Vision-impaired, temporarily, from dilating drops administered during a routine eye exam, I stumbled home from the doctor’s office like a movie drunk, navigating by counting blocks, and attaching myself to other pedestrians to cross the street.  I couldn’t read street signs, gauge the distance of oncoming traffic, or see clearly into store windows.   For the hour or so that the drops remained in effect, I was unable to read, write, use my phone, or move around my neighborhood with any degree of confidence.  Powerfully, if only temporarily, disoriented, I came home, sat down, and waited for the effects of the drops to subside.  It all made me acutely appreciative of my eyesight.

At their design triennial last year the Cooper-Hewitt included a pair of self-adjustable eyeglasses designed by Josh Silver for Adaptive Eyewear, a non-profit overseen by the Centre for Vision in the Developing World.  A wearer can adjust the lenses with the turn of a dial to correct refractive problems, without an eye exam or prescription.  Silver was trained as an atomic physicist, but now he’s working to bring improved vision to one billion people internationally before 2020.  A pair of these eyeglasses can be life-changing for someone without access to formal vision care; it’s some kind of gift.  And the frames have a nice retro, Encyclopedia Brown-goes-steampunk feeling.  Elaine Scarry has written about the deep beauty of the light bulb, describing how this seemingly inert object transformed our lives, releasing our bodies and imaginations from darkness.  I’d say that eyeglasses are similarly transformative.