Flat Viewers

[talon]

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/01/15/3d.tv.opinion/index.html?hpt=Sbin

When I was a child, there were people who swore they couldn't watch TV because the flickering screen gave them headaches and blurry vision and made them nauseous. My grandfather wore sunglasses to watch TV because otherwise he got blinding headaches. My grandmother refused to watch it at all, although she'd listen to it, sitting with her back to the TV and crocheting or knitting or embroidering. Neither of them was ever able to bring themselves to be in the same room as a color TV. There were people who predicted color TV would be the ruin of civilization, it would transmit horrible diseases, and the world would be devastated.

So, now, tech changes, and we have people swearing they can't watch because it gives them headaches, makes them nauseous, blurs their vision, and, in this round, it "doesn't work for them", they are (sometimes rather proudly) "flat-viewers," as the author of this piece is.

Like my grandparents and others of their generation, as well as some in my parents' generation (and even a few in my generation), seeing in 3D is often a matter of vision problems most optometrists didn't bother correcting and a matter of training your mind and eyes to see that way. My sister is a "flat viewer" who claims to have no depth perception. When she finally (after 30 years of complaining to anyone who would listen that she had no depth perception) told her optometrist, he corrected for it, and voila! She now has depth perception and can see 3D movies. Plus, she now has far fewer near miss traffic accidents and little fender benders and doesn't misjudge parking her car. My daughter had the same depth perception issues, but she was prompt to tell her optometrist and had it corrected early. Driving well and 3D have never been issues for her.

There will no doubt be those who claim they have different issues on why they can't view 3D. Some do it because it makes them "different" and gains them attention and perhaps sympathy. Others do it so they can avoid something they may disapprove of, dislike, or fear, in the same way people claim allergies for foods or pets they simply dislike. A very small percentage of those who claim difficulties watching 3D may actually have some other issues - an inner ear infection or disorder, or possibly a very mild seizure disorder, or an unusual vision problem. An even smaller percentage of them will have uncorrectable issues.

I suppose each new tech will come with its naysayers and opponents, and in a generation or two, our descendents will be wondering what all the resistance and fuss was about, just as we wonder what our parents and grandparents were so fussed over about TVs and color TVs.