Why do you see better when you squint? - Big Questions - (Ep. 33)
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- čas přidán 24. 05. 2015
- A weekly show where we endeavor to answer one of your big questions. This week, Amar Jerath asks, "Why do you see better when you squint?"
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Craig, just put on your glasses and become your alter-ego, Vsauce.
You mean Michael Stevens
bingrulz 26 No. He means Vsauce. Michael Stevens is a hoax.
Mike Sucks at Halo No. Michael Stevens being a hoax, is the hoax. He can't be Vsauce, because he always addresses Vsauce at the start of his videos - ergo, _we_ are *Vsauce*!
And I bet Mike doesn't really suck at Halo either, Morgan Freeman - if that is really you __.
I never see better when i squint. Everything just gets blurry
Joey Bullis Probably because your eyesight is fine. I squinted until I got glasses.
Joey Bullis Same here, it makes my vision worse.
Joey Bullis i see better when do it i do it a lot when i forget my glasses
Joey Bullis Same here.
Joey Bullis blur is the moisture massing near the pupil and your eyelashes getting in the way.
the difference for me is about 10% on trying to read far away signs.
What's the science between anxiety and why do we have panic attacks?
Team Senpai dowww21 Bad diet,unused energy,bad thoughts etc
That's a question I'd like to see answered!
Team Senpai dowww21 That's a very general question, but as an equally general answer: true anxiety disorders are caused by an imbalance of chemicals in the amygdala, which is the brain region responsible for fear. For example, someone with generalized anxiety disorder (of which I am one) has abnormally low levels of stimulatory neurotransmitters in their amygdala. As a result, the "maximum" stimulation is cut short, meaning there's little difference in stimulation amount between a life-threatening situation and a bad--but manageable--one. Because of this, people with GAD grow up learning to react the same way to *relatively* minor stresses as they do to serious danger, so they panic.
Yea, I got diagnosed with a severe anxiety disorder. And even with a 25 mg pill I'm still feeling anxious.
Over the memorial day weekend I had a very long panic attack that lasted 1 and a half days
Why is the middle finger insulting?
Sierra Lobo From what I recall, the gesture was used because the middle finger, and the fingers on either side, are representative of a phallus and testicles. In Ancient Greece, the gesture was associated to a word, and pejorative, used to describe a man who submits to anal penetration from another man. The gesture stuck as an insult around the Northern Mediterranean, eventually finding it way to cultures that allowed immigration from the area.
Lutranereis I've always heard that in the middle ages, conquering armies would cut off archers middle fingers , or trigger fingers, so they wouldn't ever be able to use a bow again... And those same archers would be mocked with the bird
MrTJRH There may be some amount of truth to that, but I'm certain the gesture has been around far longer than you're indicating.
Lutranereis oh I'm sure... Im not claiming to be an expert, just relaying what I was told :)
MrTJRH And I didn't mean to come off as criticizing, just putting in my two cents.
Pro tip for those of us who wear glasses: If you don't have your glasses on and need to see something better, curl your forefinger, tucking it into your thumb, and create a small, circular opening then hold that up to one of your eyes. Close the other, and you have effectively reduced the amount of light getting into your eye, and things should be clearer and easier to look at.
Or just get your glasses, but this will help if you don't want to have to do that.
Lutranereis Why don't people who are perscribed glasses JUST wear them ALL the time?
ChiefAUS You don't wear your glasses to sleep, or to shower, or if you get up in the middle of the night and have to grab a drink of water, then wonder what time it is and the clock on the stove is way too tiny to read (obviously, I'm talking from personal experience on this one).
It's a good trick to know, just in case.
Lutranereis I too speak from experience. When I get out of bed I put my glasses on. I only take them off to shower and to clean them. Even in the middle of the night.
ChiefAUS I just don't find that glasses make that much of a difference when it's dark. So I don't bother putting them on.
Lutranereis Good tip indeed. I've used it successfully, a number of times, to find my glasses.
Thanks for the new vid man
Everytime I open a Mental Floss video and see Craig's face I feel instantly happier. I don't know why.
*sees video title*
"why do you see better when you squirt?.....wha"
*squints*
"oh...."
I love Craig. He's hilarious xD
OMG! I have that same sweater! And I never thought of using the brown t-shirt underneath as an accent! Oh, and all that eye stuff was cool, too.
Damnit Craig! !
Haha "What's that called? Angel tears? ..... Crows feet."
How does refrigeration technology work? Like you use energy to make stuff colder. How does that work?
What is the white part of popcorn and how come it fits inside the kernel?
What causes nightmares?
Cheese (certain types have been proven)
calypso mcalister Andrew Smarts face
calypso mcalister That girl fom The Exorcist. If you don't know what that is - *do* *not* google that.
Woof
calypso mcalister The bobbit worm.
Where did the saying 'rule of thumb' come from?
Nova Sheppard The end of your thumb is about an inch. So you can use it as a ruler.
Nova Sheppard Long ago, when it was acceptable to hit your wife, the rule of thumb was that it was legal to hit your wife as long as the stick you used was no wider than your thumb.
Luna The Furry Gamer that's a myth, or so I've been told.
Ah. I heard it somewhere. Maybe a book.....oh yeah...Boondock Saints. I'm glad to hear it's a myth. What a crappy rule.
Nova Sheppard No one's sure. In addition to the previous answers, another possibility is that a properly strung longbow has a fist and a thumb's length between the string and bow.
He is so funny to me
What allows brown sugar to be packed/ why is the consistency different than regular sugar?
Does the iron in your blood rust?
What is the origin of the peace hand-sign ?
I would have thought that it works for the same reason that increasing the aperture in a camera makes things sharper. It increases the depth of field.
So I started having to squint when looking at far writing. This started about a month ago, I could see perfectly before that. Any reasons? I am 17 years old.
Question for a future episode: What's the history behind the association of storks with delivering babies?
How do double joints work?
How do people sense when someone is watching/following them?
How did painting your nails become a thing?
Hey Craig, i think an important point you didn't mention was "depth of field'. Our eyes work the same way as a camera, hence, as the aperture reduces in size (the size of the iris hole), inversely, the amount of subject in focus increases. Im positive there's a more eloquent way of putting it, so, yeah, help me out. Love your work.
when you're looking at lights in the distance or stars why do they appear to flicker?
How do we figure out the caloric content of food?
Where did the hand sign for "peace" originate?
What color is water?
Why do we get butterflies in our stomach when we get anxious nervous or on rides?
Do a, " why do your eyes sting if you open them in chlorinated water" that would be amazing😀😀
Why do the frets on a guitar get smaller as you go up the neck?
Craig is such a loveable guy!
Here's something I've always wondered, when opening a can of SpaghetttiO's with meatballs why does more of the contents of the can come out when opening the can from the bottom than the top?
Why does leg hair grow to a certain length and stop. While head hair continues to grow?
How do touch screens work?
angel tears, wow
Where do muscles "go" when they aren't flexed? What makes them flex?
How do cuts in the mouth, such as a bit tongue, or a split lip, stop bleeding, since scabs don't/can't form?
Platelets maybe?
how does tilt-shift photography make things look small?
Why are rings easy to put on but hard to take off
QUESTION from my 7yr old son: what are those white semi circles under your nails (like on your thumbs)?? I have no idea.. help?
Does grass ever stop growing if it isn't cut? Before modern humans started caring about how their lawns looked, was grass just incredibly long? The questions that I ponder while mowing the lawn....
Can certain foods really affect dreams?
If you have a train travelling at 1/2 speed of light then inside that there is another train travelling at 1/2 the speed of light then from the outside would the train inside the train be travelling at the speed of light
Why does cleaning a cut sting?
why do car alarms make different sounds?
Why do certain foods smell bad but still taste good?
Why does boiled water freeze clear?
I was wondering if salt water animals can drink salty water?
Why, when you get music stuck in your head, it's impossible to get rid of it?
When did people start giving each other names?
I do this in class when I forget my glasses. Lol
Why is it when you balance yourself on a beam close to the ground its easy to walk on but when it's higher up its harder to stay balanced
CosmicExpo75 It's purely psychological.
17inchcorkscrew Actually, I don't think that's accurate -- though psychology definitely plays a part. As a former competitive gymnast, I know the psychological component and the fear needed to be conquered as you perform skills on higher and higher beams until you've mastered them. So, of course a lot of it's mental. But. As someone who could do handsprings and layouts on a competitive height beam confidently -- there's no denying that, despite that, just standing and WALKING on a higher one could sometimes result in big wobbles - and definitely more frequently than on lower beams. Losing your balance on a higher beam can seem to happen for the dumbest of reasons and very suddenly and to your surprise -- so, I don't believe it's solely psychological.
I would actually believe it's for similar reasons as are discussed in this very video even. The higher up you are, the more peripheral objects your eyes are taking in as well as what's right in front of you. The spacial awareness is just totally different. On the ground, what's directly beneath you is all that's beneath you and there's nothing more to take in visually. You see the beam and nothing beyond it but the floor touching it, which remains consistent and level and unchanging. On a higher beam you look down, see the beam, and four feet of mats or objects below it. Outside of a gymnastics setting, things might even be moving beneath you. It's much different for your eyes and sense of balance to adjust to that when you're trying to make sense of a 3 dimensional view with 2 dimensional vision. Balance is a very tricky thing to master and so much goes into it and can send it off kilter. Alsoooo.... higher beams (unless talking about a completely different materials) actually have more give and sway then the ones steady and close to the floor. It's subtle, but it's there. And it's enough to throw you off quickly. I'm sure there are a lot of similar things that go into it.
Why do we crave certain foods???
This guy is a good host
Why when air is sped up and blown, like from a fan for instance or the wind, it becomes cool or cooler than it was when it was calm?
Jacob Julien Because it makes the water evaporate faster off of your skin?
Why do we clip our nails and hair? How does this help us evolve?
What is the sound when you blow or suck into a straw from an amusement park cup?
Why do the feet sweat a lot?
What is the origin of the phrase "red tape"? And why is tying something up in red tape such a hassle?
When what is moving fast (like out of a water faucet) why do it appear to be white instead of clear?
Nathan Becker Bubbles!
Nathan Becker As was said before, the water is more aerated when it's moving quickly. Those air bubbles refract the light and make water appear white. This is especially true for faucets as they typically have screens through which the water runs, causing even more aeration.
@anders lundin thats easy its like if u rub ur nails on a chalk board if ur makeing the noise its not so bad to only u
Can you do a video on why visually impaired people with glasses don't just get higher prescriptions? I'm visually impaired (with optic nerve hypoplasia), and I just wish it was more widely known that it doesn't always work like that.
Anyone else think this guy could totally be Jackson's (from Gilmore Girls!) brother?! They look so much alike!
Why do people in photos and videos (like you) have sometimes 2 white dots in each eye?
Why does you stomach drop when on a roller coaster or a steep hill
What causes déjà vu?
Why does a comfortable sitting position become uncomfortable after a while?
Why do you get stronger when you lift weights?
weirdly enough this video started playing in 144p, and when i squint the image seems sharp.
Why do wheels look like they are moving backwards at a certain speed?
How does the latin expression, "et al" get the meaning "and others"?
Nate Taite In Latin, "et alii" is literally translated to "and the rest." We shorted that to "et al." because Latin, unlike English, has masculine and feminine forms of words. So "Alii" is masculine (that is, it's used for all male members, or a group of male and female memebers) and "Aliae" is used for only female members. By shortening it to "et al." we can avoid having to use two phrases that mean the same thing, only with different genders involved. Great question!
Thanks for the answer
Weird coincidence I take a break from revising "The Eye and Vision" for my Human Physiology exam, go on CZcams and immediately find this video in my sub box. #spooky
How do you pronounce Worcestershire Sauce
If mirrors are green than why don't they reflect things in the color green?
Why do burnt food taste bitter?
I have 20-10 vision normally, and i actually see better by widening my eyes. Squinting results in blurry or even double vision.
Why do we cry while chopping onions? Is that good or bad for our eyes?
How can you see light that is traveling away from you? I'm not sure how to properly word this question but if the photons out of a supernova (or even a flashlight) are traveling away from you, how is the light getting to our eyes?
EDC1911
You don't. You only see light that goes to your eyes or light that was reflected of something and goes to your eyes.
EDC1911 If it's pointed away from you, you really only see the light from that flashlight when it scatters off dust or reflects off whatever you're pointing the flashlight towards.
EDC1911 Photons from a supernova travel in every direction.
How does "double jointed-ness" happen?
Don't squint you might get angle tears 😂😂
Why do cars have handles on the ceiling? What's the purpose of them?
So you have something to grab on to when a car makes a sharp turn.
Tiffany Garrard Seems like a good reason but why would there be one for the driver too? When they have the steering wheel to hold on to.
Maybe it's for emergencies like if the steering wheel breaks.
i squinted my way through high school and college. it caused me headaches a lot of the time and i now have a permanent wrinkle directly between my eyebrows. permanently.
SomeSunshineOutside Oh. I would have expected a permanent wrinkle to remain temporarily.
17inchcorkscrew yeah thats why i emphasized it
I finally have glasses, I used to permanently squint 😄
I will forever call them angel tears from now on.
Why are tennis balls sealed when you buy them?
were did the first living cell come from
Potential question for an upcoming show: Why are all creative works and characters created before 1923 in the public domain?
The same effect is achieved by looking through a pinhole (no squinting!) and doctors use this to help their patients. This simple, yet important test tells you that if your vision improves through a pinhole, the problem is called a "refractive error" and is easily fixed with eyeglasses. However, if your vision is the same or worsens through a pinhole, then your blurry vision is most likely caused by something else. It's as simple as poking a piece of paper with a safety pin, tack or paperclip. Try it! :)
Why do your legs feel stiff and hard to walk on after sitting for a long time?
Explain sunburns! Every science-based channel has covered what the sun causes in terms of damage to the epidermis, but not how the body reacts.
I want to know the details of how the veins are signalled to dilate, how that release of heat via the blood should be managed (as in is it a good or bad idea to put moisturizer on a burn), and why is it necessary to deliver more blood to those areas (is it the need to bring in leukocytes or otherwise). All is see is cancer, cancer, cancer explained in the other sunburn vids. I would like to know more about thymine dimers too and how they are repaired - not the result of too many mistakes in DNA to cause mutation.
What causes morning breath?
Not brushing your teeth for 7 hours
+iamanenigma unknowntotheworld Yeah, but you can go seven hours throughout the day, fully awake, without brushing your teeth, and your breath still doesn't smell as rancid as it does when you first wake up in the morning. Your mouth also doesn't taste as bitter.
what causes stuttering?
Brittany Martel As a huge stutterer myself, I would love to know, too. I think it varies from person to person, but for me, it's a mix between nervousness and self-consciousness, and something that I like to call "Cognitive-Verbal Dissonance". By which I mean that I think faster than I can speak, and I am a naturally fast speaker, but my brain simply can't keep up. I try to speak slower, but it doesn't sound natural to me.
I think it also has to do with the fact that I often think in a different tone of voice than what my voice actually sounds like, if that makes sense. So, again, it's hard for my brain to decide and it confuses my brain while trying to formulate words verbally. You see, I have a bad habit of mirroring or mimicking people whenever I'm with someone, so it's hard for me to find my own voice, so to speak. This also causes me to easily pick up on accents. (Like, if I watch a marathon of Harry Potter or Pirates of the Caribbean, I'll be speaking in a British accent for the next three days until it wears off.) I think my brain gets stimulus overload, and gets confused when I try to speak and that's why I stutter.
The fact that I'm a socially anxious person doesn't help, either.
This is probably just a "me" thing, so I don't think that's why other people have stuttering issues, but that's the best explanation I could conjure for my issues. I was in Speech Therapy all through elementary school, so at least I can pronounce my "R's" now and at least my lisp is mostly gone.
Why is the ocean blue when the water is clear?
It's the light that gets reflected back that you see, so you see the blue because the red and green are longer waveforms and can pass through the water easier. While blue being very short bounces around a lot and is easier to disrupt....or at least that's what I think it too be.
I cannot unsquint this.
Don't know about you but squinting actually makes my vision blurrier
I like this guy! ^_^ he's a good host, but where Eliot?