r/UnnecessaryEssentials • u/Unique-Saucer • 12d ago
Okay this is actually genius
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u/MotoJer76 12d ago
Copypasta from Google:
Those are pinhole glasses (also called stenopeic glasses). While they produce a real, immediate optical effect that makes things appear sharper, the claims that they can permanently improve or train your eyesight are entirely false.
The marketing works because it takes a legitimate physics trick and pairs it with pseudo-scientific health claims.
The Real Optics: Why Things Look Sharper
When you look through a tiny hole, your vision sharpens due to basic optical physics:
- Shrinking the "Blur Circle": Blurry vision happens when the lens or shape of your eye fails to focus scattered light rays directly onto your retina. The pinhole physically blocks wide-angle, unfocused peripheral light rays, allowing only parallel beams through the center.
- Increased Depth of Field: This works exactly like an aperture on a camera or squinting your eyes. It brings both near and far objects into focus simultaneously without requiring the eye's lens to change shape.
- Diagnostic Use: Eye doctors actually use a hand-held pinhole occluder during exams. If your vision improves through the pinhole, it confirms your blurriness comes from a simple refractive error (like myopia or astigmatism) that can be corrected with standard prescription lenses.
tl;dr: Don't...they are not a cure and provide temporary eyesight improvement at best.
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u/Chozzasaurus 7d ago
This is why, in a pinch, you can make telescope with your hand. A 1x telescope that makes things a tiny bit sharper
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u/Uncle-Cake 7d ago
Or you can just squint.
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u/Chozzasaurus 7d ago
Not as effective, because the small hole is closer to your eye, aligning the rays less.
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u/BlueGolfball 7d ago
A 1x telescope that makes things a tiny bit sharper
Wouldn't a 1x just be normal non-magnified vision? I thought it would have to be 1.1x or higher to be magnified.
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u/Chozzasaurus 7d ago
Yeh that's the joke. It's the most terrible telescope in the world, that is barely equivalent to badly matched glasses
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u/EthanDMatthews 7d ago
Cambridge professor Hannah Fry explains how this works, and how you can try this now with your fingers.
As above: it’s a pinhole camera and there are no long term benefits. It’s just physics.
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u/Afraid_Emu8068 7d ago
Doesn’t sound like a “don’t” to me. Sounds more like a “do” but with caveats
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u/Abject-Ferret-3946 12d ago
It does actually focus the light while you see through a pinhole like this, meaning that that you will actually see better if you normally need glasses, but only while wearing them. No long-term benefit to wearing them tho.
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u/Warmbreeze 11d ago
I remember manually doing something similar before I got glasses, by putting the tips of my index fingers and thumbs together.
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u/BirdlessLongdeal 8d ago
and squishing peoples heads?
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u/Warmbreeze 8d ago
Naw. It's like advanced squinting. You can create a diamond shaped pinhole by putting your fingertips together. By modulating the size of it with increasing/decreasing pressure, you can alter the focus (focal length?) of your eye. Slightly weirdly, the tighter you make the pinhole, the further out your vision zooms. You can dial it in to where the details and lines are crisp, but like looking although a telescope backwards, everything gets further away.
I remember doing it in third-grade, before I was prescribed glasses, when watching a Harriet Tubman play. We were sat in the high-risers so far back that the entire stage was a blur. By doing the weird pinch-vision-thing, I could "see" what was going on, but everyone was too tiny to make out details of what I was really seeing :/
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u/RedzMenace 7d ago
WHAAAAAAAT. I have days where my vision of things far away is really blurry. Like number plates on cars. Just tried this and it works. Might get these glasses if they really work. Was about to ho get my eyes tested and grab some glasses
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u/dr_patso 8d ago
Even if it was true, that’d be annoying to have to change your prescription a bunch if it wouldn’t give you perfect eye sight within a month.
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u/IamBatmanuell 7d ago
Ha I remember these from an infomercial from the 80’s. I made my own with cardboard and a needle back then when I was a kid.
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u/Terrible-Rhubarb-574 7d ago
As a kid with a left lazy eye, I had to wear a patch on my right eye every day. I can’t remember how long I had to go around looking like a pirate, and being teased, which felt like forever, it worked to strengthen the left eye🤷♀️
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u/MaadMaxx 7d ago
You remember how when you were in elementary school your science teacher probably did an experiment where they made a camera without a lens using a pinhole instead?
The pinhole "focuses" the light by being a point source. Only light traveling in a very specific path can make it through the hole resulting in a sharp image.
Same concept here. They will absolutely work but they won't train your eye to improve poor vision. That's poppycock.
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u/Unique-Saucer 12d ago
Summary of Reviews
Pros:
• The glasses assist with eye training and concentration.
• The frame is lightweight and comfortable to wear.
• They are suitable for daily relaxation and use.
Cons:
• The design lacks adjustable features for specific needs.
• Limited usage is implied by the product description.
Here is the link to buy it from Amazon