Redesigning my information technology usage because my eyeballs betray me

Greetings from a hot northeastern Virginia. It’s not excessive today, with the temperature standing around 90° F/33° C, and quite dry. I just did some weeding before hitting the gym and imagined the yanked-out plants withering in the sun. Hydration is the order of the day.

Sometimes on this blog I share personal stories and reflections. Today I’ll offer another one having to do with information, technology, the body, and time. I’m starting to rethink how I use digital technology, again. This time it’s because of changes in my face. Specifically, my eyeballs are making things… difficult. It might be a small or minor thing in the end, but the details grow in my examination, and the possibilities might be of interest.

To explain with a bit of personal history: for the first 50 years of my life I enjoyed superb eyesight. Tests reliably showed 50–50 vision (20–20 in Britain). Years and years of intensive and extensive reading didn’t stress my eyes — which was strange. Everyone in my family wore glasses except me. It was weird but nice.

My schooling and career involved extreme amounts of eyestrain due to extensive amounts of reading: for a literature PhD, grading student writing, and escalating amounts of screen content. The eyeballs held up just fine through all of that.