Man cures himself of blindness

[phillyboy]

http://self-healing.org/meir-schneider/

I recently learned of this fellow, Meir Schneider, who supposedly cured himself of blindness by intensive use of the Bates Method, a regimen of eye exercises popularized by the supposed quack William H. Bates in the late 1800's. Bates authored several books touting his method, one entitled Better Eyesight Without Glasses.

Here is a critique of Bates by Doctor of Optometry Phillip Pollack:

http://www.quackwatch.com/11Ind/bates.html

By all accounts Bates was a quack, who, although an M.D, believed that the eye focused when exterior muscles changed the shape of the eyeball even though it had been known since the days of Helmholtz in the mid 1800's, that the chief factor in the focusing function was the flexing/extending of the ciliary muscles, changing the curvature of the eye's lens.

Given Bates' reputation I can't believe that Schneider's employment of the Bates method cured his blindness but its tantalizing to think it might have.

Can anyone throw light on this paradox?

 

[TubbaBlubba]

What paradox?

Also, "blindness" is misleading. The man was (barely) "legally blind" at 20/200; I have 20/400 or worse without glasses without being anywhere near "blind" in the colloquial sense.

 

[phillyboy]

What paradox?

Also, "blindness" is misleading. The man was (barely) "legally blind" at 20/200; I have 20/400 or worse without glasses without being anywhere near "blind" in the colloquial sense.

Thank you for putting this into context.

Can anyone throw light on how Schneider got from 20/200 to (supposedly) 20/80? Does anyone think the Bates method helped or might Mr. Schneider have achieved what he achieved in spite of the Bates method?

 

[roger]

I've heard that mastering the Bates method actually led to blindness.

 

[TubbaBlubba]

I read wrong - 20/2000, not 200. Still not actually "blind blind", just really poor eyesight. I've pushed 20/1000 at worst (right after a retinal reattachment surgery); I could still tell shapes and get around fairly well, though I would have been very limited had I not had glasses. I WAS partially blind before the surgery, so I know the the difference well.

Thank you for putting this into context.

Can anyone throw light on how Schneider got from 20/200 to (supposedly) 20/80? Does anyone think the Bates method helped or might Mr. Schneider have achieved what he achieved in spite of the Bates method?

My guess? He got tested soon after surgery, when his eyes were still swollen/inflamed from the surgery. As the months passed, his eyes slowly recovered, healed, got used to their new state, relaxed, whatever, and as such his vision improved.

Hell, the story could probably just as well be given the spin that the surgery worked, and due to successful medical intervention his vision improved up to 20/60.

Or maybe he "grew out of it". He was 17 when he first started - lots of things still happen in male bodies at that age.

 

[Modified]

I'm at about 20/1000 uncorrected. You can easily walk around the house with that vision, though you may run into small objects and will have to get pretty close to a light switch to find it.

From 20/1000 I can get down below 20/200 (the big 'E' on an eye chart) by squinting. Of course, the chart has to be brightly lit, as you are trading focus for total light input.

I suppose if your eye muscles were strong and coordinated enough, you could "squash your eyeballs in" and get a temporary improvement in vision. It wouldn't be normal and would be uncomfortable, but some people may be able to develop such coordination. My father tells the story of a professor in optometry school explaining why it is impossible for humans to move their eyes independently, and of course there was a wise guy in the front row moving his eyes independently during that explanation.

 

[bigred]

I've heard that mastering the Bates method actually led to blindness.

I see what you did there!

 

[ynot]

I've heard that mastering the Bates method actually led to blindness.

Perhaps my master debating activities have caused my sight to decline.

 

[Doghouse Reilly]

I wish the Bates method were a genuine way of improving one's vision. Before I did more research I thought it was, and there are books full of lofty claims about its efficacy. But everything reputable that I have read seems to indicate that it's bogus.

ETA: Almost a decade to reach 1,000 posts! I think I'll celebrate now.

 

[Iamme]

``Man`s vision improves``.
.
Was i deceived. I fell for it.

 

[RandomElement]

I met Meir some 20+ years ago. He was/is actually quite an amazing man.

As to his eyes, I looked into them from close range. They look like the Martian surface criss-crossed with dozens of scars. I asked him how he could possibly see through them as it was like looking through a mosaic of broken glass. He postulated that his brain just rewired to adapt to the fractured image.