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Followup: Ultraviolet Vision After Cataract Surgery
xmas2003 writes "Several months ago, I posted to Slashdot about being able to see ultraviolet light after cataract surgery. While a lot of the discussion whimsically discussed the best way for 'Captain UV' or 'UltraMan' to use this 'super-power,' there were some people who were skeptical or (incorrectly) said this is Tetrachromatic vision. I've subsequently done more testing using an Oriel Instruments MS257 Monochromator and was able to see color down to 350nm — below the usual ~400nm limit of the visual spectrum. It's also easily demonstrable with a pair of 400nm and 365nm UV flashlights. Some readers who also have UV vision commented this can be quite annoying at black-lit Disney Rides, Halloween Haunted Houses, etc. Fortunately for me, it's just an interesting oddity so far. Along those lines, some interesting related stories about using UV vision during World War II and Star Gazing. Finally, many/most people end up getting vision debilitating cataracts, so my experience having a Crystalens implanted after cataract surgery may be informative."
Can you see through clothes?
If you can't read the line above. Then you don't have UV vision.
...when you have X-ray vision!
Seriously though, as someone who has a hearing range beyond the standard I sympathise with people forced to endure irritating stimuli that noone else notices and hence cares about. I remember having to leave a bar once because the tube was going on their old television; the high pitched screech was like nails down a blackboard. My girlfriend thought I was mad.
Seeing UV after cataract surgery proabbly isn't a 'tetrachromic' effect. Human eye lenses are naturally yellow at birth, browner as we get older, browner still and they start being called 'cataracts'. They filter out the UV at any age. So the retina never usually gets a chance to try out its UV-seeing ability using its basic trichromatic receptor kit.
-wb-
I read somewhere (on the net of a million lies) that Bees (and other insects) can see polarized light. Then you can see flowers in a whole way (and maybe better find your way home).
Or get circularly polarized contact lenses and see like a mantis shrimp!
The relatively bright star Adhara (Epsilon Canis Majoris) is actually the brightest star in the sky in UV light. Of course you don't have pure UV vision but rather just a bit more UV bias.
However, since you seem to enjoy an experiment I suggest going somewhere where at least the brightest stars are visible, and comparing relative brightnesses between stars with a person with average vision.
Some background and a chart for Adhara below. It's close to Sirius which in turn is easy to find by using the belt of Orion.
http://stars.astro.illinois.edu/sow/adhara.html
http://www.rocketmime.com/astronomy/fig/CanisMajor_wAdhara.gif
I, the evil mutant Darklight, am the only one with power over the ultraviolet spectrum. If another emerged with such powers, it would threaten my Ultimate Ultraviolet plot for world domination. I must alert my co-conspirators Nucleon and Cheetahface and see if they can learn more about this "xmas2003". A curious choice for a superhero name... the "x" suggests some affiliation with the X-men and yet when I sucked out Xavier's brain he revealed nothing of this mutant to me. It also implies some sort of holiday theme, which is simply baffling. Perhaps he wears an elf costume?
Very well, xmas2003. I will play your game. We will find you, and then we shall see if your powers are real. If I find that you have been toying with me with false claims, then I will kill you quickly. And if I find that you have been telling the truth, then I will kill you... slowly.
After taking out those precious, precious eyes of yours, of course. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAH!!!!
-Darklight, Evil Mutant Overlord
That was an amazingly detailed and quite interesting write up - I found the numerous close-up photos and descriptions quite informative. Based on your proclivity for detail I am very glad that you suffered from cataracts and not colorectal polyips.
When you have nothing left to burn you must set yourself on fire
A few years back my brother (who was about 14 at the time) got a Wii and was having trouble getting the controller to work. I was troubleshooting with him over the phone and asked him if the sensor bar was plugged in and he responded "I think so, no wait it's not. The light's not on." I asked him what light? The only lights on the Wii sensor bar are the infrared lights. He said he knew that, but they weren't on. Apparently he can barely see infrared light. I did some tests with some remote controls that do not light up when pressing the buttons and would ask him to tell me when I press the button. Not very scientific I know, but it was enough for me to prove that he does indeed see something. He can see the lights on remote controls, night security cameras, and of course the Wii sensor bar. They all appear very faint, but over Christmas I got him some cheap toy night vision goggles which apparently use infrared LED's and it was bright enough in a very dark room to act as a flashlight for him.
UV light and even blue light are damaging to the retina and UV light is a major contributor to cataract formation. The replacement lens you get after surgery may not block UV light at all (currently some replacement lenses do offer UV & blue light protection).
Cataract surgery patients are advised to avoid blue light therapy products and, obviously, direct sources of UV radiation. Of course, protecting your eyes from UV radiation is generally a good idea for everyone.
As someone who has a has a Grandfather with AMD (age-related macular degeneration) and I myself have, according to a genetic test, factors that make it more likely that I too will experience AMD, I try to protect my eyes as much as possible from both UV and blue light.
Stupider like a fox! - H.S.
That's weird, you mean not everyone sees that? When I put on my polarized shades in the car my window tinting has those little spots all over it (at least, as far as I can see). I just assumed that's the way it was for everyone.
"Our two-party system is like a bowl of shit looking at itself in a mirror." - Lewis Black
As somebody who is colour blind and undergone some extensive testing for it, I've been told by several people that the "normal" range of human vision between 400nm to 700nm is more or less an average. Everyone is different, and just as some people can naturally run a mile in 6-7 minutes with little training while others would have trouble walking a mile in 20 minutes, it is the same with our vision. IMO, a more true statement would be that the "weighted average" of human vision is 400 to 700nm, but the extreme ranges *might* go anywhere from say 350, 360nm to perhaps 720 or 730 nm.
For example, even without a yellowed cornea, some people may not see into the UV at all. There are also suggestions - would not go so far as to say a sound theory - that some well known artists from days past had, perhaps without ever knowing it, natural extended vision into either the UV or IR, or perhaps even both. Just as it is claimed that some famous musicians from the past had a naturally extended range of hearing.
Another thing to be aware of is that, at least IMO, the medical profession as a whole really seems to have little interest in this area. Specific example, I am colour blind, but it is very poorly understood. Also, since childhood, I have been extremely sensitive to bright light, but my night vision is superb, and apparently above that of the average person. I cannot tell you how many specialists I have either called or visited over the years, but the response is generally "I don't know" or "well, just live it it". It almost seems to me that if you cannot treat it or fix it right away, and you aren't going to die from it, why bother with it. so I have a small fortune invested in prescription eyeglasses, and I wear them even on cloudy days. You get some weird looks, but you get used to it.
As for "proof", I can understand dealing with skeptical people. In terms of my own night vision, I had trouble even convincing my wife when we were first married. I solved that one real quick one night camping. Walking from our campsite to the washrooms, I left the flashlight behind. I was able to find my way no problem, but my wife keep tripping over rocks or branches in the dark. Even holding her hand she keep tripping or bumping into things. She sure wasn't impressed, but she has never doubted me since. :)