Know Thyself: Know Others

We've already known how "near-work"--reading or using the computer--can hasten the onset of myopia due to constantly focusing on up close objects which reshapes the eyeball and places the retina out of range for converging light rays. Well now a recent study suggests that playing outdoors for 2 hours a day can reduce a child's risk of developing nearsighted vision by a third once they've reached the 8th grade. Indoor exercise is not enough; the activity has to be conducted outdoors in the sun. The results were the same no matter what amount of reading or other near-work the children did. Regardless of the circumstances, it seems that activity in the sun has a protective effect on vision.

What's interesting is that the researchers wouldn't have known this if they weren't observing a diverse range of children from all walks of life. The subjects included typical American children who get less outdoor activity because of safety concerns or because of the panoply of gadgets they have to entertain them (e.g. cell phones, internet, video games, etc.). But it also included children who were more active and did less reading, texting, and gaming (similar to children in developing countries).

As such, knowledge about our own vision has greatly benefitted from observing others with lifestyles different from our own. Similarly, our knowledge of podiatry has been elucidated by studies comparing foot morphology in our own shoe-wearing culture with that in barefoot cultures. So to truly understand our own physiology, it helps to study others. But it doesn't just stop with the physical. A recent NYT article claims that certain mental disorders are not common to all human beings but may actually reflect the culture and time frame in which the patient lives.

Stepping outside of our own existence and observing others who live differently from us engenders a more nuanced understanding of our own bodies and minds as well as the environments that shape them. This is just one more justification (and reminder) for me to expose myself to an array of peoples, cultures, and perspectives in order to truly know myself and the world in which I live. That's what my life (and this blog) is all about. Bon appetite!