Train your brain to deconvolve blurry images instead of using reading glasses | Hacker News Reader

Train your brain to deconvolve blurry images instead of using reading glasses

glassesoff.com

32 pointsgdelfino0117 comments

This reminds me of the phenomena where individuals with mild-moderate acquired hearing loss often don't realize they're somewhat impaired, until they take a hearing test. The brain is very adept at piecing together incomplete/inaccurate information and contextual clues into a cohesive message.

I just ended up having permanent hearing loss that I was unaware of until a hearing test. Here is one thing that I learned that surprised me.

I thought that hearing loss was experienced like someone turned down a volume knob. That's not how it works. People experience hearing loss only on certain frequencies. If someone is experiencing hearing loss at high frequencies, they might have trouble hearing only certain sounds like "s" sounds when someone speaks. This leads them to believe that everyone is just mumbling. Because they sound loud, they're just not clear.

Aaron Swartz used to do this:

- http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/001083

- http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/000432

This is really cool! One important distinction to be made is that Glassesoff claims to cure presbyopia (the thing that makes you wear reading glasses) while Aaron probably had myopia (nearsightedness).

Also, I'm not certain that looking at Gabor patches can translate to fixing myopia.

Apparently has something to do with this: http://www.cogsci.nl/blog/miscellaneous/226-can-you-brain-tr...

I've been experimenting with this chart that claims good results in reversing presbyopia: http://www.robert-silverman.net/presbeninst.htm I've only tried it a few times, but there were temporary noticeable results. Unfortunately there are no quick fixes for my floaters that have gotten worse over the years.

Does this have any reputable research attached to it?

Yes, did you click on the "Our Science" link?

Also, it was covered by NYTimes, which talks about the research as well https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/27/upshot/training-your-brai...

That article claims “a number of studies support” while citing one study at first, then two more. The first study is solely authored by Uri Polat. The other two also include him as an author. In addition to the fact that the article reads like a submarine, I’m curious what if any link Dr. Polat has to the product in question.

Oh wait... https://www.crunchbase.com/person/uri-polat

That's a great catch, I didn't notice that while reading the papers. Here's one that cites Polat's papers, but doesn't seem directly influenced by GlassesOff: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004269891...

My optometrist told me about this 30 years ago. He called it learning to "interpret the blur." He also encouraging people to use glasses as little as possible so that the eye muscles don't get lazy. It may not eliminate myopia, but it can slow it down, especially in the milder cases.

I made a little playground "game" for training with gabor patches if someone would like to try, if it will improve your sight.

(hide the menu)

https://kjaku.github.io/eye/index.html

I just discovered the other day that I had unknowingly achieved this. Used to dealing with a phone display, I was reading a book which was blurry but I wanted to read faster, so I just did and was surprised to be able to comprehend everything.

Given the eyestrain I get when reading without reading glasses (when wearing contacts) and without contacts, no.

I get enough headaches without adding to them by intentionally not using purpose-made tools.

Does this work for near sighted ness?

I haven't tried the glasses-off product yet, past their demonstration pages, but I did practice this technique for a while based on the recommendations of a friend who similarly discovered it.

The "trick" as I see it is to become comfortable enough with the appearance of blurry text, and be relaxed enough so your eyes aren't constantly trying to focus, and straining the muscles. Once your eyes relax, it's amazing how well a person who's already a proficient reader can get enough information out of blurry text to read at normal speeds. In fact after a while, my brain kicks in and I'd swear that the text is sharp, even though if I pay too much attention it will appear blurry again as I realize my mind is playing tricks on me.

The only supporting studies on this method are authored by URI Polat, the Chief Science Officer of GlassesOff.

https://www.crunchbase.com/person/uri-polat

Apply grains of salt liberally.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com