are being employed in automobiles, which could lead to potential roadway incursions.[36] When a particular object or event captures attention to the extent to which the beholders attentional capacity is completely absorbed, the resulting inattentional blindness has been known to cause dramatic accidents. For example, an airliner crew, engrossed with a blinking console light, failed to notice the approaching ground and register hearing the danger alarm sounding before the airliner crashed.[36]

Collaborative efforts to establish links between science and illusion have examined the relationship of the processes underlying inattentional blindness and the concept of misdirectiona magicians ability to manipulate attention in order to prevent his/her audience from seeing how a trick was performed. In several misdirection studies, including Kuhn and Tatler (2005),[43] participants watch a "vanishing item" magic trick. After the initial trial, participants are shown the trick until they detect the item dropping from the magicians hand. Most participants see the item drop on the second trial. The critical analyses involved differences in eye movements between the detected and undetected trials. These repetition trials are similar to the full-attention trial in the inattentional blindness paradigm, as both involve the detection of the unexpected event and, by detecting the unexpected event on the second trial, demonstrate that the event is readily perceivable.[44]

The main difference between inattentional blindness and misdirection involves how attention is manipulated. While inattentional blindness tasks require an explicit distractor, the attentional distraction in misdirection occurs through the implicit yet systematic orchestration of attention.[45] Moreover, there are several varieties of misdirection and different types are likely to induce different cognitive and perceptual processes, which vary the misdirection paradigms resemblance to inattentional blindness.[45]

Although the aims of magic and illusion differ from those of neuroscience, magicians wish to exploit cognitive weaknesses, whereas neuroscientists seek to understand the brain and the neuronal significance of cognitive functions. Several researchers have argued that neuroscientists and psychologists can learn from incorporating the real world experience and knowledge of magicians into their fields of research. The techniques developed over centuries of stage magic by magicians may also be utilized by neuroscience as powerful probes of human cognition.[46]

When a police officer's version of events differs from video or forensic evidence, inattentional blindness has been used by defense lawyers as a possibility.[47] The criticism of this defense is that this view could be used to defend nearly any police shooting.[48]

See the article here:
Inattentional blindness - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

If you read my previous post on the role of cognitive assessment in identifying uniqueness, youll know that Ive worked with a lot of folks who suffer from severe difficulties recognizing faces: a condition known as prosopagnosia or face blindness.

I get a lot of emails from people who take the face recognition tests on TestMyBrain.organd want to know what sorts of experiences might indicate that someone has face blindness. If you suspect you have face blindness, you may find you identify with some or many of the experiences below.

7 signs and symptoms of face blindness / prosopagnosia The list was compiled with the help of the Yahoo Faceblind group.

Face recognition tests like this one can sometimes help identify a face recognition problem. However, please note that some people with face blindness still score well on these sorts of tests! We are only beginning to understand the differences in visual perception and memory that might contribute to face blindness, and there are likely many types of face recognition problems that our tests simply dont tap into.

I hope this list is helpful to some of you, or at least thought-provoking. Ive tried to keep it simple, but if there is anything youd like to share please feel free to leave a comment!

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Do you suffer from face blindness? Seven signs and ...

While this movie isn't as terrible as some have made it out to be, it's no masterpiece, and it could have been a whole lot better. It's a mess, but I give it some extra credit with the rating because of it's ambition, some really good individual sequences, and because the acting is really pretty good, even if the material is lacking. Julianne Morre's character is also quite intriguing and interesting, so that's also a plus.

The way the the filmmakers choose to tell the story is interesting, but it's kind of annoying. Instead of trying to produce the expereince of going sightless, they should have just done it conventionally, instead of toying with sight and sound. I know they have good intentions, but a little goes a long way, and it gets tiring after the first 1/3 or so. I've never read the book this is based on, but maybe this should have just not been adapted.

A few more issues I need to address are the length, pacing, and material itself. The film feels way too long, it drags, it could have been a little tighter, and this is just, in general, a really depressing and disturbing affair. It's also probably offensive to the blind community, even if it is just a "what if?" scenario. This is some hard stuff to sit through. It's bleak, unrelenting, and full of too much hopelessness. It seems like they were aiming for an artsy and thought provoking film, but end up with a tedious exploitation film with high production values and good intentions gone sour.

Like I said earlier though, the specific variation to this unoriginal theme is interesting, and the characters (mainly Moore's) and performances are terrific. I'm undecided though as to whether or not it's a good thing that the epidemic and its conclusion are unexplained.

Originally posted here:
Blindness (2008) - Rotten Tomatoes

Welcome to the internet site of the Glaucoma Service Foundation to Prevent Blindness.We believe the best patient care is only possible when patients actively participate in their care and are as informed as possible about glaucoma. This site, voted one of the top five glaucoma websites in the world, provides a wealth of information as well as links to other resources.

This site provides access to unique chat sessions hosted by Glaucoma Service physicians. This chat was honored at the 2004 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology as the premiere virtual glaucoma chat support group in the world, which personalizes the educational outreach of the Service to an unprecedented degree. The chat support group is a cornerstone of the Services e-Medicine program, which includes tele-consultation, tele-informatics, and research into the practicality of tele-screening for glaucoma.

The Glaucoma Service Foundation was founded in 1979 by world renowned glaucoma specialist George L. Spaeth, MD and his late wife Ann to support glaucoma education, research and community outreach.

Special thanks to the Robison D. Harley Fund for Glaucoma Education and Research, the lead sponsor for the Annual CARES Conference.

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Glaucoma Service Foundation to Prevent Blindness