IAMA stereoblind person (does not see 3D), I have recently gotten special glasses that allowed me to see 3D for the first time.

At first reading I was like "Big deal, he can't see Avatar". Than I realized you couldn't see anything in 3-d. My mistake.

What is your favorite type of music?

Hmm I do like a lot of variety,

Lemme spit out a few I like Billy Joel Sting Seven Lions MitiS and MaHi Monstercat stuff (any monstercat is good) Donkeyboy Datarock Kent (swedish mindthings

that's all i can think of now

EDIT: Röyksopp is my all time favorite. I also really like Maroon 5

I'm listening to Monstercat right now! :D Who is one of your favorite artists out of them?

Televisor!

What was your reaction when you saw boobs in 3D?

Uh, well it's still flat... Because it was on a computer screen

What about the cleavage?

It's like a valley.

I'm stereo-blind too (amblyopia is the medical term for it), and I honestly had no idea until just a short wile ago. I thought I just sucked at sports and stuff, and that this was how people everywhere saw stuff. I'm 26, and all my doctors ever told me growing up was "Yeah, you've got strabismus and poor depth perception, but it's cool... just wear glasses".

I'm 25 now, and this IAMA, as sappy as it might sound, really gives me a sense of hope and relief. It looks like I might actually be able to fix this problem. OP, if you don't mind, how much was everything? I assume this can't be a cheap / inexpensive procedure, given America's customary price-gouging when it comes to other medical stuff. Also, what's involved? Like, is it surgical or...?

Honestly though, can you even put a price on this? I'll happily work hundred-hour weeks if it means being able to catch a ball and drive and see the "real world" for the first time in 25 years.

Seriously though, you guys, this is huge. OP, I'm really happy for you. Thanks for doing this!

Thank you so much!

I am not at home right now but I'll write more when I get home

Were you scared by anything "popping out at you" for the first time?" And were you ever hit by something you couldn't really protect your self against because you didn't see it coming (like a ball)?"

Yes and Yes!

When I was on the front seat going home from vision therapy, every time a car passed by, I felt like jumping out of my seat. I thought they were about to hit me every time.

I have been hit by soccer balls during games, where I'd never close in onto the striker, and basically gave them room to kick the ball in to my nether region. I was basically afraid of balls flying at me from then on. But with those 3d glasses, the "ball fear" has gone :D

If you take your fingers and pull the skin on the outside of your eye (the same place as your tear-ducts but on the opposite side) do you see things in super 3d? I do, whenever I do that the depth increases dramatically.

Hmm, everything is just really blurry if i do that.

what is the biggest disadvantage of being stereoblind? Are there things you can't do?

I can't catch, I don't see the big hype over 3d movies, everything looks like a very HD youtube video, and worst of all, I can't get to see those 3d things in those books that my friends used to love looking at

so when you saw 3D for the first time was that when you realized how much you've been missing?

Yes, quite a lot, It was quite a shock to see things in space, being able to see how far away a tetherball would be, seeing the texture of my food, and seeing how flat the computer screens actually are

do the glasses allow you to see those 3D paintings now?

Eh, not really it's just as boring as 2D tbh I guess especially because I still can't see it with my 3d glasses

So...dumb question because I have never been stereo blind. Does the world look like, 2d? Like Paper Mario? Sorry its the only thing I can think of. Does that mean that you cannot see angles? Does everything look flat?

That's actually a smart question, being stereoblind is almost exactly like a very, ultra HD youtube video... I can see angles however, due to other cues that i can determine, also because I'm taking geometry :P

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I'm stereo-blind (Amblyopia) too. Since i have never been able to see True 3D it's hard to explain you the difference from what i'm seeing compared to what you are seeing. But I'll give it a try.

You can tell the difference between a fat an skinny person from a photo, right? So there is that.

Since the way my vision works is the standard for me i don't feel i'm missing out on much. There are a few things that can be tricky. Catching anything that comes at you with some speed. And people leaning towards you to give you somthing. Like a light for a smoke. I find it impossible to judge the distance. If i would put my hand on the shoulder of the person who is giving me the light it would go alright.

I was clumsy as fuck as a child. Bumping into things and other people. But over the years I've adapted i gues.

So if someone threw a ball at you it would keep getting larger but as far as you know it could still be directly above the throwers hand?

Yeah, but the thing is, the ball is traveling much too fast to be able to determine the size and distance. So it would basically be as you said: above the throwers hand. So, I basically would not react at all to a flying ball.

how awesome are boobs?

Pretty awesome.

Did you, as a stereoblind person, see the same as a "normal" person sees with one eye closed?

Actually a bit, it's a little hard at first but keep one eye closed for a few minutes, and keep it closed, and bam: Stereoblindness!

To us that can see in 3D, is closing one eye somewhat of an equivalent to what you see? How do those shaky "3d" gifs look?

The shake 3d gifs actually give the 3d impression!

And yes, just close one eye and see the magic

Do you know the prism diopter of your glasses?

I can't see 3D either, but my situation is very different. I would need about 1cm/m prisms on each side, but since I'm wearing contacts I don't have the correction (and never had before). Since the correction is quite small, my optometrist actually recommended to not get prism glasses but rather do visual training to fix my eyes permanently.

I'm not stereoblind though, both eyes contribute to the vision process, and if I have enough time to focus I can see 3D. For example steroscopic images (cross-eyed) work really well for me, also the ones with the weird colors that are in many "3D" books. 3D movies work to some extend: It feels like looking through a window, I can perceive depth behind the screen, but effects that pop out towards you don't work.

In everyday life I use other depth cues, like relative sizes of objects, straight lines that represent the perspective, or, if the objects are close, the focal length of my eye, i.e. I focus on one object, if the other one is still in focus, it's roughly the same distance. Because of that I don't have any problems driving or just in general, but I've always been bad at ball games.

There's a simple test to figure out if you're actually stereoblind: while sitting in front of your computer take a pen and focus on the tip. Now move the pen towards your nose. When it's less than an inch from your nose you should see your screen twice. If you don't, you're stereoblind, your brain discards one image completely. If you see the screen twice, your brain just can't calculate depth from the two images because the axes are off by too much.

The correction is a total of 10 Δ base out, 5Δ both sides.

And yes I can relate to all you're saying

You mentioned vision therapy. Now your correction is much bigger than mine, so do you think you'll be able to fix your eyes with training or is it just to prevent them from getting even worse?

It's a wait and see on the eyes tying to get closer together, so far no luck. That's why I asked for the prisms when I found out it gave me stereovision

Also to add on to what you're saying,

If you don't, you're stereoblind, your brain discards one image completely.

It's called suppression. I used to suppress my left eye, but vision therapy has helped it all. I also wear contact lenses, so that I don't need to wear my prism glasses over my other glasses.

In everyday life I use other depth cues, like relative sizes of objects, straight lines that represent the perspective, or, if the objects are close, the focal length of my eye, i.e. I focus on one object, if the other one is still in focus, it's roughly the same distance. Because of that I don't have any problems driving or just in general, but I've always been bad at ball games.

That part is very true to my experience, mind if i use it on the post info?

Sure go ahead, as a scientist I think information should be free to use by everyone.

So when you do the test with the pen, you actually only see one screen? That would make training very hard I believe, hope you'll get some good results

Test with the pen and no glasses, one screen Test with the pen and with glasses, two screens

Best of luck to you then, you're still very young, and your eyes are still developing, so hopefully your therapy will fix your vision and you don't have to wear the glasses your whole life.

Do you notice any advantages of your situation? I've always been able to read graphs, technical drawings and 3D models on 2D surfaces really easily, which contributed to my choice of career path early on. Not sure if that's a common thing or because my parents were in the math/science field.

Well, the biggest advantage I can think of right now is the fact that I can sketch my environment without too much difficulty, and also I've been able to make photographs look pretty good :P

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It really did mess me up quite a bit, but I've learned to get used to it... But no, stereoblindness has its advantages and disadvantages, and I like to take control of both stereoblindness and stereovision

I'm stereoblind, too. Is it true that there's a big difference between a picture and the real thing? for me they look the same (sans the quality). Also, do you notice any difference when you close one eye?

Yeah oh so very much so, pictures just seem so flat... What I once thought was a correct representative of real life, just became such a gimmick, if i were to keep my interest in photography, I'd still have to not wear my 3d glasses

My friend is blind in one eye. Does this mean he is also stereoblind?

Yes, he will be stereoblind for life :(

Question:

I have a similar issue, due to strabismus. Do you have any idea if what you've done would work for me?

Because seriously, being told how much I'm missing out on Magic Eye and 3D movies is flipping lame. Also, minor fender benders throughout my younger years.

Ask your doctor! Most likely it will help, but just remember, the more "extreme" the prisms are, the more distorted your image seems

How did you discover you were stereoblind?

Was it known from birth, or did you notice you had trouble seeing later in life?

I actually had very little stereovision back when I was four years old, but I started to lose it when i became more crosseyed... whenever I played sports trying to catch the ball scared the crap out of me, because I kept on getting hit by balls. I discovered my stereoblindness when I was playing baseball, i was in the outfield and I ran into someone because i wasn't seeing through my supressed eye Neuro-Ophthalmologist said I'm stereoblind

Is this considered a disability that prevents you from getting a driver's license?

There have been stereoblind people who have been able to drive, but the thing is, I cannot react to things passing by because it happens so fast. However, with my "3d glasses" i can react and see how far things things are, and I feel much more at ease sitting in the front seat. I plan to get my license next year (I'm 15)

I have central vision loss in my right eye, meaning I only have depth perception in my peripheral vision, but it hasn't affected my driving at all.

Where I'm licensed (Virginia), the vision test uses both eyes at the same time, so as long as long as you have full vision in at least one eye, they don't care or even know.

You may not have thought about this, but roads are actually very friendly to the stereoblind. Lanes are marked out in equal sizes, and everything is connected to the ground, so it's easy to know exactly how far anything is without depth perception. You can tell how far the car behind you is by the size in the mirror, so that isn't a problem either.

The only problem for me is that I need to wear sunglasses if it isn't overcast or night, because my right eye is actually more sensitive to light than my left, causing extreme squinting that makes it a little hard to see clearly.

That's really interesting, thank you for your information!

I am also stereoblind. Where do you live and much did the glasses cost? I know about my stereoblindness since I was about to get my drivers license. It was quite a shock, knowing that everybody else sees "more" of the world than yourself. How do you feel about it?

It was around 150 dollars,

I feel much more awake actually, I can actually react to things flying at me, where without those glasses, I will not react if they are flying directly at me, nor will I respond quickly to things flying at an angle... It was very much of a shock i would say :P

It was around 150 dollars

That is surprisingly cheap!

Probably because the frame is pretty cheap

Um... I'll ask the obvious, how was it?

It was actually pretty scary, having the feeling that things are going to hit you etc... Also a little painful, having my eyes being forced into one direction, when they usually "wander around"

http://laughingsquid.com/wp-content/uploads/i-want-my-money-back-20100726-115001.jpg

Oh my god. It's floating!

Are you bosseyed?

Yeah, a little bit. It's a lot more noticeable when I'm tired or sick. But not that many people notice it. However, I can control my crosseyedness, like turning it on or off

Let me pun this into perspective,

do you like 2D or 3D movies better?

They both look the same.

Do you see 3D with those red-blue glasses? Or those RealD 3D glasses in movies?

Yes and yes. I can see 3d with the blue and red, it's a little helpful to see which eye you're looking out of, and also the polarized glasses are beginning to give me stereovision

Thanks on quick answer! And enjoy your new glasses!

Thank you so much! I enjoy them very much!

I'm an optometry student right now and I'd really like to know more about what kinds of vision therapy you did!

I'd say one of the things I've done for therapy Includes this machine called MIT, It's basically a rotating polarized lens on the top of a regular light so if you were to put polarize glasses on with with those little slits facing alternate directions, the machine would seem to rule alternate between the eyes by turning "on and off". What you would do is you put red and green layers on top on each lens, so it would alternate between the eyes as red or green. So basically the main goal of that exercise is to get the red and green to merge together using both your eyes

There is also something called the brock string, Susan R Barry has a very good ted talk on how she got her stereo vision and she used the Brock string as an exercise. So she was able to achieve stereo vision at age 48. Anyway the Brock string is just a big piece of string with little couple beads on it , And you would hold one end of the string up to your nose and the other into the air And look at the beads on the string and try to change focal points. So if you were to focus on one bead the string behind that bead would that appear to diverge while the piece of string that is closer to you than the bead will appear to converge toward the bead. (You should really look at Susan R Barry's Ted talk As an optometry student I would think you would find it very interesting)

I have a friend with 20/200 vision. Is that similar to your condition, where your eyes are constantly moving?

Well, I'm nearsighted but I have 20/15 vision (pretty sharp) close up. But my stereoblindness condition involves the inability for both eyes to work together

Did you get made fun of for it? We all used to be dicks about it in middle school, and call him google eyes. Mainly because he used to be a dick and use his cane to hit people and get away with it

No one noticed my crosseyedness. People actually made fun of me for not being athletic, or being able to catch a ball or throw one...

Can you play with this?

Damn it. Stop testing me! :P

I see the picture and only the picture... No three dee stuff here!

Have you considered buying a nintendo 3DS?

Not really, I usually just think having my phone is enough... But my friend wants me to get into pokémon so now that I think of it....

I don't think you understand. The 3DS has a 3D screen and there was a news article last week where someone with stereoblindness found that he could see in 3D with the 3DS

I've seen that article, it's just that I have my own way of seeing 3D :)

I had a similar experience with this kind of thing I had mild stereo blindness for awhile I had to do the red green exercises and the Brock string! The string thing is still insanely hard

The prism glasses made the exercise a lot easier, if you don't consider that cheating

I am stereoblind due to a severe "lazy eye". I have always been good at drawing, because instead of struggling to translate three dimensions on to paper, I understood visual cues early on that told me where things were (size, clarity, overlapping, etc).

Did you find this to be similar for you? Did you previously 'get' visual cues before being taught, and do you feel it's understandable that other people don't realize these cues because of the automatic advantage of seeing three dimensions?

I had never heard the term for our condition before, and had no idea there was hope to one day see what 3D is like, so thank you so much for sharing!

You are actually spot on on everything.... I don't need to describe anything further because you said it all :P

These glasses sound fantastic and I'm happy you've managed to find some sort of correction for stereoblindness! Any chance you could let us know the name of them? I would really like to get some, because like you, I live in the flat world.

They're basically prisms, which correct your eyes and make them see one image. Maybe you should ask your doctor for them, they'll surely help you, even if you don't see 3d. It will help your suppression and double vision

How did you find out you were 3D blind? I mean it sound like something EXTREMELY subjective. is there a diagnostic test?

Yeah, a neuro ophthalmologist gave me a series of stereograms, and at that time I was not able to see any 3d at all; it was completely flat

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Yes, without glasses I fail the test, but I can pass it with no difficulty with my glasses on

Could I be stereoblind since I honestly don't see any difference between a YouTube video and real life? Other than lower quality and lower field of view of course... Also, how do doctors test for stereoblindness?

This is a test that many doctors use to see if you're stereoblind

how do those glasses even work?

They force my eyes, which see double vision, together and I see one image, making my brain determine depth through the two pictures

How is that even possible? What does it mean exactly? Do you know of any pictures or videos that could show us how you see? I may be over-thinking it. EDIT: Sorry, just read more posts/responses, now I get it more

It's just as simple as looking at an irl youtube video, no 3d, no frills. Thats how it seems

You've mentioned a lot about how your depth perception was off, and you weren't able to catch or drive. Were there other everyday tasks that you had difficulty with, or did you learn to adapt? For example, I would think figuring out exactly where a door handle is, or trying to pick something up in front of you, would be a difficult task.

Well, the thing is the door handle is basically arm's length away, and i can tell by the way it looks, the size that I can actually grab it. Hmm, there are just a lot of sports I can't do

How is it to look at 2D surfaces now? (your computer right now)

I'm not actually wearing my glasses, but it's usally flat. When I'm looking with stereoblindness, I see it like i see a picture

Don't they give those out at the movie theater?

Look at the first picture of my proof, those are my 3d glasses!

This article has been circulating around the internet the past few days on how a Stereoblind man is able to see in 3D on the Nintendo 3DS. Have you tried the 3D on a 3DS and if so, what was your experience like?

I've played it once before, when i didn't know i was stereoblind. The 3ds was really weird, it seemed like it was struggling to pop out.... Gave me a headache

So you stated in other comments that the world seems like a very high quality video. Have you ever mistaken a video for reality or reality for a video?

I usually know it when I watch a video, I prepare for it... So no :P

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Pictures are already 2D, just look at any picture and bam! It's already 2D

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Dude, I'm 15

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I usually keep my eyes closed

So you got 3D glasses? Big deal I have five pairs.

But mine are special; you can see in color, and if you were to put them on, you'd get a splittibg headache!

This is how I imagine you

Sorry but I HAD to post it.

I'd say you're pretty accurate

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your an idiot. there 'literally' are no glasses that make you see in 3 dimensions, fucknugget.

Please explain, I'd love to hear why there can't possibly be any 3d glasses :)

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I feel like I can too, even with stereoblindness, where I have a very good sense of the space around me. It's probably just because I was very excited to see 3D for the first time