+- Eyesight Improvement Forum (https://www.iblindness.org/forum)
+-- Forum: General Discussion (https://www.iblindness.org/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=4)
+--- Forum: Bates Method (https://www.iblindness.org/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=5)
+--- Thread: What exactly is continuous shifting? (/showthread.php?tid=2310)
Pages:
1
2
Re: What exactly is continuous shifting? - arocarty - 10-12-2013
Hi Ted,
You are right in that you don't need to think about your eyes, or think about trying to shift them in some fashion. One needs to learn to think of it as just changing your area of attention. And all that takes is a simple thought - my attention is on this area, or point, and now it's over there. The eyes follow the mind. It SHOULD be effortless, but as we know, that is not always the case. The smaller the area or object being regarded, the smaller the shifts in attention. I find myself shifting probably on the order of 1-3 times per second, when I stop to think about it. In terms of fixational eye movements (involuntary microsaccades, drift, and tremor), I rather doubt anyone has the capability of measuring that, except with highly specialized equipment. Studied have consistently shown that microsaccades also occur on the order of 1-3 per second, and slow down appreciably when during certain intense fixational tasks. Drift, also now known as 'slow control,' is gaining new importance as newer research uncovers its functional value in maintaining fixation. Tremor, measured in Hz, (cycles per second), is far smaller in size, and that's what can occur on the order of 35-90 times per second. I assume that, the eye that is at 'rest,' or not under abnormal strain or tension, will maintain more optimal fixational movements without much volition on our part. Voluntary saccades are under our mental control, and while 1-3 times per second may seem very erratic, is really not once when gets used to it. It seems quite natural. Slow, easy, and continuous, as Bates decribed it several times.
Re: What exactly is continuous shifting? - ted - 10-13-2013
I appreciate the response.
Yeah Im just trying to really clarify all these concepts. I've heard them over and over but now Im trying to really understand them, experience them, and I will believe them more and more.
Its just about returning to a way that your visual system is supposed to be. Even after being told the correct way, it still takes personal practice, experimentation, and experience to understand it on a first hand basis. To me it can be really subtle and tedious, but its the subtleties that add up that make the difference.
A question I think about is: How can we make this process of recovery more efficient for ourselves and everyone else?
Re: What exactly is continuous shifting? - shocker - 10-13-2013
Quote:A question I think about is: How can we make this process of recovery more efficient for ourselves and everyone else?
I've been thinking about this question as well. I think the term "gamification" is key. What I've seen pop up a lot is how important having a keen interest in the particular exercise you're doing is. What better way to engage someone in a practise than to make a game out of it?
UNfortunately that's about as far as I got. The hard part is having some way to measure progress other than the Snellen. Practising on a block of letters all day isn't particularly entertaining either.
I remember reading an article about some university testing a game based approach for helping people with fusion problems. It's basically a pair of goggles with a seperate screen for each eye. Your'e supposed to fuse both images to play. The game is tetris. The key is that seeing both images simultaneously is critical to win because 1 eye displays the current block and the other eye displays the blocks already on the ground. So the only way to place the block properly is to fuse the image.
Here's the link: http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/video-game-treatment-for-lazy-eye-restores-3d-vision-1.1407041
I think this would be an interesting topic for a standalone thread. Maybe with our collective talents we can find some way to make it easier and faster to improve our vision.
Re: What exactly is continuous shifting? - clarknight - 10-14-2013
arocarty,
Very interesting 'detailed' info on the different types of eye shifts.
Please place a link to where you read this. Online or in books? I want to study it.
Clark
Re: What exactly is continuous shifting? - arocarty - 10-14-2013
clarknight Wrote:Please place a link to where you read this. Online or in books? I want to study it.Books and journals online, scientific papers, research summaries, abstracts, PubMed, you name it, I can't even remember all the different areas of neurology where I've tried to learn about the movements of the eye. If you google 'fixational eye movements' or just 'microsaccades' you'll surely get a boatload of info. and research going back sixty years and some. I really like following the research of Susana Martinez-Conde, she published some very interesting articles on fixational movements. Her site is at: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://smc.neuralcorrelate.com/research-lines/fixational-eye-movements/">http://smc.neuralcorrelate.com/research ... movements/</a><!-- m -->
disclaimer: Have fun; not necessary to know any of this, this deeply to improve one's vision.
Re: What exactly is continuous shifting? - clarknight - 10-15-2013
Thanks!!
I've read Eye movements and Vision by Yarbus but you have found more avenues.
https://www.google.com/search?q=eye+movement+snad+vision+free+pdf&rls=com.microsoft:en-US:IE-Address&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&rlz=1I7GGNI_enUS539