04-07-2009, 11:58 PM
davester wrote:.
I think you missed the part where I said that the quality was not discernible from my bifocals (whose lower half are prescription reading glasses)
I didn't miss it at all. I just recognized it as a subjective statement, regarding your individual perception.
Raises some interesting questions about vision and perception, I suppose they really are subjective, not unlike tastes in food. Some find the difference in quality between Schlitz lite beer and a hand-crafted Microbrew Ale to be indiscernible, or insignificant. One tastes just as good as the other. Another might find the Microbrew to taste repellent, and the inexpensive lager to taste more pleasing. Or notice no meaningful difference, the amount of alcohol is the same in each serving.
I suspect with vision it's even more subjective than that. Even with prescription lenses, some of the types of polycarbonate materials available will work great for some people, and make other people seasick. I tried some new lens type that made me feel like I was 20 feet tall! The perception disorientation was inexplicable. For other people, they work great. I gave it a few days, to see if my eyes would adjust, but went back to a more familiar type of material. I was told this is normal. Some people don't adapt to some of the newer materials. Some adapt well to progressive lenses, some find them uncomfortable and disorienting.
In my case, the benefits of custom-ground good-quality lens material and a precise prescription is too distinct to ignore. Frankly, I wish I had the kind of eyes that would be perfectly suited to off-the-shelf lenses. I'm not so fortunate, and depend on a prescription pair, updated from time to time to reflect minor changes in my vision.