There has been a breakthrough, ladies and gentlemen. One of the most respected scholars of our time has put forth a strong thesis on the root cause of myopia, one which appears scientifically sound and fully explains the cause of myopia.
Exciting times. Discovering causes usually heralds the discovery of cures, in short order. So what did this scientist discover?
In simplest terms, he found that myopia is caused by near work (close-up focus).
What?! It couldn’t be this simple. No way. Who is this scientist who claims to have discovered the cause of myopia, anyway?
This man’s name, Johannes Kepler. You may have heard of him, ya? His work on the myopia subject is titled: “On the etiology of myopia. An epidemiological study.“
( Acta Ophthalmol. (Suppl.) 98, 1–172)
Published, in 1604.
Ok so, it’s not really quite the breaking news that the post’s title may have inferred. It’s also Saturday morning, the weather is amazing, and I’m writing blog posts for you. ;-)
So, 1604.
Ramazzini figured it out, yet again, in 1713. Goldschmidt figured it out in 1968, Ong in 1995, Rosenfield in 1998, Ciuffreda in 1999, Hung in 2007. Etc, etc, on and on. Call it near-induced transient myopia, call it pseudo myopia, look to studies published last year or 400 years ago. They all agree. Myopia starts with environmental stimulus, in particular extended close-up focus.
From there, it gets murky.
Where does progressive (high) myopia come from?
Well, of course we’ve been discovering the cause of this as well, over and over, spanning the decades. On an individual level we discover prevention and recovery from myopia, right now today, and documented back to the times of soviet Russia.
Humans. We have tiny little brains, and a very short term memory. Our sense of perspective is skewed, and limited. We trust titles which confer status and wisdom (and arrogance, some say). Titles gained by schooling, funded by commerce.
Stay tuned for what we may discover about myopia, tomorrow. ;-)
Cheers,
-Jake
Think for a moment of our good buddy Kep, the OG of myopia insights.
