Almost all of our population require refractive correction during their lifetimes. Considering the proportion of the total population involved and the significance of good vision in the efficient performance of an infinity of everyday tasks, it is important to increase the state of our knowledge regarding the refractive anomalies of the eye. (Newell & Hirsch, 1967)

The problem of refractive error is generally not considered to be a problem at all. Nearsightedness is considered a normal fact of life by most professionals and by most nearsighted people and parents of nearsighted children. It is indeed normal for over one-eighth of our population (Baldwin, 1964) is nearsighted. When a child, for example, begins to experience poor distance vision, the parents take the child to a vision professional who prescribes glasses which clear up the condition. The lenses to be worn are called "corrective" lenses. They seem to correct the problem since they permit the nearsighted child to see clearly again. The problem is considered to have been solved and no one thinks about it until a year or two later when the symptoms of poor vision or visual discomfort may reoccur.

This dissertation takes issue with this procedure and with the assumptions about refractive error which dominate the vision care professions.