Bates Method - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Bates method - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bates_method
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Bates method is an alternative therapy aimed at improving eyesight. Eye-care physician
William Horatio Bates (18601931) attributed nearly all sight problems to habitual strain of the
eyes, and felt that glasses were harmful and never necessary. Bates self-published a book as well
as a magazine (and earlier collaborated with Bernarr MacFadden on a correspondence course)
detailing his approach to helping people relax such "strain", and thus, he claimed, improve their
sight. His techniques centered around visualization and movement. He placed particular emphasis
on imagining black letters and marks, and the movement of such. He also felt that exposing the
eyes to sunlight would help alleviate the "strain".[1]
Despite continued anecdotal reports of successful results, including well-publicized support by
Aldous Huxley,[2] Bates' techniques have not been shown objectively to improve eyesight,[3] and
his main physiological proposition that the eyeball changes shape to maintain focus has
consistently been contradicted by observation.[4] In 1952, optometry professor Elwin Marg wrote
of Bates, Most of his claims and almost all of his theories have been considered false by
practically all visual scientists.[5] Marg concluded that the Bates method owed its popularity
largely to "flashes of clear vision" experienced by many who followed it.[2] Such occurrences
have since been determined to most likely be a contact lens-like effect of moisture on the eye.[6]
Critics of the Bates method not only deny its efficacy, but go on to cite potential negative
consequences for those who attempt to follow it, namely that they might overexpose their eyes to
sunlight, put themselves and others at risk by not wearing their corrective lenses while driving, or
neglect conventional eye care, possibly allowing serious conditions to develop.[5][7]
Bates method
Alternative medicine / fringe therapies
William Bates and his assistant.

Claims
The need for eyeglasses can be

reversed by relaxation.
Related fields
Ophthalmology, Optometry
Year proposed
1891
Original
William Horatio Bates
proponents
Bernarr Macfadden
Subsequent
Margaret Darst Corbett
proponents
Aldous Huxley
Peter Mansfield
See also
See Clearly Method
1 Underlying concepts
1.1 Accommodation
1.2 Causes of sight problems
2 Treatments
2.1 Palming
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2.2 Visualization
2.3 Movement
2.4 Sunning
2.5 Results
3 After Bates
3.1 Margaret Darst Corbett
3.2 Case of Huxley
3.3 Modern variants
4 Claimed success
4.1 "Flashes of clear vision"
5 General research
6 General criticisms
6.1 Dead-end
6.2 Corrective lenses and safety
6.3 Avoidance of conventional treatment
7 See also
8 References
9 External links
Accommodation
Accommodation is the process by which the eye increases optical power to maintain focus on the retina while shifting its gaze to a closer point. The
long-standing medical consensus is that this is accomplished by action of the ciliary muscle, a muscle within the eye, which adjusts the curvature of
the eye's crystalline lens.[3] This explanation is based in the observed effect of atropine temporarily preventing accommodation when applied to the
ciliary muscle, as well as images reflected on the crystalline lens becoming smaller as the eye shifts focus to a closer point, indicating a change in the
lens' shape. Bates rejected this explanation, and in his 1920 book presented photographs which he said showed that the image remained the same size
even as the eye shifted focus, concluding from this that the lens was not a factor in accommodation. However, optometrist Philip Pollack in a 1956
work characterized these photographs as "so blurred that it is impossible to tell whether one image is larger than the other", in contrast to later
photographs which clearly showed a change in the size of the reflected images, just as had been observed since the late nineteenth century.[4]
Bates adhered to a different explanation of accommodation which had already been generally disregarded by the medical community of his time. This
model had the muscles surrounding the eyeball controlling its focus.[4] In addition to their known function of turning the eye, Bates maintained, they
also affect its shape,[8] elongating the eyeball to focus at the near-point or shortening it to focus at a distance.[9] Commenting on this hypothesis in an
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interview with WebMD, ophthalmologist Richard E. Bensinger stated "When we put drops in the eye to dilate the pupil, they paralyze the focusing
muscles. The evidence of the anatomical fallacy is that you can't focus, but your eye can move up and down, left and right. The notion that external
muscles affect focusing is totally wrong."[3] Science author John Grant writes that many animals, such as fishes, accommodate by elongation of the
eyeball, "it's just that humans aren't one of those animals."[10]
Laboratory tests have shown that the eyeball is far too rigid to spontaneously change shape to a degree which would be necessary to accomplish what
Bates described.[4] Exceedingly small changes in axial length of the eyeball (18.6-19.2 micrometres) are caused by the action of the ciliary muscle
during accommodation. However, these changes are far too small to account for the necessary changes in focus, producing changes of only -0.036
dioptres.[11]
Causes of sight problems

Medical professionals characterize refractive errors such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, and presbyopia (the age-related blurring of
near-point vision) as consequences of the eye's shape and other basic anatomy, which there is no evidence that any exercise can alter.[12] Bates,
however, believed that these conditions are caused by tension of the muscles surrounding the eyeball, which he believed prevents the eyeball from
sufficiently changing shape (per his explanation of accommodation) when gaze is shifted nearer or farther. Bates characterized this supposed muscular
tension as the consequence of a "mental strain" to see, the relief of which he claimed would instantly improve sight.[1][13] He also linked disturbances
in the circulation of blood, which he said is "very largely influenced by thought", not only to refractive errors but also to double vision, crossed-eye,
lazy eye, and to more serious eye conditions such as cataracts and glaucoma.[4][14] His therapies were based on these assumptions.[1]
Bates felt that corrective lenses, which he characterized as "eye crutches", are an impediment to curing poor vision. In his view, "strain" would
increase as the eyes adjust to the correction in front of them. He thus recommended that glasses be discarded by anyone applying his method.[1]
In his writings, Bates discussed several techniques which he claimed helped patients to improve their sight. He wrote that "The ways in which people
strain to see are infinite, and the methods used to relieve the strain must be almost equally varied",[13] emphasizing that no single approach would
work for everyone. His techniques were all designed to help disassociate this "strain" from seeing and thereby achieve "central fixation", or seeing
what is in the central point of vision without staring. He asserted that "all errors of refraction and all functional disturbances of the eye disappear
when it sees by central fixation" and that other conditions were often relieved as well.[1]
Palming
Bates suggested closing the eyes for minutes at a time to help bring about relaxation.[15] He asserted that the relaxation could be deepened in most
cases by "palming", or covering the closed eyes with the palms of the hands, without putting pressure on the eyeballs.[1] If the covered eyes did not
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strain, he said, they would see "a field so black that it is impossible to remember, imagine, or see anything blacker",
since light was excluded by the palms. However, he reported that some of his patients experienced "illusions of
lights and colors" sometimes amounting to "kaleidoscopic appearances" as they "palmed", occurrences which he
attributed to his ubiquitous "strain" and which he claimed disappeared when one truly relaxed.[15] This
phenomenon, however, was almost certainly caused by Eigengrau or "dark light". In fact, even in conditions of
perfect darkness, as inside a cave, neurons at every level of the visual system produce random background activity
that is interpreted by the brain as patterns of light and color.[4]
Visualization
Bates placed importance on mental images, as he felt relaxation was the key to clarity of imagination as well as of
actual sight.[16] He claimed that one's poise could be gauged by the visual memory of black; that the darker it
appeared in the mind, and the smaller the area of black which could be imagined, the more relaxed one was at the
moment.[17] He recommended that patients think of the top letter from an eye chart and then visualize
progressively smaller black letters, and eventually a period or comma.[1] But he emphasized his view that the clear
visual memory of black "cannot be attained by any sort of effort", stating that "the memory is not the cause of the
relaxation, but must be preceded by it",[17] and cautioned against "concentrating" on black, as he regarded an
attempt to "think of one thing only" as a strain.[15]
Photo of someone "palming",

from Perfect Sight Without
Glasses.
While Bates preferred to have patients imagine something black, he also reported that some found objects of other colors easiest to visualize, and thus
were benefited most by remembering those, because, he asserted, "the memory can never be perfect unless it is easy".[1][17] Skeptics reason that the
only benefit to eyesight gained from such techniques is itself imagined, and point out that familiar objects, including letters on an eye chart, can be
recognized even when they appear less than clear.[4]
Movement
Bates felt that the manner of eye movement affected the sight. He suggested "shifting", or moving the
eyes back and forth to get an illusion of objects "swinging" in the opposite direction. He believed that the
smaller the area over which the "swing" was experienced, the greater was the benefit to sight. He also
indicated that it was usually helpful to close the eyes and imagine something "swinging". By alternating
actual and mental shifting over an image, Bates wrote, many patients were quickly able to shorten the
"shift" to a point where they could "conceive and swing a letter the size of a period in a newspaper."[18]
One who mastered this would attain the "universal swing", Bates believed.[1]
Perhaps finding Bates' concepts of "shifting" and "swinging" too complicated, some proponents of vision
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improvement, such as Bernarr Macfadden, suggested simply moving the eyes up and down, from side to
side, and shifting one's gaze between a near-point and a far-point.[1]
Sunning
Bates believed that the eyes were benefited by exposure to sunlight. He stated that "persons with normal
sight can look directly at the sun, or at the strongest artificial light, without injury or discomfort",[19] and
gave several examples of patients' vision purportedly improving after sungazingthis is at variance with
the well-known risk of eye damage which can result from direct sunlight observation.[4][5][7]
Bates cautioned that, just as one should not attempt to run a marathon without training, one should not
immediately look directly at the sun, but he suggested that it could be worked up to. He acknowledged
that looking at the sun could have ill effects, but characterized them as being "always temporary" and in fact
the effects of strain in response to sunlight. He wrote that he had cured people who believed that the sun had
caused them permanent eye damage.[20] In his magazine, Bates later suggested exposing only the white part of
the eyeball to direct sunlight, and only for seconds at a time, after allowing the sun to shine on closed eyelids
for a longer period.[21]
Eye movement exercises
Eventually Bates concluded that the practice of sunning should only be done with closed eyelids.[22]
Posthumous publications of Bates' book omitted mention of the supposed benefits from direct sunlight shining
on open eyes.[2]
Results
The purported benefits of Bates' techniques are generally anecdotal, and their supposed effectiveness in
improving eyesight has not been substantiated by medical research.[3] Several of Bates' techniques, including
"sunning", "swinging", and "palming", were combined with healthy changes to diet and exercise in a 1983
randomized controlled trial of myopic children in India. After 6 months, the experimental groups "did not
show any statistically significant difference in refractive status", but the children in the treatment group
"subjectively ... felt relieved of eye strain and other symptoms."[23]
A burning-glass being used to focus

sunlight on someone's eye, from
Perfect Sight Without Glasses.
It has been argued, such as by philosopher Frank J. Leavitt, that the method which Bates described would be
difficult to test scientifically due to his emphasis on relaxation and visualization. Leavitt asked "How can we
tell whether someone has relaxed or imagined something, or just thinks that he or she has imagined it?" In regards to the possibility of a placebo trial,
Leavitt commented "I cannot conceive of how we could put someone in a situation where he thinks he has imagined something while we know that
he has not."[16]
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After Bates died in 1931, his methods of treatment were continued by his widow Emily and other associates,[8] some of whom incorporated exercises
and dietary recommendations.[1] Most subsequent proponents did not stand by Bates' explanation of how the eye focuses mechanically,[1] but
nonetheless maintained that relieving a habitual "strain" was the key to improving sight.[2]
Margaret Darst Corbett

Margaret Darst Corbett first met Dr. Bates when she consulted him about her husbands eyesight. She became his pupil, and eventually taught his
method at her School of Eye Education in Los Angeles.[24] She was of the stated belief that "the optic nerve is really part of the brain, and vision is
nine-tenths mental and one-tenth only physical."[2][25]
In late 1940, Corbett and her assistant were charged with violations of the Medical Practice Act of California for treating eyes without a licence. At
the trial, many of her students testified on her behalf, describing in detail how she had enabled them to discard their glasses. One witness testified that
he had been almost blind from cataracts, but that, after working with Corbett, his vision had improved to such an extent that for the first time he could
read for eight hours at a stretch without glasses. Corbett explained in court that she was practicing neither optometry nor ophthalmology and
represented herself not as a doctor but only as an instructor of eye training. Describing her method she said "We turn vision on by teaching the eyes
to shift. We want the sense of motion to relieve staring, to end the fixed look. We use light to relax the eyes and to accustom them to the sun."[24]
The trial attracted widespread interest, as did the not guilty verdict. The case spurred a bill in the Californian State Legislature which would have
then made such vision education illegal without an optometric or medical licence. After a lively campaign in the media, the bill was rejected.[26]
Case of Huxley
Perhaps the most famous proponent of the Bates method was the British writer Aldous Huxley. At the age of sixteen Huxley had an attack of
keratitis, which, after an 18-month period of near-blindness, left him with one eye just capable of light perception and the other with an unaided
Snellen fraction of 10/200. This was mainly due to opacities in both corneas, complicated by hyperopia and astigmatism. He was able to read only if
he wore thick glasses and dilated his better pupil with atropine, to allow that eye to see around an opacity in the center of the cornea.[27]
In 1939, at the age of 45 and with eyesight which continued to deteriorate, he happened to hear of the Bates method and sought the help of Margaret
Corbett, who gave him regular lessons.[27] Three years later he wrote The Art of Seeing, in which he related: "Within a couple of months I was
reading without spectacles and, what was better still, without strain and fatigue... At the present time, my vision, though very far from normal, is
about twice as good as it used to be when I wore spectacles".[28] Describing the process, Huxley wrote that "Vision is not won by making an effort to
get it: it comes to those who have learned to put their minds and eyes into a state of alert passivity, of dynamic relaxation." He expressed indifference
regarding the veracity of Bates' explanation of how the eye focuses, stating that "my concern is not with the anatomical mechanism of
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accommodation, but with the art of seeing".[2]

His case generated wide publicity as well as scrutiny. Ophthalmologist Walter B. Lancaster, for example, suggested
in 1944 that Huxley had "learned how to use what he has to better advantage" by training the "cerebral part of
seeing", rather than actually improving the quality of the image on the retina.[2]
In 1952, ten years after writing The Art of Seeing, Huxley spoke at a Hollywood banquet, wearing no glasses and,
according to Bennett Cerf, apparently reading his paper from the lectern without difficulty. In Cerf's words:
Then suddenly he falteredand the disturbing truth became obvious. He wasn't reading his address at all. He
had learned it by heart. To refresh his memory he brought the paper closer and closer to his eyes. When it was
only an inch or so away he still couldn't read it, and had to fish for a magnifying glass in his pocket to make
the typing visible to him. It was an agonizing moment.[1]
In response to this, Huxley wrote "I often do use magnifying glasses where conditions of light are bad, and have
never claimed to be able to read except under very good conditions."[29] This underscored that he had not regained
anything close to normal vision, and in fact never claimed that he had.[30]
Aldous Huxley
Modern variants
"Natural vision correction" or "natural vision improvement" continues to be marketed by practitioners offering individual instruction, many of who
have no medical or optometric credentials. Most base their approach in the Bates method, though some also integrate vision therapy techniques.[3]
There are also many self-help books and programs, which have not been subjected to randomized controlled trials, aimed at improving eyesight
naturally.[31] Purveyors of such approaches argue that they lack the funds to formally test them.[32]
The heavily advertised "See Clearly Method" (of which sales were halted by a court order in November 2006, in response to what were found to be
dishonest marketing practices)[33] included "palming" and "light therapy", both adapted from Bates.[12] The creators of the program, however,
emphasized that they did not endorse Bates' approach overall.[34]
In his 1992 book The Bates Method, A Complete Guide to Improving EyesightNaturally, "Bates method teacher" Peter Mansfield was very critical
of eye care professionals for prescribing corrective lenses. He recommended most of Bates' techniques to improve vision, but omitted sungazing. The
book included accounts of twelve instances of eyesight improving, but did not report any measurements of refractive error.[35]
Czech native John Slavicek claims to have created an "eye cure" that improves eyesight in three days, borrowing from ancient yogic eye exercises,
visualizations from the Seth Material, and the Bates method. Although he has testimonials from his neighbor and others, several of his students
indicate that he has greatly exaggerated their cases. Slavicek's self-published manual, Yoga for the Eyes, was rejected by an ophthalmologist who
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evaluated it, and evinced no interest from the World Health Organization and St. Erik's Eye Foundation in Sweden as he had not conducted
double-blind tests.[36]
As evidence for the effectiveness of the Bates method, proponents point to the many accounts of people allegedly having improved their eyesight by
applying it.[3] While these anecdotes may be told and passed on in good faith, several potential explanations exist for the phenomena reported other
than a genuine reversal of a refractive error due to the techniques practiced:
Some cases of nearsightedness are recognized as due to a transient spasm of the ciliary muscle, rather than a misshapen eyeball. These are
classed as pseudomyopia, of which spontaneous reversal may account for some reports of improvement.[37]
Research has confirmed that when nearsighted subjects remove their corrective lenses, over time there is a limited improvement (termed "blur
adaptation") in their unaided visual resolution, even though refraction indicates no corresponding change in refractive error.[38] This is believed
to occur due to adjustments made in the visual system.[39] One who has been practicing Bates' techniques and notices such improvement may
not realize that simply leaving the glasses off would have had the same effect, which may be especially pronounced if the prescription was too
strong to begin with.[1]
Visual acuity is affected by the size of the pupil. When it constricts (such as in response to an increase in light), the quality of focus will
improve significantly, at the cost of a reduced ability to see in dim light. This is known as the "pinhole effect".[6] This concept is also used in
photography when changing the aperture size.
Some eye defects may naturally change for the better with age or in cycles (ophthalmologist Stewart Duke-Elder suggested that this is what
happened with Aldous Huxley[40]). A cataract when first setting in sometimes results in much improved eyesight for a short time. One who
happens to have been practicing the Bates method will likely credit it for any improvement experienced regardless of the actual cause.[1]
Some studies have suggested that a learned ability to interpret blurred images may account for perceived improvements in eyesight.[6]
Ophthalmologist Walter B. Lancaster had this to say: "Since seeing is only partly a matter of the image on the retina and the sensation it
produces, but is in still larger part a matter of the cerebral processes of synthesis, in which memories play a principal role, it follows that by
repetition, by practice, by exercises, one builds up a substratum of memories useful for the interpretation of sensations and facilitates the
syntheses which are the major part of seeing."[41] Lancaster faulted ophthalmologists in general for neglecting the role of the brain in the
process of seeing, "leaving to irregular, half-trained workers the cultivation of that field".[41]
"Flashes of clear vision"

Bates method enthusiasts often report experiencing "flashes" of clear vision, in which eyesight momentarily becomes much sharper, but then reverts
back to its previous state.[2] Such flashes are not the result of squinting, and can occur in one eye at a time or in both eyes at once.[42] Observation
has suggested that both the quality and duration of such flashes can be increased with practice, with some subjects holding a substantial improvement
for several minutes. Tests of such subjects have found that the temporary improvement in visual acuity is real, but per retinoscopy is not due to any
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change in refractive error.[2] A 1982 study concluded that such occurrences are best explained as a contact lens-like effect of moisture on the eye,
based on increased tear action exhibited by 15 out of 17 subjects who experienced such improvement.[6] A more recent series of studies have
proposed that such flashes may be caused by "negative accommodation" (i.e. an active flattening of the lens by the ciliary muscles).[43][44]
See also: Behavioral optometry and Vision therapy

In 2004 the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) published a review of various research regarding "visual training",[3] which consisted of
"eye exercises, muscle relaxation techniques, biofeedback, eye patches, or eye massages", "alone or in combinations". No evidence was found that
such techniques could objectively benefit eyesight, though some studies noted changes, both positive and negative, in the visual acuity of nearsighted
subjects as measured by a Snellen chart. In some cases noted improvements were maintained at subsequent follow-ups. However, these results were
not seen as actual reversals of nearsightedness, and were attributed instead to factors such as "improvements in interpreting blurred images, changes
in mood or motivation, creation of an artificial contact lens by tear film changes, or a pinhole effect from miosis of the pupil."[6]
In 2005 the Ophthalmology Department of New Zealand's Christchurch Hospital published a review of forty-three studies regarding the use of eye
exercises. They found that "As yet there is no clear scientific evidence published in the mainstream literature supporting the use of eye exercises" to
improve visual acuity, and concluded that "their use therefore remains controversial."[45]
Bates' ideas have been rejected by mainstream ophthalmology and optometry.[46][47][32][2]
Dead-end
A frequent criticism of the Bates method is that it has remained relatively obscure, which is seen as proof that it is not truly effective. Writer Alan M.
MacRobert concluded in a 1979 article that the "most telling argument against the Bates system" and other alternative therapies was that they "bore
no fruit". In regards to the Bates method, he reasoned that "If palming, shifting, and swinging could really cure poor eyesight, glasses would be as
obsolete by now as horse-drawn carriages."[48] Others, including philosopher Frank J. Leavitt, have argued that due to Bates' emphasis on relaxation
and visualization, application of his principles would depend heavily on each individual, as with martial arts and yoga, and that the Bates method is
therefore not discredited simply by its failure to become mainstream.[16]
Corrective lenses and safety

Discarding one's corrective lenses, as Bates recommended, or wearing lenses weaker than one's prescribed correction, as some Bates method
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advocates suggest, poses a potential safety hazard in certain situations, especially when one is operating a motor vehicle.[7] However, most teachers
of the Bates method caution that when driving, one should wear the correction legally required.[7]
Avoidance of conventional treatment

One of the greatest potential dangers of faith in the Bates method is that a believer may be disinclined to seek medical advice regarding what could be
a sight-threatening condition requiring prompt treatment, such as glaucoma.[5] Also, children with vision problems may require early attention by a
professional in order to successfully prevent lazy eye. Such treatment may include exercises, but which are different from those associated with the
Bates method, and parents who subscribe to Bates' ideas may delay seeking conventional care until it is too late.[7] It may further be necessary for a
child at risk of developing lazy eye to wear the proper correction.[49]
Iridology
Pinhole glasses
Tibetan eye chart
1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Gardner, Martin (1957). "Chapter 19: Throw

Away Your Glasses!" (http://books.google.com
/books?id=TwP3SGAUsnkC&pg=PA232) . Fads and Fallacies in the
Name of Science. Reprint: Courier Dover Publications. pp. 230241.
ISBN 0-486-20394-8. http://books.google.com
/books?id=TwP3SGAUsnkC&pg=PA232.
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Marg, Elwin (April 1952). "Flashes of clear vision and
negative accommodation with reference to the Bates Method of visual
training" (http://brain.berkeley.edu
/pub/1952%20April%20Flashes%20of%20Clear%20Vision.pdf) (PDF).
American Journal of Optometry & Archives of American Academy of
Optometry 29 (4): 16784. http://brain.berkeley.edu
/pub/1952%20April%20Flashes%20of%20Clear%20Vision.pdf.
3. ^ a b c d e f g Skarnulis, Leanna (5 February 2007). "Natural Vision
Correction: Does It Work?" (http://web.archive.org/web/20080622193404
/http://www.webmd.com/eye-health/features/natural-vision-correctiondoes-it-work) . WebMD. Archived from the original
(http://www.webmd.com/eye-health/features/natural-vision-correctiondoes-it-work) on June 22, 2008. http://web.archive.org

/web/20080622193404/http://www.webmd.com/eye-health/features
/natural-vision-correction-does-it-work. Retrieved 14 March 2009.
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Pollack, Philip (1956). "Chapter 3: Fallacies of the Bates
System" (http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b4399673) . The Truth
about Eye Exercises. Philadelphia: Chilton Company.
http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b4399673.
5. ^ a b c d Chou, Brian (15 September 2004). "Exposing the Secrets of
Fringe Eye Care" (http://legacy.revoptom.com
/index.asp?page=2_1494.htm) . Review of Optometry 141 (9).
http://legacy.revoptom.com/index.asp?page=2_1494.htm.
6. ^ a b c d e "Complementary Therapy Assessments: Visual Training for
Refractive Errors" (http://one.aao.org/CE/PracticeGuidelines
/Therapy_Content.aspx?cid=d7238b2b-a59f-49f6-9f30-64d1e84efc3b) .
American Academy of Ophthalmology. October 2004. http://one.aao.org
/CE/PracticeGuidelines/Therapy_Content.aspx?cid=d7238b2b-
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14.
a59f-49f6-9f30-64d1e84efc3b. Retrieved 6 July 2008.

^ a b c d e Grierson, Ian (2000). "Exercises for Eyes as an Alternative to
Glasses" (http://books.google.com/books?id=YY0inTk-CEcC&pg=PA58)
. The Eye Book: Eyes and Eye Problems Explained. Liverpool University
Press. pp. 5860. ISBN 0-85323-755-7. http://books.google.com
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^ a b "Exercise v. Eyeglasses" (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article
/0,9171,884800,00.html) . Time. 15 March 1943. http://www.time.com
/time/magazine/article/0,9171,884800,00.html.
^ Bates, William H. (1920). "Chapter 4: The Truth About
Accommodation as Demonstrated by Experiments on the Eye Muscles of
Fish, Cats, Dogs, Rabbits and other Animals" (http://books.google.com
/books?id=Vl3SiyXmZVMC&pg=PA38) . Perfect Sight Without Glasses.
New York: Central Fixation Publishing Co. pp. 3853.
/books?id=Vl3SiyXmZVMC&pg=PA38.
^ John Grant (2006). Discarded Science. FFF: Surrey, UK.
ISBN 1-904332-49-8.
^ Drexler W, Findl O, Schmetterer L, Hitzenberger CK, Fercher AF. (1
October 1998). "Eye elongation during accommodation in humans:
differences between emmetropes and myopes." (http://www.iovs.org
/cgi/reprint/39/11/2140) . Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 39 (11): 21407.
PMID 9761293 (//www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9761293) .
http://www.iovs.org/cgi/reprint/39/11/2140.
^ a b Rob Murphy, Marilyn Haddrill, Gary Heiting (May 2009). "The See
Clearly Method & Other Programs: Do Eye Exercises Improve Vision?"
(http://www.allaboutvision.com/buysmart/see_clearly.htm) .
AllAboutVision.com. http://www.allaboutvision.com/buysmart
/see_clearly.htm. Retrieved 14 May 2009.
^ a b Bates, William H. (1920). "Chapter 9: The Cause and Cure of
Errors of Refraction" (http://books.google.com
/books?id=Vl3SiyXmZVMC&pg=PA89) . Perfect Sight Without Glasses.
New York: Central Fixation Publishing Co. pp. 89105.
^ Bates, William H. (1920). "Chapter 10: Strain"
(http://books.google.com/books?id=Vl3SiyXmZVMC&pg=PA106) .
Perfect Sight Without Glasses. New York: Central Fixation Publishing
Co. pp. 106113. ISBN 88-900756-3-5. http://books.google.com
15. ^ a b c Bates, William H. (1920). "Chapter 12: Palming"

16. ^ a b c Leavitt, Frank J. (2007). "How to Save the World: Alternatives to
Biomedical Research" (http://books.google.com
/books?id=-Tr7WZd_GwQC&pg=PA203&vq=Bates&
source=gbs_search_r&cad=1_1&
sig=ACfU3U0N8ztV_WZnlDRcO3L3J6GH140ceA) . Ethics in
Biomedical Research: International Perspectives. Rodopi. pp. 203207.
http://books.google.com/books?id=-Tr7WZd_GwQC&pg=PA203&
vq=Bates&source=gbs_search_r&cad=1_1&
sig=ACfU3U0N8ztV_WZnlDRcO3L3J6GH140ceA.
17. ^ a b c Bates, William H. (1920). "Chapter 13: Memory as an Aid to
Vision" (http://books.google.com/books?id=Vl3SiyXmZVMC&
pg=PA136) . Perfect Sight Without Glasses. New York: Central Fixation
Publishing Co. pp. 136147. ISBN 88-900756-3-5.
http://books.google.com/books?id=Vl3SiyXmZVMC&pg=PA136.
18. ^ Bates, William H. (1920). "Chapter 15: Shifting and Swinging"
19. ^ Bates, William H. (June 1920). "Sun-gazing". Better Eyesight (New
York: Central Fixation Publishing Co).
20. ^ Bates, William H. (1920). "Chapter 17: Vision Under Adverse
Conditions a Benefit to the Eyes" (http://books.google.com
/books?id=Vl3SiyXmZVMC&pg=PA183) . Perfect Sight Without
Glasses. New York: Central Fixation Publishing Co. pp. 183197.
21. ^ Bates, William H. (July 1929). "The Use of the Sun Glass"
(http://www.central-fixation.com/better-eyesight-magazine/better-eyesight1929-07.php#sun-glass) . Better Eyesight (New York: Central Fixation
Publishing Co). http://www.central-fixation.com/better-eyesight-magazine
/better-eyesight-1929-07.php#sun-glass.
22. ^ Quackenbush, Thomas R. Relearning to See. Berkley: North Atlantic
Books, 1997, pp. 229-231.
23. ^ Mohan, Madan (1983). "Therapy of myopia" (http://www.ijo.in
/text.asp?1983/31/6/741/29315) . Indian Journal of Ophthalmology 31
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(6): 7413. PMID 6676257 (//www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6676257) .

http://www.ijo.in/text.asp?1983/31/6/741/29315.
^ a b Pollack, Philip (1956). The Truth about Eye Exercises
(http://books.google.com/?id=yJesAAAAIAAJ&q=Corbett) .
Philadelphia: Chilton Company. p. 7. http://books.google.com
/?id=yJesAAAAIAAJ&q=Corbett.
^ Corbett, Margaret Darst (1954). How to Improve your Sight. London:
Faber and Faber. pp. 2627.
^ Pollack, Philip (1956). The Truth about Eye Exercises
(http://books.google.com/?id=yJesAAAAIAAJ&q=Corbett) .
Philadelphia: Chilton Company. p. 8. http://books.google.com
/?id=yJesAAAAIAAJ&q=Corbett.
^ a b "Fifty per cent terrific! fifty per cent non-existent: Aldous Huxley
and medicine" (http://www.cmj.slma.lk/cmj4904/cmj4904.pdf) (PDF).
The Ceylon Medical Journal 49 (4): 1423. December 2004.
http://www.cmj.slma.lk/cmj4904/cmj4904.pdf.
^ Nugel, Bernfried (2008). Aldous Huxley, Man of Letters: Thinker,
Critic and Artist: Proceedings of the Third International Aldous Huxley
Symposium, Riga 2004 (http://books.google.com/?id=jkC0gvN12DMC&
pg=PA250) . LIT Verlag Berlin-Hamburg-Mnster. p. 250.
ISBN 978-3-8258-9034-6. http://books.google.com
/?id=jkC0gvN12DMC&pg=PA250.
^ Smith, Grover Cleveland (1970). Letters of Aldous Huxley
(http://books.google.com/?id=zcIZAAAAMAAJ&
q=%22I+often+do+use+magnifying+glasses+where+conditions+of+light+
are+bad%2C+and+have+never+claimed+to+be+able+to+read+except+un
der+very+good+conditions.%22) . Harper & Row. p. 815.
ISBN 0-7011-1312-X. http://books.google.com/?id=zcIZAAAAMAAJ&
q=%22I+often+do+use+magnifying+glasses+where+conditions+of+light+
are+bad%2C+and+have+never+claimed+to+be+able+to+read+except+un
der+very+good+conditions.%22.
^ Murray, Nicholas (2003). "Sorrow" (http://books.google.com
/books?id=ktDo9SCBfxoC&pg=RA1-PA421) . Aldous Huxley: A
Biography. Macmillan. pp. 421422. ISBN 0-312-30237-1.
http://books.google.com/books?id=ktDo9SCBfxoC&pg=RA1-PA421.
^ "I can see clearly now...sort of" (http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2
/gi_0199-2994518/I-can-see-clearly-now.html) . Harvard Women's
Health Watch. 1 July 2003. http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2
/gi_0199-2994518/I-can-see-clearly-now.html.
^ a b Bradley, Robyn E. (23 September 2003). "Advocates see only
benefits from eye exercises" (http://www.boston.com/news/globe
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
/health_science/articles/2003/09
/23/advocates_see_only_benefits_from_eye_exercises/) . The Boston
Globe. http://www.boston.com/news/globe/health_science/articles
/2003/09/23/advocates_see_only_benefits_from_eye_exercises/.
^ Shin, Annys (6 November 2006). "Seeing the See Clearly Method for
What It Is" (http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thecheckout/2006/11
/hold_onto_those_eyeglasses.html) . washingtonpost.com.
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thecheckout/2006/11
/hold_onto_those_eyeglasses.html. Retrieved 14 March 2009.
^ Steven M. Beresford, David W. Muris, Mara Tableman, Francis A.
Young. "Clinical Evaluation of the See Clearly Method"
(http://www.visiontherapy.net/RESEARCH%20MASTER.pdf)
(PDF).
p. 13. http://www.visiontherapy.net/RESEARCH%20MASTER.pdf .
Retrieved 14 March 2009.
^ Grosvenor, Theodore (November 1997). "Book Review"
(http://www.optvissci.com/pt/re
/ovs/pdfhandler.00006324-199711000-00020.pdf) . Optometry and
Vision Science 74 (11): 880. http://www.optvissci.com/pt/re
/ovs/pdfhandler.00006324-199711000-00020.pdf.
^ Barendsen, Kristin (20 November 2003). "Blind faith"
(http://www.thepraguepost.com/P03/2003/spsect/1120/sp1.php) . The
Prague Post. http://www.thepraguepost.com/P03/2003/spsect
/1120/sp1.php.
^ S Leo, Y Ling, T Wong, B Quah (October 2007). "Report of the
National Myopia Prevention and Control Workgroup 2006: A Summary"
(http://www.annals.edu.sg/PDF/36VolNo10SupplOct2007
/V36N10(S1)pS65.pdf) (PDF). Singapore: Annals-Academy of Medicine
36 (10): 67. http://www.annals.edu.sg/PDF/36VolNo10SupplOct2007
/V36N10(S1)pS65.pdf.
^ Mark Rosenfield, Susan Hong, Sini George (September 2004). "Blur
Adaptation in Myopes" (http://www.optvissci.com/pt/re
/ovs/fulltext.00006324-200409000-00009.htm) . Optometry and Vision
Science 81 (9): 657662. doi:10.1097/01.opx.0000144743.34976.da
(http://dx.doi.org/10.1097%2F01.opx.0000144743.34976.da) .
http://www.optvissci.com/pt/re
/ovs/fulltext.00006324-200409000-00009.htm.
^ Konrad Pesudovs, Noel A. Brennan (1993). "Decreased Uncorrected
Vision After a Period of Distance Fixation with Spectacle Wear"
(http://www.pesudovs.com/konrad/Docs/Brennan.pdf) (PDF). American
Academy of Optometry 70 (7): 528531. http://www.pesudovs.com
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/konrad/Docs/Brennan.pdf.
40. ^ Duke-Elder, Stewart (22 May 1943). "Aldous Huxley on Vision"
(http://ukpmc.ac.uk/backend/ptpmcrender.cgi?accid=PMC2282772&
blobtype=pdf) (PDF). British Medical Journal: 635636.
http://ukpmc.ac.uk/backend/ptpmcrender.cgi?accid=PMC2282772&
blobtype=pdf.
41. ^ a b Lancaster, Walter B (31 October 1945). "Present Status of Eye
Exercise for Improvement of Visual Function"
(http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/122274312
/PDFSTART) (PDF). The Australasian Journal of Optometry 28 (10):
449480. http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/122274312
/PDFSTART.
42. ^ Beach, S. Judd (1948). "Myopia Cures" (//www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov
/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=1312764) . Transactions of the
American Ophthalmological Society 46: 284294. PMC 1312764
(//www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1312764/?tool=pmcentrez) .
//www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&
artid=1312764.
43. ^ Raz, A., Marinoff, G. P., Landzberg, K.S., & Guyton, D. L. (2004).
"Substrates of negative accommodation.". Binocular Vision & Strabismus
Quarterly 19 (2): 7174.
44. ^ Raz, A., Marinoff, G. P., Zephrani, Z. R., Schweizer, H. R., & Posner,
M. I. (2004). "See clearly: suggestion, hypnosis, attention, and visual
acuity.". International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis
52 (2): 159187.
45. ^ Rawstron JA, Burley CD, Elder MJ (2005). "A systematic review of
the applicability and efficacy of eye exercises". J Pediatr Ophthalmol
Strabismus 42 (2): 828. PMID 15825744 (//www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
/pubmed/15825744) .
46. ^ Leanna Skarnulis (February 5, 2007). "Natural Vision Correction: Does
It Work?" (http://www.webmd.com/eye-health/features/natural-visioncorrection-does-it-work) . WebMD. http://www.webmd.com/eye-health
/features/natural-vision-correction-does-it-work. "No evidence was found
that visual training had any effect on the progression of nearsightedness,
or that it improved visual function for patients with farsightedness or
astigmatism, or that it improved vision lost to diseases, including
age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, or diabetic retinopathy."
47. ^ Gardner, Martin (1957). "Chapter 19: Throw Away Your Glasses"
(http://books.google.com/?id=kWoJ8mEEJ0wC&
printsec=frontcover#PPA232,M1) . Fads and Fallacies in the Name of
Science. Reprint: Courier Dover. pp. 230241. ISBN 0-486-20394-8.
http://books.google.com/?id=kWoJ8mEEJ0wC&
printsec=frontcover#PPA232,M1. "Actually, Bates' theory of
accommodation (so necessary to explain the value of his exercises) is so
patently absurd that even most of his present-day followers have
discarded it."
48. ^ MacRobert, Alan M. (28 March 1979). "Hocus Focus: modern
spiritualism" (http://www.skeptically.org/thinkersonreligion/id1.html) .
San Diego Reader. http://www.skeptically.org/thinkersonreligion/id1.html.
49. ^ Donahue, Sean P. (February 2007). "Prescribing Spectacles in Children:
A Pediatric Ophthalmologist's Approach" (http://www.optvissci.com/pt/re
/ovs/fulltext.00006324-200702000-00009.htm) . Optometry and Vision
Science 84 (2): 110114. doi:10.1097/OPX.0b013e318031b09b
(http://dx.doi.org/10.1097%2FOPX.0b013e318031b09b) .
http://www.optvissci.com/pt/re
/ovs/fulltext.00006324-200702000-00009.htm.
Historical writings:
Inc, Time (27 May 1957). "The Unending Search for 'Normal' Vision" (http://books.google.com/?id=Mj8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA126) . Life
(Time Inc). http://books.google.com/?id=Mj8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA126.
Library of public domain works related to the Bates method (http://www.central-fixation.com/library.php) .
Bates' first published article about his method of treating eyesight (http://books.google.com/books?id=19oAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA181) ,
American Journal of Ophthalmology, 1891, pp. 181183.
5/19/2012 5:08 AM
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Coverage focusing on individual cases:

Antonia Orfield, M.A., O.D. (1994). "Seeing Space: Undergoing Brain Re-Programming to Reduce Myopia" (http://www.oepf.org/jbo/journals
/5-5%20Orfield.pdf)
(PDF). Journal of Behavioral Optometry 5 (5): 123131. http://www.oepf.org/jbo/journals/5-5%20Orfield.pdf .
"To See or Not to SeeNatural Vision Correction" (http://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/east/series6/vision_correction.shtml) . BBC. 27 September
2004. http://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/east/series6/vision_correction.shtml.
Robertson, Kate (14 October 2007). "Seeing eye to eye" (http://www.smh.com.au/news/health/seeing-eye-to-eye/2007/10/11
/1191696080943.html?page=fullpage) . The Sydney Morning Herald. http://www.smh.com.au/news/health/seeing-eye-to-eye/2007/10/11
/1191696080943.html?page=fullpage.
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William Bates and his assistant.

The need for eyeglasses can be

William Horatio Bates

Margaret Darst Corbett

See Clearly Method