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It was fun growing up with two generations of optometrists in the family. We got to spend our Saturday mornings in the practice, pretending the eye testing equipment was futuristic X-ray vision technology that could also shoot lasers. Half the fun was wearing those giant multi-lensed goggles. The other half was laughing at one's siblings when it was their turn. It was also fun staring at the posters advertising Italian eyewear and wondering about the lives of the people who got to stroll around Rome looking stylish. And, of course it was fun trying on each and every frame. A hundred times. Younger siblings didn't generally get a chance to operate the lens-cutting machine. But it didn't matter because it was fascinating enough to watch. And the magical fact that the oval pieces of glass somehow made people see better? The magic remains intact to this day because I still don't understand how it works (although I know the word "refraction" is somehow involved...) Sometimes we got our own eyes tested while we were there, and the oversized glasses became a functional device rather than a pair of fantasy X-ray goggles. I can still hear the words as lenses were swiftly interchanged: "Is this better, or worse, or the same?" What amazed me then and amazes me now is that I sometimes had to think about it. Sometimes it was obvious, but sometimes I had to ponder the question (or trio of questions, as it were). Which was actually better? What made one worse than the one that came before? And what exactly made two lenses the same? I was probably overthinking it (and hopefully not skewing the results of my eye test in the process). But it often felt that better, worse and the same weren't always easy judgments to make. It had something to do with the quality of vision, but also the act of viewing itself. At times - probably during my angsty teen years - it felt like nothing less than a philosophical conundrum. (See what I mean about overthinking?) And now, as we reach the midpoint of another year, I find myself revisiting these memories and for some reason asking myself the same questions. 2022 is halfway through. Is it better, or worse, or the same? We're still wearing masks, but not outdoors. We can socialise a little, but only under certain conditions. And we don't have to work from home anymore, which is a mixed bag of pros and cons for many. Maybe it's not better or worse, but just different. Or is it? Doesn't it sometimes feel like we're caught in a time loop, stuck in March 2020? There was always a tiny bit of pressure associated with that eye test. Because one's choice of better, worse or the same resulted in a pair of glasses that one would be committed to wear for the foreseeable future (pardon the pun). At least our evaluation of the first half of 2022 doesn't require commitment. It could be better or worse or the same, and it doesn't really matter. Or, it could even be all three. |