Summary: The Myopia Epidemic in East Asia and Beyond

The video discusses the growing global crisis of nearsightedness (myopia), with a specific focus on why East Asia has become the epicenter of this health issue.

• The Global Scale of Myopia: Research indicates that myopia rates have tripled since 1990. Projections suggest that by 2050, half of the world's population will be nearsighted [00:03:25].
• Definition and Risks: Myopia occurs when the eyeball grows too long (axial length), causing light to focus in front of the retina rather than on it [00:04:28]. "Pathological myopia" (above -6 diopters) can lead to serious complications like retinal detachment, cataracts, glaucoma, and even blindness [00:04:49].
• The East Asian Epidemic: In regions like Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, nearly 80-90% of high school graduates are nearsighted [00:09:54]. In Taiwan specifically, myopia rates jump from 9% in kindergarten to 50% by the seventh grade [00:18:45].
• Causes - Education vs. Genetics: While genetics play a minor role (about 2% of cases), the rapid spike in myopia is attributed to environmental factors [00:11:57]. The primary driver is the intense educational pressure in "Confucian societies," where children spend excessive hours reading and writing from a very young age [00:16:41].
• The Role of Light and Dopamine: Studies show that natural sunlight is crucial for eye health. High-intensity light (3,000 to 100,000 lux) triggers the release of dopamine in the retina, which prevents the eyeball from elongating [00:30:30]. Artificial indoor light (200-500 lux) is insufficient to provide this benefit [00:30:22].
• Screens vs. Near-Work: Interestingly, the epidemic in Asia began before the widespread use of smartphones [00:10:34]. Experts argue that "near-work" (reading books or writing) is just as damaging as screen time; the critical factors are the distance of the object from the eyes and the lack of time spent outdoors [00:38:46].
• Prevention and Solutions:
  • The "120 Minute" Rule: Taiwan has implemented programs encouraging children to spend at least two hours (120 minutes) outdoors daily to combat the trend [00:32:22].
  • Atropine Drops: Low-dose atropine drops are used to slow the progression of myopia in children, though they are not a "cure" [00:27:34].
  • Policy Changes: China has recently introduced regulations to limit homework for younger children and has cracked down on private after-school tutoring (Bushibans) to reduce the burden on children's eyes [00:25:08].
• Advice for Europe: While myopia rates in Europe are rising (15-30%), they remain lower than in East Asia [00:36:39]. Experts suggest maintaining a balance between education and outdoor play, avoiding reading in the dark, and ensuring regular eye screenings for children to manage the condition early [00:41:42].

• New "Prima" eye implant is a breakthrough for the blind – allows regaining the ability to read.
• Involves implanting a microprocessor under the retina, with patients wearing glasses with a camera that transmits the image to the implant.
• Of 32 people implanted, 27 could read using central vision; after a year, they improved by 5 lines on the vision test chart.
• 70-year-old patient Sheila Irvine, who lost her sight over 30 years ago and has had the implant for 3 years, now solves crosswords.
• Rights to PRIMA acquired in 2024 by U.S. company Science Corporation. (video in source)

• Myopia (nearsightedness) is increasingly common, with serious risks for high myopia such as legal blindness, retinal detachment, and cataracts.
• It results primarily from the eyeball growing too long, causing light to focus in front of the retina, leading to poor distance vision.
• Environmental influences, especially increased indoor time and near work with screens, have driven the rapid rise of myopia in recent decades.
• Digital screens stress the eyes by forcing continuous near focus and lack of depth cues, causing accommodative spasms and vision strain.
• Preventative actions include spending at least 2 hours outdoors daily, regularly focusing on distant objects, and practicing the 20-20-20 rule during screen time.
• Corrective solutions such as glasses, contacts, and LASIK improve vision but do not address underlying eye structure changes or risks associated with high myopia.
• Claims of myopia reversal exist but lack widespread scientific validation.
• The prevalence of myopia and reliance on corrective lenses is projected to grow drastically, making vision protection urgent in the digital age.
• Ongoing research and awareness about vision health and behavioral changes are crucial to mitigate the myopia epidemic.

repetition of eyes thorough out the poem

Heavy Rain * During a rainstorm in the jungle, I indulge happily in the cool shower which takes away a devastating and thirst-inducing drought for all animals living there, and my mummy Lady Penelope joins me.

My Little Pony Tales (TV Series)

How can this be adapted? MUFG are looking to implement a 6-eyes workflow and they didn't find the documentation helpful. To be honest, we are not finding this too helpful either, given what we are trying to help the client out with.

for - Youtube - Techdenkers: Anil Seth - Exploring the Possibility of Artificcial consciousness - out of body experience - Anil Seth - good point - how do you explain seeing without eyes?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Elliott

The process of having a work typewritten forced the affordance of creating time away from the writing of a piece. This allows for both active and diffuse thinking on the piece as well as the ability to re-approach it with fresh eyes days or weeks later.

It's difficult to teach when you've forgotten how you learned a thing yourself. It's hard to un-know a topic to empathize with the beginner.

Does this still connect to the motif of eyes, where she has lost the ability to see for herself, the truth?

So then to be penetrated, or to engage in sexual conduct, is to deliver truth to one another, to look at one another is not only to have sex with another but also to exchange truth souls

The eyes reveal a sense of truth more than words could ever show. To look the interpreter in the eye, who is an Eye, would be equivalent to confessing a sin or confessing desire.

for - outsider advantage - fresh eyes - outsider advantage - autodidactic - Whitehead - philosophy - paradigm shift

• He would teach at harvard from 1924 until 1937
• This is when most of his major philosophical books were written
• He reports in 1924 in the fall when he began teaching his first philosophy course to these students at harvard that
  • it was also his first philosophy course
• Of course he'd been studying philosophy but he'd never had formal education in it
• So as is often the case with major paradigm changes
  • someone from outside the discipline within which they provide some new paradigmatic understanding
  • is looking at the old problems with fresh eyes
  • They don't have the disciplinary training that would tend to leave one stuck in the existing concepts and categories
• Whitehead is coming into philosophy with fresh eyes

It's somewhat interesting and potentially non-coincidental that the entirety of this list aside from Sam Harris and Camille Paglia are highlighted as anti-trans (red) by the browser extension Shinigami Eyes.

Dark mode vs light mode

resistance after lock eyes, perceive

noting the eyes to communicate vs sounds...visual...suveill/perceive...mutual surveillance...resistant surveillance/perception...coded perception

The article is found in this scholarly journal.

WABC. ‘Coronavirus: Glasses Wearers Less Likely to Get COVID, Study Says’. ABC7 New York, 24 February 2021. https://abc7ny.com/10365580/.

The true reason of dry eyes: rare blinking