I recently published the following to Instagram:
Yesterday I became one of those people who wear those massive all enclosing sunglasses, sometimes called “coverups”, that completely cover the eyes and edges, preventing any stray light from getting in. They are large enough so one’s regular glasses can fit underneath.
I had cataract surgery. The natural lens in my left eye was replaced on January 22nd, and yesterday, February 13th, the lens in my right eye was done. Replaced with bluetooth-enabled lenses, supported by an iPhone app that enable new capabilities, these lenses are able to zoom in and out across a range equivalent to between 18mm and 120mm. In addition I am able to extend the lower range of the visible spectrum from 390 nanometers down to about 310 and the upper end from 700 nanometers to almost 1 millimetre. Extending the lower end of the visible spectrum will enable me to see a wider range of colours — those that birds can see — and extending the upper end enables night vision.
#cataractsurgery #cataract #sunglasses #selfie #humor#bullshit #exageration #justlikegeorge
While it is true that I had cataract surgery, and it is also true that wearing those large sunglasses left me with the sense of being an old timer — one of those guys driving head-cocked-forward in a big American car, somewhere in Florida — the functional capabilities of the replacement lenses was a bit of an exaggeration. I hope the tags will alert readers to that fact. In particular, I liked the #justlikegeorge tag.
In this post-modern reality of alternative facts, and post-truth, where people can say what they want without repercussion, it’s not the truth that matters, but the performance and how we all feel about it after. The key question is did it make you laugh?
I’ve been short sighted for years, but recently my short-range acuity has begun to diminish as well. The replacement lenses I chose will simply restore my short- to mid-range vision, although I will continue to need glasses for distance. No extended range of light sensitivity, no zooming.
There is one notable, and unexpected, outcome. The colour I see is different. The colour through my natural lens is warmer than through the replacement lens. It’s like the difference between “warm” lightbulbs and “daylight” lightbulbs (although may be not as extreme). Having had three weeks between the surgery on the left and right eyes allowed me to estimate the difference: about 800 Kelvin Degrees.
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