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The Forefinger and Thumb Miracle... Vision for Partial Blindness!

oldbadger

Skanky Old Mongrel!
The Forefinger and Thumb Miracle...... Vision for Partial Blindness!
If all the World already knows about this......... then please forgive me! :D

Measles in infancy distorted vision in my left eye, and damaged my right eye beyond full lens rectification. When I was young I would listen to my Dad's tales about the Retreat out of Burma during WWII. The survivors all had cravings, such as cool clean water, and for the rest of his life my Dad loved fruit that spurted juice when bitten, and boiled eggs. !

He told me about his first boiled egg after the retreat, and how he had seen a wrinkled and ancient man sitting in the road with a basket of eggs for sale. Every time he sold an egg this old man would hold it up to the light and by peering at it through the forefinger and thum of his other hand he would decide if it was any good or not. Some he discarded, and some he sold. My Dad would laugh at this memory, because sometime after that purchase he saw this same old man shuffling along and feeling his way with a stick...... clearly this man could not see, and so he thought that the forefinger-thumb display was obviously BS!

But it wasn't......... it was true, and for most of my life I have benefitted from what that ancient man knew and did! I first discovered this truth as a junior at school, making a pinhole in a card so that I could safely watch a partial solar eclipse. After making my pinhole in class I had held it up to my eye and looked through, and to my amazement I could see without my glasses. The teacher told me off and explained that once we went outside that nobody was allowed to look through their pinholes, but only to direct light through them onto papers. But I had already seen what pinholes can do, and It was only one step further to hold up my forefinger and thumb and experiment until one day I discovered the forefinger-thumb 'miracle'.

Even today I use this technique for reading very small print, so fine that I can't read it even with my glasses on, or seeing the time on our bedside clock in the middle of the night without specs. Back in the 90's after a very violent arrest incident my glasses were smashed to pieces (stop chuckling, @Revoltingest ! ) and I had to read my Statement (written for me by a Constable) before signing it. The Constable was quite amazed when I borrowed a receptionist's badge and used the pin to make a hole, through which I could read the entire Statement without trouble.

I hope I can upload all the pictures...... maybe there's a limit, in which case I will use the next post to completre all. I think they can explain themselves. Obviously I have had to replicate the conditions of poor sight by using photo-editing, but I think yiou can see how it all works. The picture of the pins is to show that a thick pin is required for such a hole, whereas the needle hole (shown beside it) dioes not let enough light through.

I hope that this has been interesting, and if you have very poor sight, then by experimenting with pinholes and your fingers you may well find a small miracle of your own, for use during the rest of your lives. :)
All the best.
Old-B
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John53

I go leaps and bounds
Premium Member
I just tried it and it worked. I apologise for my initial scepticism.
 

oldbadger

Skanky Old Mongrel!
I just tried it and it worked. I apologise for my initial scepticism.

It's hard to believe..... I know. :)

I was a yachtsman and often sailed on night passages. It's common knowledge that in order to see lights more clearly at night the observer should not look directly, but at an angle 'off' the target. However, I discovered that by using the finger-thumb technique I could look directly at distant lighted-bouys, the more easily to count their flashes and occults.

That ancient old man, long deceased, his spirit must be chuckling right now. :)
 

oldbadger

Skanky Old Mongrel!
I'm blind as hell. Without my glasses, too bad it's isolated to such a small area.

I have got used to reading small print on products (before purchase etc) when shopping.

You can get used to running your closed fingers along print etc. :)
 

BSM1

What? Me worry?
The Forefinger and Thumb Miracle...... Vision for Partial Blindness!
If all the World already knows about this......... then please forgive me! :D

Measles in infancy distorted vision in my left eye, and damaged my right eye beyond full lens rectification. When I was young I would listen to my Dad's tales about the Retreat out of Burma during WWII. The survivors all had cravings, such as cool clean water, and for the rest of his life my Dad loved fruit that spurted juice when bitten, and boiled eggs. !

He told me about his first boiled egg after the retreat, and how he had seen a wrinkled and ancient man sitting in the road with a basket of eggs for sale. Every time he sold an egg this old man would hold it up to the light and by peering at it through the forefinger and thum of his other hand he would decide if it was any good or not. Some he discarded, and some he sold. My Dad would laugh at this memory, because sometime after that purchase he saw this same old man shuffling along and feeling his way with a stick...... clearly this man could not see, and so he thought that the forefinger-thumb display was obviously BS!

But it wasn't......... it was true, and for most of my life I have benefitted from what that ancient man knew and did! I first discovered this truth as a junior at school, making a pinhole in a card so that I could safely watch a partial solar eclipse. After making my pinhole in class I had held it up to my eye and looked through, and to my amazement I could see without my glasses. The teacher told me off and explained that once we went outside that nobody was allowed to look through their pinholes, but only to direct light through them onto papers. But I had already seen what pinholes can do, and It was only one step further to hold up my forefinger and thumb and experiment until one day I discovered the forefinger-thumb 'miracle'.

Even today I use this technique for reading very small print, so fine that I can't read it even with my glasses on, or seeing the time on our bedside clock in the middle of the night without specs. Back in the 90's after a very violent arrest incident my glasses were smashed to pieces (stop chuckling, @Revoltingest ! ) and I had to read my Statement (written for me by a Constable) before signing it. The Constable was quite amazed when I borrowed a receptionist's badge and used the pin to make a hole, through which I could read the entire Statement without trouble.

I hope I can upload all the pictures...... maybe there's a limit, in which case I will use the next post to completre all. I think they can explain themselves. Obviously I have had to replicate the conditions of poor sight by using photo-editing, but I think yiou can see how it all works. The picture of the pins is to show that a thick pin is required for such a hole, whereas the needle hole (shown beside it) dioes not let enough light through.

I hope that this has been interesting, and if you have very poor sight, then by experimenting with pinholes and your fingers you may well find a small miracle of your own, for use during the rest of your lives. :)
All the best.
Old-B
View attachment 22599 View attachment 22600 View attachment 22601 View attachment 22602 View attachment 22603

Was your Dad a survivor of the Death March? If so, hand salute, sir.



I've been using the finger lens trick for a very long time.
How it works....
https://petapixel.com/2014/11/13/minutephysics-explains-optics-work-pinholes-camera-apertures-eye/

Well somebody just took the magic out of it...just sayin'.
 

Unveiled Artist

Veteran Member
The Forefinger and Thumb Miracle...... Vision for Partial Blindness!
If all the World already knows about this......... then please forgive me! :D

Measles in infancy distorted vision in my left eye, and damaged my right eye beyond full lens rectification. When I was young I would listen to my Dad's tales about the Retreat out of Burma during WWII. The survivors all had cravings, such as cool clean water, and for the rest of his life my Dad loved fruit that spurted juice when bitten, and boiled eggs. !

He told me about his first boiled egg after the retreat, and how he had seen a wrinkled and ancient man sitting in the road with a basket of eggs for sale. Every time he sold an egg this old man would hold it up to the light and by peering at it through the forefinger and thum of his other hand he would decide if it was any good or not. Some he discarded, and some he sold. My Dad would laugh at this memory, because sometime after that purchase he saw this same old man shuffling along and feeling his way with a stick...... clearly this man could not see, and so he thought that the forefinger-thumb display was obviously BS!

But it wasn't......... it was true, and for most of my life I have benefitted from what that ancient man knew and did! I first discovered this truth as a junior at school, making a pinhole in a card so that I could safely watch a partial solar eclipse. After making my pinhole in class I had held it up to my eye and looked through, and to my amazement I could see without my glasses. The teacher told me off and explained that once we went outside that nobody was allowed to look through their pinholes, but only to direct light through them onto papers. But I had already seen what pinholes can do, and It was only one step further to hold up my forefinger and thumb and experiment until one day I discovered the forefinger-thumb 'miracle'.

Even today I use this technique for reading very small print, so fine that I can't read it even with my glasses on, or seeing the time on our bedside clock in the middle of the night without specs. Back in the 90's after a very violent arrest incident my glasses were smashed to pieces (stop chuckling, @Revoltingest ! ) and I had to read my Statement (written for me by a Constable) before signing it. The Constable was quite amazed when I borrowed a receptionist's badge and used the pin to make a hole, through which I could read the entire Statement without trouble.

I hope I can upload all the pictures...... maybe there's a limit, in which case I will use the next post to completre all. I think they can explain themselves. Obviously I have had to replicate the conditions of poor sight by using photo-editing, but I think yiou can see how it all works. The picture of the pins is to show that a thick pin is required for such a hole, whereas the needle hole (shown beside it) dioes not let enough light through.

I hope that this has been interesting, and if you have very poor sight, then by experimenting with pinholes and your fingers you may well find a small miracle of your own, for use during the rest of your lives. :)
All the best.
Old-B
View attachment 22599 View attachment 22600 View attachment 22601 View attachment 22602 View attachment 22603

NICE. I used to have 20/20 vision then gradually it went double off and on with blind epots. Thr spots are near gone but the dept of the blind gave me something similar to the first picture.images (2).jpeg

I usually close one eye before crossing the street if I dont take out my cane. But, that is an interesting experience there. I'll try it out. Probably better than winking at people when I walk by. Ha. Thanks for sharin'
 
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oldbadger

Skanky Old Mongrel!
Was your Dad a survivor of the Death March? If so, hand salute, sir.
.
Maybe the Death March was about Allied prisoners under Japanese control?

The Burma retreat was dreadful, but unlikely to have been as bad as Japanese held prisoners.

But thankyou for the kind thought...... :)
 

oldbadger

Skanky Old Mongrel!
NICE. I used to have 20/20 vision then gradually it went double off and on with blind epots. Thr spots are near gone but the dept of the blind gave me something similar to the first picture.View attachment 22605

I usually close one eye before crossing the street if I dont take out my cane. But, that is an interesting experience there. I'll try it out. Probably better than winking at people when I walk by. Ha. Thanks for sharin'

Your instrument looks much more interesting!
Isn't this kind of thing amazing?

I often close my poor eye to benefit my vision.
It's all about what we get used to. :)
 

oldbadger

Skanky Old Mongrel!

Subduction Zone

Veteran Member
Why does this work?!?!?!?!?!??


This works due to the particle nature of light. Traditional lenses rely on the wave nature of light.

Think of a person walking with a flashlight, or better yet with a laser pointer aiming at a pinhole in a sheet of paper or aluminum foil with a screen some distance behind it. The laser light that goes through will go through in a straight line and appear as a very small dot on the screen. When looking at a larger object one can think of each point on the surface of that as being a small weak laser pointer. It too will make a point on the screen. When you look at something through a pinhole you are screening out all of the other light that an eye that is not working properly cannot focus with the lens. This much reduced light goes straight through the center of your retina without any focusing.

A retina usually strengthens an image by not only passing the light straight through the center, but also by bending in some light from the side to focus on a point. A poor lens can't focus and that is why images are blurry. This sharpens the image at a huge cost to intensity.
 
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