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Eye! Eye!
Ask almost any Chinese person what inventions China is famous for, and they will dutifully list the famous four: gunpowder, paper, printing and the magnetic compass. Ask them for anything they have invented in the last 500 years and they look at you blankly.
But they are too modest. They have invented one of the cleverest things I have ever seen.
I am a bit on the blind-as-a-bat side and therefore need optical assistance from time to time. When it is time for a fine tuning, I drag myself off to the local spectacle emporium and get myself checked out.
The first time I went, I was a little nervous, wondering how I would be able to read the eyechart. My Chinese reading still isn't great - at that time it was confined to making sure I didn't embarrass anyone by using the wrong branch of the public conveniences. But the ever inventive Chinese have invented an eye chart for the illiterate! Still, I got off to a bad start, reading the "letters" as E, M, W and the other one! Instead, all I had to do was point which way the prongs were pointing.
So, I started to think, how do illiterate people get their eyes checked out in the West? If anyone illiterate is reading this, please let me know!
That's funny, I saw this chart in a Chinese drama serial yesterday. I think
the word is basically "Shan1" (mountain) tilted several ways.
It is certainly similar to 山 (shān), but I suspect it is just a letter "E".
If you look carefully all three prongs are the same length! In 山 (shān),
the centre prong is taller than the others!
this is a seriously good invention! it totally eliminate for the person to
be able to read to take the test. But of course in case the person is
totally clueless on direction, it might be back to square one again! but if
they use the arrow sign, wouldn't that be even easier?
I think this chart (like the standard one) was invented by a Dr Snellen
(late 19th, early 20th Century Dutch Ophthalmologist). Every hospital I've
worked in in the UK has a chart just like that one for testing illiterates
and small children. It's almost certainly not a Chinese invention. I've
been wracking my brains for something that came after the big 4 too...
Well, that's another of my theories out of the window! Back to the drawing
board.
Came across this today. Another strange eyechart! Sorry it's not so clear!
