Dec 31, 2008: Adapti-Glasses

xoxoxoBruce · 12-31-2008, 12:24 AM

This is big... or should I say this could be big... very big.
Here is a picture of a Zulu tribesman wearing glasses.
Ho hum, so what?
He was his own optician.

Quote:

Silver has devised a pair of glasses which rely on the principle that the fatter a lens the more powerful it becomes. Inside the device's tough plastic lenses are two clear circular sacs filled with fluid, each of which is connected to a small syringe attached to either arm of the spectacles.

The wearer adjusts a dial on the syringe to add or reduce amount of fluid in the membrane, thus changing the power of the lens. When the wearer is happy with the strength of each lens the membrane is sealed by twisting a small screw, and the syringes removed. The principle is so simple, the team has discovered, that with very little guidance people are perfectly capable of creating glasses to their own prescription.

Excellent idea, although they would have to be made tough because a leak would ruin them. Mr Zulu could duct tape the bridge but a cracked lens would kill them. Now the trick is to make them cheaply enough and get them to the people that need them.
Of course there is still a lot of eye problems, like astigmatism, that these glasses won't help, but for all the people that just need magnification, whoopee.

Quote:

The implications of bringing glasses within the reach of poor communities are enormous, says the scientist. Literacy rates improve hugely, fishermen are able to mend their nets, women to weave clothing. During an early field trial, funded by the British government, in Ghana, Silver met a man called Henry Adjei-Mensah, whose sight had deteriorated with age, as all human sight does, and who had been forced to retire as a tailor because he could no longer see to thread the needle of his sewing machine. "So he retires. He was about 35. He could have worked for at least another 20 years. We put these specs on him, and he smiled, and threaded his needle, and sped up with this sewing machine. He can work now. He can see."

Mr Silver is an ambitious man. He wants to distribute a billion pair of these glasses. I hope he can find enough help to pull it off.
Link

The Cellar wishes you a Happy New Year... right people?..... Yeah.....Right.....Yes..... For sure.....Oh yes..... Happy new year everybody

TheMercenary · 12-31-2008, 03:57 AM

Interesting idea. The lack of limit of invention in the human mind never ceases to amaze me.

Clodfobble · 12-31-2008, 08:31 AM

I had a pair of glasses back in the 80s that looked like that, except they were bright blue. Man, I was stylin'.

Flint · 12-31-2008, 09:46 AM

The best inventions yet to be discovered are very low-tech. Simple exploitation of basic principles.

Shawnee123 · 12-31-2008, 09:48 AM

Necessity as mother of invention...yep.

Flint · 12-31-2008, 09:51 AM

I'm a sucker for using the least-complex tool available, and bending them to my will to perform a task. My wife says I like to re-invent the wheel. The truth is, I do things however makes the most sense to my nutjob brain. In fact, I have a very narrow range of functionality.

Sundae · 12-31-2008, 09:59 AM

Great and hopeful IoTD to round off the year, thanks Bruce.
I've always given my old glasses to charities that redistribute them, but this is a far better plan.

Although I've always wondered if some short-sighted African woman loves her rose-tinted glasses as much as I did. La vie en rose indeed.

Sheldonrs · 12-31-2008, 10:01 AM

This is nothing new. It used to be called beer goggling.

Shawnee123 · 12-31-2008, 10:42 AM

I need some of those, Shel.

Gravdigr · 12-31-2008, 01:35 PM

I am so thankful for vision. I have gone so far as planning to go blind for a week, for the experience, and to better appreciate my near-perfect vision, but I've never gone through with it. I wonder if my eyes would be damaged or given a well-deserved rest?

hipshot · 12-31-2008, 01:39 PM

I agree with Sundae Girl: Great and Hopeful is what we need for 2009. And, let me add my appreciation for Bruce, who has been incredibly faithful in making IOTD a great place to visit. I don't post much, but I view everyday and am grateful for the inquisitive, thoughtful and slightly demented folks who make up this part of the Cellar.

Happy New Year, Everybody! God Bless Us All!

richlevy · 12-31-2008, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shawnee123

Necessity as mother of invention...yep.

I thought that was Frank Zappa.

Shawnee123 · 12-31-2008, 02:00 PM

I thought he was a man. But he was a muffin.

12-31-2008, 07:06 PM

...for another year of amazing images. All the best to you & everyone else on (in?) The Cellar.

DanaC · 12-31-2008, 08:06 PM

What a stunning idea!

12-31-2008, 03:57 AM	#2
TheMercenary “Hypocrisy: prejudice with a halo” Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Savannah, Georgia Posts: 21,393	Interesting idea. The lack of limit of invention in the human mind never ceases to amaze me. __________________ Anyone but the this most fuked up President in History in 2012!

12-31-2008, 08:31 AM	#3
Clodfobble UNDER CONDITIONAL MITIGATION Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 20,012	I had a pair of glasses back in the 80s that looked like that, except they were bright blue. Man, I was stylin'. __________________ My book My other book My spirit animal

12-31-2008, 09:46 AM	#4
Flint Snowflake Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Dystopia Posts: 13,136	The best inventions yet to be discovered are very low-tech. Simple exploitation of basic principles. __________________ **************** There's a level of facility that everyone needs to accomplish, and from there it's a matter of deciding for yourself how important ultra-facility is to your expression. ... I found, like Joseph Campbell said, if you just follow whatever gives you a little joy or excitement or awe, then you're on the right track. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Terry Bozzio**

12-31-2008, 09:48 AM	#5
Shawnee123 Why, you're a regular Alfred E Einstein, ain't ya? Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 21,206	Necessity as mother of invention...yep. __________________ A word to the wise ain't necessary - it's the stupid ones who need the advice. --Bill Cosby

12-31-2008, 09:51 AM	#6
Flint Snowflake Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Dystopia Posts: 13,136	I'm a sucker for using the least-complex tool available, and bending them to my will to perform a task. My wife says I like to re-invent the wheel. The truth is, I do things however makes the most sense to my nutjob brain. In fact, I have a very narrow range of functionality. __________________ **************** There's a level of facility that everyone needs to accomplish, and from there it's a matter of deciding for yourself how important ultra-facility is to your expression. ... I found, like Joseph Campbell said, if you just follow whatever gives you a little joy or excitement or awe, then you're on the right track. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Terry Bozzio**

12-31-2008, 09:59 AM	#7
Sundae polaroid of perfection Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 24,185	Great and hopeful IoTD to round off the year, thanks Bruce. I've always given my old glasses to charities that redistribute them, but this is a far better plan. Although I've always wondered if some short-sighted African woman loves her rose-tinted glasses as much as I did. La vie en rose indeed.

12-31-2008, 10:01 AM	#8
Sheldonrs Master Dwellar Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 4,412	This is nothing new. It used to be called beer goggling. __________________ Laugh and the world laughs with you; cry and the world laughs AT you.

12-31-2008, 10:42 AM	#9
Shawnee123 Why, you're a regular Alfred E Einstein, ain't ya? Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 21,206	I need some of those, Shel. __________________ A word to the wise ain't necessary - it's the stupid ones who need the advice. --Bill Cosby

12-31-2008, 01:35 PM	#10
Gravdigr The Un-Tuckian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: South Central...KY that is Posts: 39,517	I am so thankful for vision. I have gone so far as planning to go blind for a week, for the experience, and to better appreciate my near-perfect vision, but I've never gone through with it. I wonder if my eyes would be damaged or given a well-deserved rest? __________________ These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA, EPA, FBI, DEA, CDC, or FDIC. These statements are not intended to diagnose, cause, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. If you feel you have been harmed/offended by, or, disagree with any of the above statements or images, please feel free to fuck right off.

12-31-2008, 01:39 PM	#11
hipshot Enlarged to show texture Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 80	I agree with Sundae Girl: Great and Hopeful is what we need for 2009. And, let me add my appreciation for Bruce, who has been incredibly faithful in making IOTD a great place to visit. I don't post much, but I view everyday and am grateful for the inquisitive, thoughtful and slightly demented folks who make up this part of the Cellar. Happy New Year, Everybody! God Bless Us All! __________________ "When I die, I want to go peacefully in my sleep like my grandfather. Not screaming in terror like the passengers in his car."

12-31-2008, 02:00 PM	#13
Shawnee123 Why, you're a regular Alfred E Einstein, ain't ya? Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 21,206	I thought he was a man. But he was a muffin. __________________ A word to the wise ain't necessary - it's the stupid ones who need the advice. --Bill Cosby

12-31-2008, 07:06 PM	#14
aero geek Guest Posts: n/a	Thanks Bruce... ...for another year of amazing images. All the best to you & everyone else on (in?) The Cellar.

12-31-2008, 08:06 PM	#15
DanaC We have to go back, Kate! Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Yorkshire Posts: 25,964	What a stunning idea!

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)