i'm an optician (one who makes eyeglass lenses) and ardent computer user (web design, music production, etc; i spend a lot of time on front of a computer) and i've fitted tons of people with computer problems over the last 10 years.
there are a few possibilities for what you're experiencing.
computer screens suck; they confuse the hell out of your eyes. unlike printed characters, pixelated characters vary in intensity which makes them very difficult for your eyes to track and focus on. as a result, your eyes try to relax to their 'resting' focus', which is considered to be at about 10ft to infinity. the result is that your eyes are constantly resting and refocusing on the screen, taxing the muscles that focus the lens.
additionally, if you're around 40 years old, you may be experiencing the first stages of presbyopia, the natural stiffening of the lens which results in the need for most people over 40 to require reading glasses to some degree or another. i've seen several cases where, though the correction wasn't enough to warrant a modification of lens power (and, quite often, these low powers aren't mentioned by the doctor/technician), it was enough to exacerbate the problems with viewing a computer monitor for a long period of time.
the best solution to the problem is to talk to your doctor about devising an 'intermediate' prescription. just like a 'reading' prescription focuses your eyes at a distance of about 18", an intermediate prescription focuses your eyes at at distance of 20-30", depending on the placement of your computer screen. this alleviates the continuous refocusing problem.
additionally, you should always get an anti-reflective coating on your computer lenses. it's harder to keep clean and the lenses will scratch more easily if you're not careful, but i've always found the reflections on non coated lenses to be more of a pain than putting my glasses in a case.
i've found that i rely upon my theory classes far more than i ever thought i would while i was nodding off during my advanced linear algebra or machine/assembly language classes.
what i've since realized is that, in addition to teaching me how to solve matricies and read assembly commands (in case i ever need to macgyver my way out of a computer?),
these classes taught me how to 'think'.
rational approaches to logical processes, efficiency design and ergonomics have been far more useful to me in the workforce than c++.
the modern workforce is a very strange place. personally, i've decided that the best way to be viable is to be adaptable. i currently have a corporate admin job that i love. i got my foot in the door with my computer skills, but then demonstrated that my problem solving skills were too beneficial for making administrative policy decisions to relegate to the compter support department.
currently,
you can make a pretty good living as a programmer,
but with more and more jobs being outsourced and colleges and night schools continuing to saturate the workforce,
you could quickly end up finding yourself in a green apron frothing cappuccinos.
good luck.
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i promise that i meticulously design and craft each piece of malware with the individual patients needs in mind. ;-)
i'm an optician (one who makes eyeglass lenses) and ardent computer user (web design, music production, etc; i spend a lot of time on front of a computer) and i've fitted tons of people with computer problems over the last 10 years.
there are a few possibilities for what you're experiencing.
computer screens suck; they confuse the hell out of your eyes. unlike printed characters, pixelated characters vary in intensity which makes them very difficult for your eyes to track and focus on. as a result, your eyes try to relax to their 'resting' focus', which is considered to be at about 10ft to infinity. the result is that your eyes are constantly resting and refocusing on the screen, taxing the muscles that focus the lens.
additionally, if you're around 40 years old, you may be experiencing the first stages of presbyopia, the natural stiffening of the lens which results in the need for most people over 40 to require reading glasses to some degree or another. i've seen several cases where, though the correction wasn't enough to warrant a modification of lens power (and, quite often, these low powers aren't mentioned by the doctor/technician), it was enough to exacerbate the problems with viewing a computer monitor for a long period of time.
the best solution to the problem is to talk to your doctor about devising an 'intermediate' prescription. just like a 'reading' prescription focuses your eyes at a distance of about 18", an intermediate prescription focuses your eyes at at distance of 20-30", depending on the placement of your computer screen. this alleviates the continuous refocusing problem.
additionally, you should always get an anti-reflective coating on your computer lenses. it's harder to keep clean and the lenses will scratch more easily if you're not careful, but i've always found the reflections on non coated lenses to be more of a pain than putting my glasses in a case.
i've found that i rely upon my theory classes far more than i ever thought i would while i was nodding off during my advanced linear algebra or machine/assembly language classes. what i've since realized is that, in addition to teaching me how to solve matricies and read assembly commands (in case i ever need to macgyver my way out of a computer?), these classes taught me how to 'think'. rational approaches to logical processes, efficiency design and ergonomics have been far more useful to me in the workforce than c++. the modern workforce is a very strange place. personally, i've decided that the best way to be viable is to be adaptable. i currently have a corporate admin job that i love. i got my foot in the door with my computer skills, but then demonstrated that my problem solving skills were too beneficial for making administrative policy decisions to relegate to the compter support department. currently, you can make a pretty good living as a programmer, but with more and more jobs being outsourced and colleges and night schools continuing to saturate the workforce, you could quickly end up finding yourself in a green apron frothing cappuccinos. good luck.