Near Sighted and Far Sighted

Many modern humans are near sighted. I say “modern” because it is unlikely our cavemen forefathers lived very long being near sighted. It would be quite difficult hunting for food while being near sighted. Therefore, those with poor eye sight most likely did not have much success hunting. This surely resulted in their earlier deaths and inabilities to successfully raise offspring. How could one possibly hit a target high in a tree with an arrow while near sighted? Or how about scanning the horizon for far away herds? It would have been a severe handicap.

Do You Have Myopia?

Near sighted simply means you can see things close up but cannot see things far away. Object off in the distance are blurry. Myopia, another name for near sightedness, occurs when the eye’s lenses are misshapen. They do not bend and focus the incoming light correctly upon the retina. The eye’s lenses change shape depending up whether the eye is looking at an object close up or far away. Near sighted people can see things very well close up, but their lenses do not adjust correctly for distant objects.

Eye glasses or contact lenses can be used to bend the light slightly as it enters the lenses. This minor correction then causes the image to be shown to the retina in focus. Laser surgery on the eye’s lenses corrects the shape so that the lenses focus properly. Being near sighted is an inherited condition.

Far sighted people are able to see things far away well but not close up. Far sightedness is not common in young people. One may have perfect vision while young, but as the lenses in the eyes age, they become less pliable and will not bend enough to see things close up in focus. This often begins to occur in one’s forties. At this time it will be necessary to wear some type of corrective lenses in order to see objects close up.

Far sightedness is not inherited. Although some suffer from worse than others, it is simply a result of aging.
People who are naturally near sighted are forced to deal with eye glasses their whole lives. But the one benefit they will have when getting older is the ability to see things close up without the aid of correction. Being near sighted has its benefits, but not until one gets to be middle aged.