Do you think I am really that stupid, that would burn my fucking retina and blind me, It would be like staring into 10 suns for 1 minute. lol a fountain pen.
I think there was a discussion about poor eyesight and monitors some time back in the Comp section. Suggestibly when working with computer screens you want to be in a well lit environment to try and lower eye strain. Afterall your Iris attempts to adjust to light conditions and if you sit in a dark room with a bright monitor it's trying to balance between the bright monitor and the dark room which can cause strain. It's also a good idea to adjust the contrast/brightness so that the overall "glare" from brightness is lowered, as if the screen is illuminated too high it too will cause eye strain. The frequency of the monitor can also generate certain effects however not so much on the eyes but more how the brain registers what you see. For instance some people get motion sickness when playing first person perspective games and usually its from turning left/right more than up/down. This can actually have a greater effect on people that suffer any forms of Epilepsy. Some people might even suffer a mild form without even knowing about it. The best screen type to use is LCD, followed by TFT and the worst being CRT. Don't go jabbing yourself in the eye with a pen, everybody knows that Carrots are suppose to make you see in the dark, so try jabbing them with one of them.
It's not the screen resolution. You're becoming nearsighted (myopic). There is some evidence that focusing on objects close up for extended periods of time can cause or worsen myopia but the primary cause is likely genetic. You can definitely get eye-strain from viewing your monitor for long periods of time which can result in a variety of sight and eye problems, though these tend to go away after your eyes have had a chance to rest. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myopia http://www.coopereyecare.com/myopia.htm http://www.westol.com/pfkod/treatments/daily.html ~Raithere
There is unlikely to be any evidence that computer use affects the eyes for the simple reason that we cannot lock someone in a room for 24/7 force them to watch pc screen and successfully eliminate all other causes of deterioration in sight while we study affects on the eyes. HOWEVER Anyone who worked in an opticians, such as myself many yrs ago, knows that pc users eye sight deteriorates at a higher rate than non users. Now when I dispensed specs in 1989, pc use was not that wide spread, so it was easier for us to associate this deterioration with pc use. BUT with higher and more common usage it muct surely be harder, because now, eye sight is affected in a higher % of the population and thus would give a more 'normal' level of deterioration that yrs ago, when it would be considered 'abnormal'. I have not worked in optics since 1993 so have no idea what the advances in this area have been since then, but at that time those in the business felt there was a link. I myself have a set of non rx specs with a UV filter coating.
Last I remember, standard advice for using computer screens was to look at the opposite wall, or out of a window, every 15-30 minutes and let your eyes focus there. Note that this advice comes from someone with 20/20 eyesight!
I have run into the same problem with my monitor. I was running it at 1280x960 (a reasonable resolution for a 19" monitor) and after turning the resolution down I noticed that my eyes felt much more relaxed. But you could just increase the font size when reading anything (CTRL + in Firefox) I just usually use the lowest resolution that still lets me view most of the web page. But the problem could have more to do with other issues, like glare on your monitor, improper lighting, excessive brightness, low refresh rate etc. A quick web search would dig up a lot on how to improve these factors. But there is a much simpler solution to your paranoia of other people watching what you're doing - buy a privacy filter, even one that doubles as a glare filter. The degree to which CRT monitors hurt your eyes has been Really, Really, over-exaggerated Now I'm not a doctor, and I'm not saying CRTs aren't harmful for your eyes, that would be stupid. But I don't see enough evidence that LCDs are much less harmful. Almost always people point to the fact that LCDs don't flicker, which is true. But you can eliminate the flickering on CRTs by simply raising the refresh rate. Not exactly a reason to pay more and get a worse monitor. And yes, CRTs are usually a lot better. I would guess that the real problem is that most of us just stare at a immensely bright monitor for long periods of time without looking away. It doesn't matter if it's a LCD, CRT, Light bulb or a nearby star, it's just not good for your eyes. We all need to make it a habit to look away frequently, have proper lighting conditions etc. But if you really must have the most optimal viewing conditions for your eyes then yes, a LCD is probably going to be better. But compared to the importance of the other habits I listed it is most likely not important. But could it just be that your eyes are simply deteriorating, regardless of your monitor use? Maybe your eye-sight is just simply going bad, like it always will as you age. So rather than worrying about something as insignificant as your screen resolution, go see a doctor and be sure it isn't something else. I understand you don't like going to the doctor. I hate it to, and I avoid them whenever I can. But going to a doctor is more beneficial than focusing on the stress that goes along with it and ending up doing nothing.
The reason LCD's are the best for the eye is because the light emitted by them is "Ambient" in comparison to a CRT. If you truly wanted something better than an LCD screen then you would want a projector on a wall, considering that the projected photon's are partially absorbed by the wall they collide with. Older CRT's should only be used with proper screen tinting sheets, I noticed the difference on an old CRT when I actually placed a sheet between me and it. I'm still using a CRT right now, however it's a newer one at a higher frequency and the contrast has been adjusted to be dark, although it still effects me but not for long periods. The main problem with CRT's is that when your eyesight starts to go, you start leaning further and further forwards to see whats on the screen. Before long your eyesight becomes considerably worse, the only thing to correct this "Forever forward" motion is either to stop using the computer all together or just get an even bigger screen.
