

Eye Sim – The eyesight simulator - JosephFenton
http://www.eye-sim.com/

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enobrev
I had laser surgery nearly a decade ago. I spent top dollar and it's been by-
far the best investment I've ever made. There is one specific thing I do miss,
though, which was the ability to take my glasses off and disconnect into an
abstract blur. It's not something I could have done while driving or while
wandering along NYC sidewalks, but while at rest, it was an occasional relief.

I don't remember my prescription anymore, because having perfect vision is so
natural that I almost immediately forgot what it was like to require
corrective lenses. The blurriness of the demo is definitely familiar, but the
most interesting bits aren't there; To fully immerse myself into a world made
immediately foreign and more interesting due to incredibly poor eyesight,
relying heavily on my other senses to figure out the world around me. It was
meditative in ways that merely closing my eyes is not. Like stepping into a
living abstract painting and feeling my way around.

I wouldn't give up my corrected vision, but there was certainly a personal
benefit to it at the very few moments when I wasn't concerning myself with the
inherent downsides.

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Jolijn
Tried it with my own prescription (-3.75 and -3.25 dioptre) and I'd say the
result is very exaggerated. Especially considering my actual eyesight is worse
than my prescription.

How does it create a single image from two different eyes, anyway?

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luchs
Note that walking around without glasses isn't as bad for most people as these
images suggest. Depth perception still works fine at relatively high dioptre
numbers, so you can usually avoid walking into stuff.

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dantaylor08
Testing against my wife (I don't wear glasses), and according to her the
results are extremely exaggerated. If her eyesight were as bad as the
simulator suggests, she wouldn't be able to live a normal life without glasses
(which she is perfectly capable.)

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asgard1024
I am nearsighted and it's not quite accurate. The optics is probably correct,
however brain attempts to sharpen the image, so the perceived result is not
just blurred. Especially the light sources - I see somewhat fuzzy spiky balls
instead of evenly shaded blotches.

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wongarsu
>Especially the light sources - I see somewhat fuzzy spiky balls instead of
evenly shaded blotches.

Are you talking about this effect:
[http://www.stfmc.de/misc/diffcontrarefl/diffreflf23p0fby8p0t...](http://www.stfmc.de/misc/diffcontrarefl/diffreflf23p0fby8p0t1p6b1i400.jpg)
That effect is purely optical and as far as I know everyone experiences that
in the right light conditions. Evidently even cameras are not exempt.

But you're right, my eyesight is also much better than that simulator would
make people believe, and the brain is certainly a part of that.

~~~
asgard1024
I am not sure. It may contribute to it, but I still think the effect I see is
something different. Most apparent it is when I am looking into a LED light
with my bare eyes, compared to the unfocused camera. It really looks like the
brain would amplify the small differences between neigbouring "pixels" in
attempt to focus the image.

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alok-g
I built this about a year back (as a desktop app) as a part of a larger
project. Never thought about releasing this by itself. Seeking advice from HN:
How would this make money?

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ajarmst
My friends like reading about every meal I eat on twitter! They'll LOVE the
opportunity to see blurry things just like the blurry things I can see if I
take my glasses off!

