1 00:00:08,840 --> 00:00:12,400 Speaker 1: Hey, welcome to Invention. My name is Robert Lamb and 2 00:00:12,440 --> 00:00:16,400 Speaker 1: I'm Joe McCormick. Robert, what kind of sunglasses do you wear? Well? Currently, 3 00:00:17,120 --> 00:00:19,640 Speaker 1: my son is six years old, so I've been going 4 00:00:19,640 --> 00:00:22,640 Speaker 1: through a spell here where I can really only wear 5 00:00:23,200 --> 00:00:27,360 Speaker 1: whatever kind of semi garbage swag sunglasses come my way, 6 00:00:27,400 --> 00:00:30,240 Speaker 1: you know, with various brand names plastered to the side 7 00:00:30,280 --> 00:00:33,720 Speaker 1: of them, because inevitably, especially when he was younger, my 8 00:00:33,800 --> 00:00:36,919 Speaker 1: son would have to get his hands on whatever kind 9 00:00:36,920 --> 00:00:39,640 Speaker 1: of sunglasses I had in the car. So the sunglasses 10 00:00:39,680 --> 00:00:44,839 Speaker 1: get smudged, sunglasses get scratched up, sunglasses get broken or 11 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:47,800 Speaker 1: just lost. And I was pretty good at losing sunglasses 12 00:00:47,880 --> 00:00:50,880 Speaker 1: even before he came into my life. Uh So I'm 13 00:00:51,120 --> 00:00:53,920 Speaker 1: hoping that I'm working up to very soon reaching that 14 00:00:54,040 --> 00:00:57,200 Speaker 1: point where I can actually buy a decent pair of 15 00:00:57,240 --> 00:01:00,000 Speaker 1: sunglasses that will protect my eyes. Did you ever actually 16 00:01:00,120 --> 00:01:05,480 Speaker 1: where those company sunglasses we got, I have like like 17 00:01:05,520 --> 00:01:08,920 Speaker 1: fold in half at the nose. Yeah, I got those immediately. 18 00:01:09,080 --> 00:01:11,280 Speaker 1: But mainly I I thought to myself, this is a 19 00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:14,000 Speaker 1: great decoy brand because my son is gonna love like 20 00:01:14,040 --> 00:01:18,320 Speaker 1: the Transformer s qualities of these sunglasses here. Break that one. Yeah, 21 00:01:18,480 --> 00:01:21,160 Speaker 1: but I've ended up wearing them around anyway, So that's 22 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:23,600 Speaker 1: my story. Hopefully, by the time I'm ready to actually 23 00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:26,560 Speaker 1: get some decent sunglasses, we'll have some like back to 24 00:01:26,600 --> 00:01:29,240 Speaker 1: the future to sunglasses, you know, like the ones that 25 00:01:29,280 --> 00:01:32,280 Speaker 1: you've got as a prize, uh Pizza Hut back in 26 00:01:32,319 --> 00:01:34,480 Speaker 1: the day when that film first came out. Except now 27 00:01:34,520 --> 00:01:37,399 Speaker 1: these will be legit future sunglasses. You know. I was 28 00:01:37,440 --> 00:01:39,960 Speaker 1: trying to think before we decided to do this episode, 29 00:01:39,959 --> 00:01:43,760 Speaker 1: our sunglasses an invention or not? Did they count? Yeah? 30 00:01:43,800 --> 00:01:46,800 Speaker 1: They count? I guess everything is an invention. Were we 31 00:01:46,880 --> 00:01:50,240 Speaker 1: born with sunglasses? Well we'll get into that, but yeah, 32 00:01:50,240 --> 00:01:53,720 Speaker 1: it is difficult for us to imagine a time before sunglasses. 33 00:01:54,080 --> 00:01:56,560 Speaker 1: How did Corey Hart keep track of the visions in 34 00:01:56,600 --> 00:01:59,400 Speaker 1: his eyes? I don't know. How did rowdy Roddy Piper 35 00:01:59,480 --> 00:02:03,080 Speaker 1: see through the alien conspiracy? I guess I don't know. 36 00:02:03,160 --> 00:02:05,760 Speaker 1: He didn't how to terminate or cover up his eye damage. 37 00:02:06,360 --> 00:02:08,800 Speaker 1: That's a good point, bro, Really, how did anyone ever 38 00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:11,720 Speaker 1: in the history of Earth managed to look cool at 39 00:02:11,760 --> 00:02:14,360 Speaker 1: any given moment, much less shade their eyes from the 40 00:02:14,480 --> 00:02:16,960 Speaker 1: vicious light of day. It's already telling that all the 41 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:20,000 Speaker 1: examples you point to our cultural ones you're pointing, You're 42 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:22,720 Speaker 1: pointing to movies and stuff rather than talking about how 43 00:02:22,760 --> 00:02:25,920 Speaker 1: would I get through my life without sunglasses? Well, that 44 00:02:26,280 --> 00:02:27,679 Speaker 1: this is going to be an important part there, just 45 00:02:27,919 --> 00:02:30,560 Speaker 1: the iconography of the sunglasses, and that will be more 46 00:02:30,600 --> 00:02:33,320 Speaker 1: important later on in our discussion, but in their their 47 00:02:33,320 --> 00:02:38,200 Speaker 1: psychological effects example that. But initially here you know, we're 48 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:41,600 Speaker 1: we're we're complicating the purpose of the sunglasses. Bye bye. Basically, 49 00:02:42,480 --> 00:02:45,000 Speaker 1: the whole deal is the sun is bright. I disagree. 50 00:02:45,880 --> 00:02:48,400 Speaker 1: And while our eyelids do give us the ability to 51 00:02:48,440 --> 00:02:51,840 Speaker 1: manipulate the amount of sunlight hitting our eyeballs, it also 52 00:02:51,919 --> 00:02:54,920 Speaker 1: pays to have other options. And certainly we have the 53 00:02:54,960 --> 00:02:57,160 Speaker 1: ability to look away from the sun, to hide from 54 00:02:57,160 --> 00:03:00,720 Speaker 1: the sun, or to raise a hand or forearm to 55 00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:05,280 Speaker 1: block it. But that's dependent largely on say, your environment. 56 00:03:05,520 --> 00:03:08,480 Speaker 1: Like some environments are much brighter than others. What if 57 00:03:08,520 --> 00:03:11,320 Speaker 1: you live in a place where, say it's springtime and 58 00:03:11,360 --> 00:03:14,919 Speaker 1: you're in a place with snow cover. The sun can 59 00:03:14,960 --> 00:03:17,399 Speaker 1: be so bright in those cases because it's not only 60 00:03:17,440 --> 00:03:20,200 Speaker 1: coming from above but reflecting off of the snow, that 61 00:03:20,280 --> 00:03:24,359 Speaker 1: you essentially cannot use your eyes in the environment, right 62 00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:27,000 Speaker 1: because otherwise you can't just shade where a hat you 63 00:03:27,040 --> 00:03:28,840 Speaker 1: need to wear like a hat with two bills right, 64 00:03:28,919 --> 00:03:31,560 Speaker 1: one on top, one at the bottom. Um, it's coming 65 00:03:31,560 --> 00:03:33,560 Speaker 1: from all directions, and you need to use your hands 66 00:03:33,560 --> 00:03:36,640 Speaker 1: for other things. You're an individual, will need to to 67 00:03:36,720 --> 00:03:39,840 Speaker 1: hunt or fish or craft, etcetera. You can't just go 68 00:03:39,880 --> 00:03:43,960 Speaker 1: around with your hands up all the time. Um. When 69 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:48,280 Speaker 1: I when I think about the challenges of dealing with sunlight, 70 00:03:48,920 --> 00:03:51,440 Speaker 1: I'm always forced to just think about how amazing our 71 00:03:51,440 --> 00:03:55,800 Speaker 1: eyelids are though for manipulating light well, and our iris is. 72 00:03:55,880 --> 00:03:58,640 Speaker 1: Of course, our pupils contract when there's too much light, 73 00:03:58,680 --> 00:04:00,960 Speaker 1: but there's a point at which they can't contract anymore, 74 00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:04,080 Speaker 1: and you have to depend on the eyelids. One of 75 00:04:04,200 --> 00:04:06,280 Speaker 1: one example I always go to is there's a character 76 00:04:06,440 --> 00:04:11,000 Speaker 1: in Larry McMurtry's novel Comanche Moon and he he winds 77 00:04:11,120 --> 00:04:18,400 Speaker 1: up tortured by bandit flares and they slice his eyelids off. 78 00:04:19,120 --> 00:04:21,800 Speaker 1: They leave him for for dead in the sun, and he's, 79 00:04:21,880 --> 00:04:23,960 Speaker 1: you know, half driven mad by the whole whole ordeal. 80 00:04:24,200 --> 00:04:27,280 Speaker 1: But eyelids. Oh yeah. It is a It is a sick, 81 00:04:27,320 --> 00:04:31,240 Speaker 1: weird book. Um, I love it. It's my favorite McMurtry book. 82 00:04:31,640 --> 00:04:35,560 Speaker 1: But afterwards this character ends up constructing a pair of 83 00:04:35,600 --> 00:04:42,120 Speaker 1: special sunglasses for himself with these varying um varying levels 84 00:04:42,120 --> 00:04:44,760 Speaker 1: of darkness, so that he can just click through them 85 00:04:44,760 --> 00:04:46,800 Speaker 1: as he needs them, depending on where he is, if 86 00:04:46,839 --> 00:04:50,839 Speaker 1: he's a you know, indoors, outdoors, bright day, uh, you know, 87 00:04:51,240 --> 00:04:54,320 Speaker 1: cloudy day, etcetera. But I always come back to that 88 00:04:54,320 --> 00:04:56,279 Speaker 1: because it's like, Yeah, have you had to recreate the 89 00:04:56,320 --> 00:04:59,800 Speaker 1: functionality of your eyelids? What kind of invention would you 90 00:04:59,839 --> 00:05:02,640 Speaker 1: have to have to build? You've got so many parts 91 00:05:02,680 --> 00:05:04,960 Speaker 1: of your body that you really don't appreciate but would 92 00:05:04,960 --> 00:05:10,680 Speaker 1: if they were gone. But enough about Larry merturs cyborg westerns. Uh, 93 00:05:10,960 --> 00:05:13,160 Speaker 1: let's let's just get down to sunglasses. Was what is 94 00:05:13,279 --> 00:05:15,880 Speaker 1: essential to a modern pair of sunglasses? What do you 95 00:05:15,920 --> 00:05:18,359 Speaker 1: What do you need is we're sort of deconstructing the 96 00:05:18,360 --> 00:05:21,280 Speaker 1: the invention. Well, you need a frame to hold them 97 00:05:21,279 --> 00:05:24,400 Speaker 1: over the eyes, and you need lenses that will, in 98 00:05:24,480 --> 00:05:27,800 Speaker 1: one way or another filter the incoming light. They obviously 99 00:05:27,839 --> 00:05:30,160 Speaker 1: can't be completely opaque. You need to be able to 100 00:05:30,200 --> 00:05:32,640 Speaker 1: see through them, but they also need to stop some 101 00:05:32,760 --> 00:05:36,160 Speaker 1: amount of bad stuff from getting in right, So, like 102 00:05:36,200 --> 00:05:40,400 Speaker 1: from from a material level, it seems pretty straightforward. Um. 103 00:05:40,720 --> 00:05:43,719 Speaker 1: You know, glass itself is a rather old invention. We 104 00:05:43,760 --> 00:05:46,040 Speaker 1: could and we can revisit glass at some point in 105 00:05:46,040 --> 00:05:48,520 Speaker 1: a future episode. But you find examples of this an 106 00:05:48,520 --> 00:05:54,080 Speaker 1: ancient Mesopotamia. Uh. Certainly crystals and other substances were known 107 00:05:54,120 --> 00:05:58,279 Speaker 1: to ancient people. So just the materials of say, building 108 00:05:58,279 --> 00:06:00,120 Speaker 1: something out of six, we can all imagine this of 109 00:06:00,160 --> 00:06:05,159 Speaker 1: flint stones style UH, spectacles or sunglasses that one could 110 00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:08,560 Speaker 1: conceivably have. But invention is always about that moment where 111 00:06:08,560 --> 00:06:13,160 Speaker 1: someone actually puts materials together and and create something that 112 00:06:13,320 --> 00:06:16,240 Speaker 1: has not existed before. So we're forced to just to 113 00:06:16,279 --> 00:06:18,719 Speaker 1: ask that question, well, where do we really see the 114 00:06:18,800 --> 00:06:23,680 Speaker 1: earliest indications of UH to all to a certain extent, spectacles, 115 00:06:23,680 --> 00:06:25,960 Speaker 1: We can't talk about sunglasses without talking about spectacles a 116 00:06:26,040 --> 00:06:29,720 Speaker 1: little bit. But we're mostly concerned with sunglasses in this 117 00:06:29,800 --> 00:06:33,600 Speaker 1: episode because they look cooler right focusing lenses. That that's 118 00:06:33,600 --> 00:06:35,799 Speaker 1: the story for another time, where I think we're dealing 119 00:06:35,800 --> 00:06:39,120 Speaker 1: with a somewhat simpler story right now. Yes, even though 120 00:06:39,160 --> 00:06:42,600 Speaker 1: sunglasses might not have become extremely popular around the world 121 00:06:42,680 --> 00:06:45,840 Speaker 1: until after spectacles were widely used. But it's really too 122 00:06:45,839 --> 00:06:50,000 Speaker 1: bad because they're they're they're sunglasses esfecially are modern usage 123 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:53,000 Speaker 1: of them. They're they're they're really important, they really protect us. Well, 124 00:06:53,040 --> 00:06:55,480 Speaker 1: think about the sunglasses you wear as a kind of 125 00:06:55,560 --> 00:06:58,440 Speaker 1: radiation suit for your eyes. I think on that one 126 00:06:58,480 --> 00:07:01,159 Speaker 1: for a second. Try try to act, actually cognize the 127 00:07:01,240 --> 00:07:05,599 Speaker 1: fact that good old fashioned sunlight is literally radiation from 128 00:07:05,600 --> 00:07:08,919 Speaker 1: a star. That's a phrase that always echoes in my 129 00:07:08,960 --> 00:07:12,000 Speaker 1: mind when it's really beaten down on my head um. 130 00:07:12,040 --> 00:07:14,720 Speaker 1: And a good pair of sunglasses should do multiple things, right. 131 00:07:14,760 --> 00:07:17,800 Speaker 1: They should decrease the intensity of the light reaching your eyes. 132 00:07:17,800 --> 00:07:20,760 Speaker 1: So if it's a bright, shining day, or there's glare 133 00:07:20,840 --> 00:07:23,760 Speaker 1: off of water or off of a reflective surface or something, 134 00:07:24,320 --> 00:07:26,920 Speaker 1: you need light to reach your eyes in order to see, 135 00:07:26,960 --> 00:07:28,720 Speaker 1: but you don't need so much of it. And when 136 00:07:28,760 --> 00:07:32,280 Speaker 1: the number of lumens in your surroundings exceed what your 137 00:07:32,320 --> 00:07:35,120 Speaker 1: eyes need in order to see, your iris muscles contract. 138 00:07:35,280 --> 00:07:37,880 Speaker 1: They shrink your pupil, the shutter of your eye, and 139 00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:42,240 Speaker 1: that admits less in But eventually your pupils can't contract anymore, 140 00:07:42,760 --> 00:07:44,600 Speaker 1: and then you have to try to limit more light 141 00:07:44,600 --> 00:07:48,160 Speaker 1: by squinting your eyelids. But eventually you run into problems there. Right, 142 00:07:48,200 --> 00:07:52,080 Speaker 1: sometimes it's so bright that squinting becomes difficult, or you know, 143 00:07:52,160 --> 00:07:54,640 Speaker 1: you you you're squinting so much you want to completely 144 00:07:54,680 --> 00:07:58,120 Speaker 1: close your eyes. Now, the other thing that's important for 145 00:07:58,360 --> 00:08:02,800 Speaker 1: sunglasses to do is decrease or eliminate ultra violet radiation 146 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:05,640 Speaker 1: when when that's coming at your eyes. Now, there's really 147 00:08:05,680 --> 00:08:09,440 Speaker 1: no benefit to getting ultra violet radiation in your eyes. 148 00:08:09,520 --> 00:08:12,120 Speaker 1: Whereas you need the visible light that comes in from 149 00:08:12,160 --> 00:08:14,760 Speaker 1: the sun in order to see your surroundings, you don't 150 00:08:14,800 --> 00:08:17,960 Speaker 1: really need UV light at all. And so if sunglasses 151 00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:21,960 Speaker 1: can reduce or even completely eliminate UV exposure to your eyes, 152 00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:23,960 Speaker 1: that's a good thing, because your eyes can be injured 153 00:08:24,000 --> 00:08:26,560 Speaker 1: by U V exposure. But as we were saying earlier, 154 00:08:26,680 --> 00:08:29,040 Speaker 1: also let's not ignore the fact that sunglasses are a 155 00:08:29,160 --> 00:08:32,800 Speaker 1: very profound style choice and play a psychological and cultural 156 00:08:32,920 --> 00:08:36,160 Speaker 1: role as well. I think people often wear sunglasses as 157 00:08:36,360 --> 00:08:40,600 Speaker 1: much for style and psychological reasons as they do for uh, 158 00:08:40,679 --> 00:08:44,120 Speaker 1: for reducing glare and reducing UV exposure. In any event, 159 00:08:44,200 --> 00:08:46,800 Speaker 1: you're gonna want a good pair of sunglasses before you 160 00:08:46,800 --> 00:08:49,240 Speaker 1: go out to say a sporting event, right for a 161 00:08:49,320 --> 00:08:51,880 Speaker 1: number of reasons, because it's your your outdoors, and it 162 00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:54,760 Speaker 1: may be very bright. Uh. And then it's also a 163 00:08:54,840 --> 00:08:58,600 Speaker 1: social engagement. You know, you wanna look cool uh to 164 00:08:58,720 --> 00:09:01,200 Speaker 1: the other fans or they're friends and family that have 165 00:09:01,240 --> 00:09:03,199 Speaker 1: traveled there with you. In the case of the dude, 166 00:09:03,240 --> 00:09:07,880 Speaker 1: you can't go bowling without sunglasses exactly. Uh. So for 167 00:09:07,920 --> 00:09:13,479 Speaker 1: our first historical journey, in our attempt to understand sunglasses 168 00:09:13,520 --> 00:09:17,200 Speaker 1: of old, let's go back to the ancient Romans. Let's 169 00:09:17,240 --> 00:09:20,120 Speaker 1: go to the Colosseum. Now, this, I think is actually 170 00:09:20,120 --> 00:09:22,760 Speaker 1: going to be a false example, but it's something that's 171 00:09:22,800 --> 00:09:26,360 Speaker 1: interesting that sometimes gets cited in this context. So we're 172 00:09:26,360 --> 00:09:28,240 Speaker 1: gonna go to our old friend Plenty of the Elder 173 00:09:28,440 --> 00:09:32,479 Speaker 1: first century CE Roman writer in his Natural History translated 174 00:09:32,480 --> 00:09:36,440 Speaker 1: by John Bostock, Plenty is discussing in in book thirty 175 00:09:36,440 --> 00:09:39,120 Speaker 1: seven of his Natural History quote the natural history of 176 00:09:39,160 --> 00:09:42,000 Speaker 1: precious Stones, and he comes to a section on what 177 00:09:42,120 --> 00:09:46,960 Speaker 1: he calls smaragdes I could have sworn that was one 178 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:49,640 Speaker 1: of the one of the raith kings in the Lord 179 00:09:49,679 --> 00:09:52,240 Speaker 1: of the Rings uh saga. But I don't think so. 180 00:09:52,440 --> 00:09:55,840 Speaker 1: Which anniversary gift is smar agnes I can never remember? 181 00:09:55,880 --> 00:10:00,840 Speaker 1: It's like it's like wood, but ivory smaragdes right. So 182 00:10:01,000 --> 00:10:03,959 Speaker 1: samur agnes appears to be a term used for green 183 00:10:04,120 --> 00:10:08,200 Speaker 1: precious stones, for barrel stones like emerald, or for jasper stones. 184 00:10:08,800 --> 00:10:11,440 Speaker 1: Uh and he so he seems to be talking about emeralds. 185 00:10:11,480 --> 00:10:13,880 Speaker 1: I think that's the way it's most often translated. And 186 00:10:13,880 --> 00:10:16,760 Speaker 1: plenty dwells for a while on how beautiful the emerald 187 00:10:16,840 --> 00:10:19,640 Speaker 1: is and how RESTful to the eye, how soothing to 188 00:10:19,679 --> 00:10:22,959 Speaker 1: look upon. Quote, even when the vision has been fatigued 189 00:10:23,040 --> 00:10:26,760 Speaker 1: with intently viewing other objects, it is refreshed by being 190 00:10:26,760 --> 00:10:30,440 Speaker 1: turned upon this stone. And lapidaries know of nothing that 191 00:10:30,600 --> 00:10:33,880 Speaker 1: is more gratefully soothing to the eyes. It's soft green 192 00:10:33,920 --> 00:10:38,800 Speaker 1: tints being wonderfully adapted for assuaging lassitude when felt in 193 00:10:38,840 --> 00:10:42,880 Speaker 1: those organs, by those organs, I think he means eyes. 194 00:10:43,960 --> 00:10:46,920 Speaker 1: But anyway, getting to to the part that's often cited 195 00:10:46,960 --> 00:10:50,440 Speaker 1: as as emerald sunglasses, but actually it appears to not be, 196 00:10:50,760 --> 00:10:53,480 Speaker 1: he writes. Quote. When the surface of the samur agnes 197 00:10:53,600 --> 00:10:56,400 Speaker 1: is flat, it reflects the image of objects in the 198 00:10:56,440 --> 00:10:59,839 Speaker 1: same manner as a mirror. The Emperor Nero used to 199 00:11:00,040 --> 00:11:04,559 Speaker 1: you the combats of the gladiators upon a Smaragdus upon 200 00:11:04,920 --> 00:11:08,200 Speaker 1: a Smaragdus being key here perhaps right. So this would 201 00:11:08,200 --> 00:11:10,400 Speaker 1: have been the first century CE, and it's been cited 202 00:11:10,440 --> 00:11:13,360 Speaker 1: as an early use of tinted transparencies in the sun. 203 00:11:13,440 --> 00:11:16,479 Speaker 1: The idea that Nero was maybe watching the net fighters 204 00:11:16,520 --> 00:11:20,800 Speaker 1: and the pursuers the secutors through Gym's like lenses. So 205 00:11:20,880 --> 00:11:23,680 Speaker 1: just I guess try to imagine he's holding emeralds over 206 00:11:23,720 --> 00:11:26,800 Speaker 1: his eyes and looking through them like lenses to filter 207 00:11:26,880 --> 00:11:29,080 Speaker 1: out some of the glare. I think I also saw 208 00:11:29,200 --> 00:11:32,520 Speaker 1: an artistic interpretation of this where you see the you know, 209 00:11:32,640 --> 00:11:37,480 Speaker 1: the the portly emperor. They're all in his finery and 210 00:11:37,480 --> 00:11:39,920 Speaker 1: he's holding up something that looks like it's almost like 211 00:11:40,840 --> 00:11:45,280 Speaker 1: opera uh, binoculars, you know, except it's just one emerald 212 00:11:45,320 --> 00:11:47,800 Speaker 1: that he's holding up to his eye. I'm thinking with 213 00:11:47,840 --> 00:11:51,200 Speaker 1: the green and that image you're describing, this has got 214 00:11:51,200 --> 00:11:54,120 Speaker 1: to be the inspiration for David Lynch's depiction of Baron 215 00:11:54,160 --> 00:11:57,280 Speaker 1: Harconan in his adaptation of Dune. Oh does he have 216 00:11:57,320 --> 00:12:01,280 Speaker 1: an emerald? Well, everything's green around. It's like his his 217 00:12:01,400 --> 00:12:03,840 Speaker 1: rooms are green. He's got this green environment. He's kind 218 00:12:03,840 --> 00:12:06,839 Speaker 1: of a Nero like figure. But anyway, the reason I 219 00:12:06,880 --> 00:12:09,120 Speaker 1: said this was a false choices because it sounds to 220 00:12:09,200 --> 00:12:12,320 Speaker 1: me like in the context, Plenty meant that Nero, if 221 00:12:12,320 --> 00:12:16,000 Speaker 1: this story is even true, watched the fights as reflected 222 00:12:16,080 --> 00:12:18,840 Speaker 1: in the surface of the sami Agnodus like a mirror, 223 00:12:19,280 --> 00:12:21,320 Speaker 1: because he was just talking about how it reflects like 224 00:12:21,320 --> 00:12:24,280 Speaker 1: a mirror, and this would still have probably some some 225 00:12:24,480 --> 00:12:27,200 Speaker 1: like sun dampening effect, right. I just try to imagine 226 00:12:27,200 --> 00:12:30,160 Speaker 1: something reflected an emerald. It's not going to be reflected 227 00:12:30,160 --> 00:12:33,120 Speaker 1: in a blinding way, but so he's looking at that 228 00:12:33,160 --> 00:12:36,720 Speaker 1: since the emerald reflects less light than the source provides. 229 00:12:37,120 --> 00:12:39,600 Speaker 1: I was looking at a text titled The Origin and 230 00:12:39,640 --> 00:12:42,520 Speaker 1: Development of Spectacles by C. J. S. Thompson, and this 231 00:12:42,559 --> 00:12:45,200 Speaker 1: is an older Texas Is from n seven, but he 232 00:12:45,240 --> 00:12:48,600 Speaker 1: also mentions the Nero story, and he definitely argued too 233 00:12:48,640 --> 00:12:50,800 Speaker 1: that it was probably a case where Nero just liked 234 00:12:50,880 --> 00:12:55,320 Speaker 1: to watch the festivities colored green um which you know 235 00:12:55,440 --> 00:12:58,320 Speaker 1: via the emerald, and that he gained no sun shading 236 00:12:58,440 --> 00:13:01,480 Speaker 1: from it. And yeah, I think my suspicion here is 237 00:13:01,520 --> 00:13:04,480 Speaker 1: that based on some recent research we did for stuff 238 00:13:04,520 --> 00:13:07,600 Speaker 1: to build your mind about gladiatorial combat was for our 239 00:13:07,679 --> 00:13:10,840 Speaker 1: episode on the trident Um, you know there there was. 240 00:13:11,080 --> 00:13:14,160 Speaker 1: If you're a fan of both the sort of the 241 00:13:14,760 --> 00:13:19,840 Speaker 1: sporting combat of of the gladiatorial spectacle as well as 242 00:13:19,880 --> 00:13:23,240 Speaker 1: like the drama and all these other ridiculous aspects of it, 243 00:13:23,640 --> 00:13:26,480 Speaker 1: you're gonna be you might you might gain something from 244 00:13:26,679 --> 00:13:29,680 Speaker 1: looking out at this combat between men dressed as fish 245 00:13:30,080 --> 00:13:33,920 Speaker 1: men using nautical weapons, and then adding a green overlay 246 00:13:34,040 --> 00:13:37,600 Speaker 1: on that. Um, I could see where where the green 247 00:13:37,679 --> 00:13:41,800 Speaker 1: tint could perhaps be be helpful in that that particular 248 00:13:41,920 --> 00:13:44,440 Speaker 1: mode of entertainment. What you're saying is taking on a 249 00:13:44,520 --> 00:13:48,200 Speaker 1: decidedly Lynchian vibe. I I think, I think the connection 250 00:13:48,280 --> 00:13:51,800 Speaker 1: is there now. Thompson also points out that while the 251 00:13:51,920 --> 00:13:55,280 Speaker 1: Romans certainly suffered from eye problems and had their own 252 00:13:55,320 --> 00:13:58,520 Speaker 1: treatments for those ailments, there's no mention in the work 253 00:13:58,559 --> 00:14:03,240 Speaker 1: of say Celsus, of artificial site aids. He mentions that 254 00:14:03,280 --> 00:14:06,959 Speaker 1: in writings prior to the thirteenth century, one finds only 255 00:14:07,000 --> 00:14:10,400 Speaker 1: occasional mentions of magnifying classes. So the use of some 256 00:14:10,480 --> 00:14:13,320 Speaker 1: sort of a lens to uh look at find our 257 00:14:13,400 --> 00:14:16,560 Speaker 1: details or perhaps you know, holding it up to a text, 258 00:14:16,880 --> 00:14:20,800 Speaker 1: but uh, you don't see mention of spectacles. By the way, 259 00:14:20,800 --> 00:14:23,160 Speaker 1: he also wrote that there was no evidence that lenses 260 00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:26,400 Speaker 1: were known to the ancient Egyptians or the Hebrews. However, 261 00:14:26,760 --> 00:14:30,880 Speaker 1: we do have a very early magnifying glass, or depending 262 00:14:30,880 --> 00:14:33,600 Speaker 1: on who you ask, perhaps a fire starting glass, something 263 00:14:33,600 --> 00:14:35,840 Speaker 1: that you used to refract the rays of the sun, 264 00:14:35,920 --> 00:14:38,440 Speaker 1: you know, to start a small fire, you know, the 265 00:14:38,480 --> 00:14:42,160 Speaker 1: kind of thing that children may sometimes do when trying 266 00:14:42,160 --> 00:14:45,280 Speaker 1: to burn ants, hopefully not to ants, hopefully not. I mean, 267 00:14:45,960 --> 00:14:49,400 Speaker 1: and you know one has to be careful. But at 268 00:14:49,440 --> 00:14:53,000 Speaker 1: any rate, this particular lens, the Nimrud lens, is a 269 00:14:53,080 --> 00:14:56,200 Speaker 1: three thousand year old crystal unearthed in eighteen fifty by 270 00:14:56,240 --> 00:15:01,440 Speaker 1: Austin Henry layered in the Syrian palace of Nimrod. However, 271 00:15:02,200 --> 00:15:04,000 Speaker 1: we were also not sure. It might have simply been 272 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:07,640 Speaker 1: a decorative element. It might not have been used. Uh 273 00:15:07,640 --> 00:15:10,040 Speaker 1: and in any rate, it's not tinted. Okay, so we're 274 00:15:10,040 --> 00:15:12,240 Speaker 1: not talking about sunglasses, right, but we are talking about 275 00:15:12,280 --> 00:15:14,960 Speaker 1: like a crystal that may have been that people may 276 00:15:14,960 --> 00:15:18,400 Speaker 1: have looked through. Now you have to ask you the question, like, 277 00:15:18,440 --> 00:15:20,480 Speaker 1: to what extent did they just look through it because 278 00:15:20,520 --> 00:15:24,000 Speaker 1: it was cool? Like what's more mystical than holding up 279 00:15:24,040 --> 00:15:27,560 Speaker 1: some sort of you know, gleaming crystal even if it's clear, 280 00:15:27,960 --> 00:15:32,280 Speaker 1: and watching how the world is distorted ever so slightly. Now, 281 00:15:32,320 --> 00:15:34,960 Speaker 1: another thing that's worth noting is that we've been talking 282 00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:38,680 Speaker 1: about lenses and tinted lenses, but obviously people came up 283 00:15:38,720 --> 00:15:42,000 Speaker 1: with ways of protecting their eyes from the sun, uh 284 00:15:42,240 --> 00:15:45,520 Speaker 1: having accessories beyond just their hands and their eyelids and 285 00:15:45,560 --> 00:15:48,960 Speaker 1: stuff to protect their eyes from the sun long before 286 00:15:49,400 --> 00:15:52,840 Speaker 1: there were there were tinted glass or plastic lenses or anything, 287 00:15:52,880 --> 00:15:57,960 Speaker 1: for example, hats and umbrellas. That's obvious, yeah, But a 288 00:15:58,120 --> 00:16:01,040 Speaker 1: much more ingenious and much more interesting one is what 289 00:16:01,120 --> 00:16:03,840 Speaker 1: I want to mention the Inuit, and you pick people's 290 00:16:03,920 --> 00:16:08,040 Speaker 1: of the northern circumpolar regions today Canada, Alaska, Greenland and 291 00:16:08,120 --> 00:16:12,280 Speaker 1: Russia have for centuries made these ingenious devices known as 292 00:16:12,320 --> 00:16:15,520 Speaker 1: snow goggles. Yes, and and I want to come back 293 00:16:15,560 --> 00:16:17,760 Speaker 1: to what we said earlier about lumens before we get 294 00:16:17,800 --> 00:16:20,360 Speaker 1: into this, because I think this really drives home the 295 00:16:20,440 --> 00:16:24,480 Speaker 1: necessity that led to the invention. Uh So, in an 296 00:16:24,480 --> 00:16:27,880 Speaker 1: indoor environment, a human is typically typically going to encounter 297 00:16:27,880 --> 00:16:31,120 Speaker 1: four hundred six hundred lumens. That's the intensity of the 298 00:16:31,200 --> 00:16:35,000 Speaker 1: light um and our comfortable level four loomens. It's it's 299 00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:38,440 Speaker 1: gonna go up to round thirty five hundred. If you're 300 00:16:38,480 --> 00:16:41,280 Speaker 1: in the shade on a sunny day, you're probably encountering 301 00:16:41,320 --> 00:16:44,200 Speaker 1: around a thousand lumens sunny day out on say a 302 00:16:44,280 --> 00:16:46,880 Speaker 1: highway or other reflective surface. You know, we all know 303 00:16:46,920 --> 00:16:48,680 Speaker 1: what it's like to drive on like a really sunny day. 304 00:16:48,720 --> 00:16:51,400 Speaker 1: You almost have to have shades. Uh, you're probably gonna 305 00:16:51,440 --> 00:16:54,600 Speaker 1: do with something like six thousand or more lumens. Uh. 306 00:16:54,760 --> 00:16:57,400 Speaker 1: Ten thousand lumens is the danger zone where you really 307 00:16:57,440 --> 00:16:59,520 Speaker 1: have to start worrying about the health of your eyes. 308 00:17:00,240 --> 00:17:03,000 Speaker 1: But a snow field on a sunny day, you're talking 309 00:17:03,760 --> 00:17:07,080 Speaker 1: twelve thousand plus lumens. And this is where you enter 310 00:17:07,080 --> 00:17:10,359 Speaker 1: the domain of potential snow blindness. Right. And this is 311 00:17:10,400 --> 00:17:13,560 Speaker 1: of course because of the reflective power of white snow. Right, 312 00:17:14,080 --> 00:17:16,479 Speaker 1: it can create almost a kind of double sun effect, 313 00:17:16,600 --> 00:17:20,280 Speaker 1: sun above and sun below being reflected back up. Whereas 314 00:17:20,320 --> 00:17:23,120 Speaker 1: you know, a normal patch of ground that's got say 315 00:17:23,160 --> 00:17:27,159 Speaker 1: grass or just open soil, might reflect about ten of 316 00:17:27,200 --> 00:17:29,640 Speaker 1: the UV ray is coming from the sun. Snow can 317 00:17:29,680 --> 00:17:32,439 Speaker 1: reflect not quite a hundred percent, but something like close 318 00:17:32,480 --> 00:17:36,399 Speaker 1: to ad of it. Nearly doubling your UV exposure. And 319 00:17:36,480 --> 00:17:39,240 Speaker 1: so if you are, say living in in northern regions 320 00:17:39,280 --> 00:17:41,760 Speaker 1: where there's a lot of snow cover, one thing that 321 00:17:41,840 --> 00:17:43,920 Speaker 1: works in your favor is that for much of the year, 322 00:17:44,040 --> 00:17:46,880 Speaker 1: the sun doesn't get super bright, right, it doesn't get 323 00:17:46,920 --> 00:17:49,520 Speaker 1: super high in the sky, doesn't get super direct, but 324 00:17:49,760 --> 00:17:51,760 Speaker 1: it will in certain parts of the year where there 325 00:17:51,840 --> 00:17:53,760 Speaker 1: is still a lot of snow cover on the ground. 326 00:17:53,760 --> 00:17:57,000 Speaker 1: So when you've got those things working together, say bright sun, 327 00:17:57,600 --> 00:18:00,480 Speaker 1: heavy snow cover, maybe in the springtime when the sun 328 00:18:00,560 --> 00:18:03,119 Speaker 1: is out high in the sky, proper eye protection is 329 00:18:03,160 --> 00:18:06,480 Speaker 1: incredibly important. And not just because it's difficult to hunt 330 00:18:06,600 --> 00:18:09,360 Speaker 1: or see where you're going when the sun's reflecting off 331 00:18:09,359 --> 00:18:11,679 Speaker 1: the white snow and there's blinding glare and everything, but 332 00:18:11,720 --> 00:18:14,679 Speaker 1: it's what you mentioned. There's this risk of snow blindness, 333 00:18:14,880 --> 00:18:18,359 Speaker 1: which is also known as a photocarrotitis. So, as we 334 00:18:18,400 --> 00:18:21,800 Speaker 1: mentioned earlier, part of natural sunlight is ultra violet radiation, 335 00:18:21,880 --> 00:18:25,160 Speaker 1: and ultra violet radiation can damage the cornea. It can 336 00:18:25,240 --> 00:18:28,119 Speaker 1: damage the conjunctiva, the outer surfaces of the eye, just 337 00:18:28,160 --> 00:18:30,720 Speaker 1: like it can damage the skin. And this is why 338 00:18:30,720 --> 00:18:34,080 Speaker 1: photocarrotitis is often described as something like quote sunburn of 339 00:18:34,160 --> 00:18:37,760 Speaker 1: the eye. Symptoms include pain and feeling of having like 340 00:18:37,840 --> 00:18:41,840 Speaker 1: irritants or foreign bodies lodged in the eye, tearing up, 341 00:18:41,920 --> 00:18:46,600 Speaker 1: swelling and redness, light sensitivity, and sometimes even truly temporary 342 00:18:46,720 --> 00:18:50,000 Speaker 1: loss of vision. That's where the blindness comes from. And 343 00:18:50,040 --> 00:18:52,320 Speaker 1: so if you need to be doing stuff out in 344 00:18:52,400 --> 00:18:54,720 Speaker 1: the snow where the sun is bright, this this is 345 00:18:54,720 --> 00:18:56,879 Speaker 1: going to be a problem. And snow goggles fight this 346 00:18:56,960 --> 00:19:01,199 Speaker 1: problem with a very smart design. They're typically a carved frame, 347 00:19:01,520 --> 00:19:06,120 Speaker 1: usually made from animal bone or walrus tusks, sometimes from driftwood, 348 00:19:06,520 --> 00:19:10,000 Speaker 1: or sometimes even from like strange materials like I saw 349 00:19:10,040 --> 00:19:12,320 Speaker 1: one that I think was from baleen from a whale, 350 00:19:13,080 --> 00:19:16,320 Speaker 1: and uh. This frame fits tight over the eyes so 351 00:19:16,359 --> 00:19:18,600 Speaker 1: that light doesn't get in on the sides or the top, 352 00:19:18,920 --> 00:19:22,600 Speaker 1: and then light is allowed to enter through two very wide, 353 00:19:22,800 --> 00:19:26,560 Speaker 1: very narrow slots carved in the middle of the goggles, 354 00:19:26,680 --> 00:19:29,760 Speaker 1: which are sometimes darkened on the inside with a material 355 00:19:29,840 --> 00:19:33,679 Speaker 1: like soot. And these narrow slits allow the person wearing 356 00:19:33,720 --> 00:19:36,280 Speaker 1: them to see without exposing their eyes to too much 357 00:19:36,280 --> 00:19:39,919 Speaker 1: glare or UV radiation. And some alternate versions also have 358 00:19:40,320 --> 00:19:44,240 Speaker 1: have multiple slits more like like shutter shades or Venetian 359 00:19:44,240 --> 00:19:47,720 Speaker 1: blinds or something. They're not unlike the sort of novelty 360 00:19:47,920 --> 00:19:51,560 Speaker 1: plastic nineteen eighties sunglasses. You know where they were where 361 00:19:51,600 --> 00:19:54,200 Speaker 1: you just had you had no glass, no linbs, shutters 362 00:19:54,240 --> 00:19:57,960 Speaker 1: these slits, yes, so shutter shapes which. Yeah, you look 363 00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:00,199 Speaker 1: at the especially the nineteen eighties versions of the is 364 00:20:00,200 --> 00:20:02,640 Speaker 1: and it's easy to just think this is ridiculous. This 365 00:20:02,760 --> 00:20:06,560 Speaker 1: is the this is the sunglasses. This is I wear 366 00:20:06,880 --> 00:20:09,560 Speaker 1: is a purely decorative element, and to a certain extent 367 00:20:09,640 --> 00:20:12,240 Speaker 1: is true. But they do have a certain functionality as well. Yeah, 368 00:20:12,280 --> 00:20:15,600 Speaker 1: and in many ways highly effective functionality. I mean this, 369 00:20:15,960 --> 00:20:18,479 Speaker 1: if you don't have tinted glass to work with, this 370 00:20:18,560 --> 00:20:22,240 Speaker 1: is a genius design. Yeah, and and the necessity that 371 00:20:22,320 --> 00:20:24,520 Speaker 1: led to it, like like this would this would be 372 00:20:24,800 --> 00:20:29,280 Speaker 1: the kind of environment that would necessitate sunglasses UM in 373 00:20:29,320 --> 00:20:31,480 Speaker 1: a way that other parts of the world did not. 374 00:20:32,160 --> 00:20:34,080 Speaker 1: All Right, Well, on that note, let's take a quick break, 375 00:20:34,280 --> 00:20:37,600 Speaker 1: and when we come back, we'll discuss some more curios 376 00:20:37,600 --> 00:20:42,200 Speaker 1: from the UH the history of invention UH in regards 377 00:20:42,200 --> 00:20:51,480 Speaker 1: to the sunglasses. Alright, we're back now. Another frequently sided 378 00:20:51,800 --> 00:20:55,840 Speaker 1: example of of sunglasses or early sunglasses used UH and 379 00:20:56,000 --> 00:20:58,359 Speaker 1: involved them not being used to protect against the sun 380 00:20:58,960 --> 00:21:02,200 Speaker 1: or perhaps any any way affect vision, but that they 381 00:21:02,200 --> 00:21:06,600 Speaker 1: were allegedly used just to hide your eyes from others. 382 00:21:06,880 --> 00:21:10,000 Speaker 1: This is this is a crucially important part of sunglasses. 383 00:21:10,280 --> 00:21:12,480 Speaker 1: You could not ignore it. I mean, think of all 384 00:21:12,480 --> 00:21:15,040 Speaker 1: the times you've worn sunglasses, and there are times where 385 00:21:15,040 --> 00:21:17,680 Speaker 1: you wear them to protect your eyes. There are times 386 00:21:17,680 --> 00:21:21,000 Speaker 1: when you wear them to to see better than high 387 00:21:21,200 --> 00:21:24,399 Speaker 1: a light intensive environment. There are times when you do 388 00:21:24,440 --> 00:21:27,160 Speaker 1: it to look cool. But there are times when say 389 00:21:27,440 --> 00:21:31,320 Speaker 1: I've I've warned them, for instance on the train before uh, 390 00:21:31,480 --> 00:21:34,760 Speaker 1: even when the train is underground, because it kind of 391 00:21:34,800 --> 00:21:37,880 Speaker 1: makes me a little invisible. If I have my sunglasses on, 392 00:21:38,160 --> 00:21:43,840 Speaker 1: my my earbuds in, then I am like less visibly present. Well, you, 393 00:21:44,119 --> 00:21:47,840 Speaker 1: it means you can look around the world around you 394 00:21:47,880 --> 00:21:53,520 Speaker 1: without ever unequivocally being caught looking at someone or something. Yeah, 395 00:21:53,680 --> 00:21:55,960 Speaker 1: it's a natural human tendency to want to look around 396 00:21:56,040 --> 00:21:58,639 Speaker 1: and see who's around you. Like, if you get caught 397 00:21:58,720 --> 00:22:01,760 Speaker 1: looking at somebody, that's always awkward, especially if you've got 398 00:22:01,800 --> 00:22:04,280 Speaker 1: some kind of social anxiety. You don't you don't want 399 00:22:04,280 --> 00:22:06,320 Speaker 1: to like make that eye contact and be like, oh, 400 00:22:06,359 --> 00:22:09,000 Speaker 1: we just both looked at each other at the same time, right, 401 00:22:09,040 --> 00:22:11,080 Speaker 1: And if you're on the train, sometimes you need to 402 00:22:11,080 --> 00:22:13,359 Speaker 1: look at the weird person on the train. And if 403 00:22:13,400 --> 00:22:15,880 Speaker 1: you're not wearing sunglasses and you're doing this, that weird 404 00:22:15,920 --> 00:22:19,240 Speaker 1: person might be you. It's it's just a great solution 405 00:22:19,240 --> 00:22:24,200 Speaker 1: for everybody involved. So multiple sources report that Chinese judges 406 00:22:24,680 --> 00:22:29,440 Speaker 1: wore smokey courts glasses to hide their eye expressions from 407 00:22:29,440 --> 00:22:33,159 Speaker 1: the court during the thirteenth century, so this would have 408 00:22:33,160 --> 00:22:38,000 Speaker 1: been during the Song Dynasty through twelve seventy nine. So 409 00:22:38,040 --> 00:22:41,200 Speaker 1: it's looking around a little bit about this, and Harvard's 410 00:22:41,480 --> 00:22:45,160 Speaker 1: came in to wrote the following in nineteen thirty six 411 00:22:45,240 --> 00:22:49,520 Speaker 1: in the Introduction of Spectacles into China, which which deals 412 00:22:50,280 --> 00:22:52,560 Speaker 1: you know, in large part was just spectacles in general. 413 00:22:52,800 --> 00:22:56,119 Speaker 1: And if we come back and discuss spectacles on the 414 00:22:56,160 --> 00:22:59,960 Speaker 1: show specifically, will probably return to this. And another source 415 00:23:00,119 --> 00:23:04,560 Speaker 1: is but he cites Chinese writings that indicated that quote. 416 00:23:04,720 --> 00:23:08,239 Speaker 1: Under the Song Dynasty, judges in deciding cases in the 417 00:23:08,240 --> 00:23:12,399 Speaker 1: court used rock crystal or courts to read illegible legal 418 00:23:12,480 --> 00:23:15,680 Speaker 1: documents in the sun. So here the idea seems to 419 00:23:15,680 --> 00:23:19,119 Speaker 1: be that they were using them for magnification instead or 420 00:23:19,119 --> 00:23:24,760 Speaker 1: perhaps in addition to um shielding their eyes from other 421 00:23:24,760 --> 00:23:27,520 Speaker 1: people at the court. Well it it specifies in the sun, 422 00:23:27,840 --> 00:23:30,639 Speaker 1: so that would seem to make it sound like they 423 00:23:30,640 --> 00:23:33,520 Speaker 1: were trying to shield their eyes from from glare perhaps, 424 00:23:33,560 --> 00:23:36,439 Speaker 1: So yeah, this one. This leaves me confused though as 425 00:23:36,440 --> 00:23:39,359 Speaker 1: to like what was actually going on or was it 426 00:23:39,400 --> 00:23:43,760 Speaker 1: a case where, for instance, these spectacles were arranged for 427 00:23:43,960 --> 00:23:47,040 Speaker 1: reading in the sun or for some sort of magnification purpose, 428 00:23:47,119 --> 00:23:49,480 Speaker 1: But then they realized, oh wait, these also shield our 429 00:23:49,520 --> 00:23:54,760 Speaker 1: eyes and it makes a judging a little easier. Right, Well, 430 00:23:54,800 --> 00:23:58,239 Speaker 1: you can absolutely see how sunglasses would and we'll get 431 00:23:58,280 --> 00:24:00,440 Speaker 1: more into the psychological effects lay or on, but you 432 00:24:00,440 --> 00:24:03,199 Speaker 1: can see how sunglasses would be helpful if you were 433 00:24:03,240 --> 00:24:06,239 Speaker 1: trying to give the appearance of impartiality. You know, right, 434 00:24:06,280 --> 00:24:09,880 Speaker 1: if you're a judge, you want to hide any sign 435 00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:13,639 Speaker 1: of your face showing emotion and reaction to arguments or 436 00:24:13,680 --> 00:24:16,240 Speaker 1: something like that. I'm not sure that's the reasoning here, 437 00:24:16,240 --> 00:24:17,919 Speaker 1: but you can see how it could be right and 438 00:24:18,160 --> 00:24:20,880 Speaker 1: you still remain you still retain a portion of your 439 00:24:21,160 --> 00:24:23,640 Speaker 1: humanity in a way that you wouldn't if you were 440 00:24:23,680 --> 00:24:26,240 Speaker 1: wearing say a hood or an iron mask or some 441 00:24:26,320 --> 00:24:31,119 Speaker 1: other u covering for your face. Now. I looked at 442 00:24:31,160 --> 00:24:35,639 Speaker 1: another text, Old Chinese Spectacles by Auto Durham Rasmussen, and 443 00:24:35,720 --> 00:24:38,840 Speaker 1: there's a discussion of methods used to grind quote, crystal 444 00:24:39,160 --> 00:24:42,920 Speaker 1: smoky courts in a variety of rose quarts into lenses. 445 00:24:43,520 --> 00:24:47,680 Speaker 1: And apparently Marco Polo reported Chinese lenses in twelve seventy 446 00:24:47,920 --> 00:24:51,160 Speaker 1: stating that people use lenses of quarts or semi precious 447 00:24:51,200 --> 00:24:54,800 Speaker 1: stones to aid their site. Okay, but here we're still 448 00:24:54,840 --> 00:24:58,639 Speaker 1: talking about not just like casual usage among the people, 449 00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:03,320 Speaker 1: not fast and usage, but like specialized cases and in 450 00:25:03,359 --> 00:25:06,040 Speaker 1: some cases seeming to be some kind of magnifier or 451 00:25:06,119 --> 00:25:09,840 Speaker 1: site aid, right yeah, and definitely like a premium item 452 00:25:09,880 --> 00:25:12,880 Speaker 1: that would be used by a specialist. And in fact 453 00:25:12,960 --> 00:25:14,760 Speaker 1: it does seem that also in like Europe, in the 454 00:25:14,840 --> 00:25:19,840 Speaker 1: United States, tinted glasses did exist some in the past 455 00:25:19,880 --> 00:25:23,520 Speaker 1: few centuries, but they were not widely used and certainly 456 00:25:23,520 --> 00:25:27,040 Speaker 1: not outside some kind of corrective or medical context or 457 00:25:27,359 --> 00:25:31,800 Speaker 1: specialized research context until the twentieth century. Right yeah, I mean, 458 00:25:31,960 --> 00:25:36,240 Speaker 1: some classes have become such a fashion symbol it is 459 00:25:36,280 --> 00:25:40,080 Speaker 1: easy to forget the necessity of them, even if we're 460 00:25:40,080 --> 00:25:42,719 Speaker 1: not dealing with just the basic ideas of oh, it's 461 00:25:42,720 --> 00:25:44,520 Speaker 1: like a super bright day, or you're in the middle 462 00:25:44,520 --> 00:25:48,000 Speaker 1: of a of a snow field. Because tinted lenses can 463 00:25:48,080 --> 00:25:50,840 Speaker 1: assist people with low vision, and they're often prescribed to 464 00:25:50,880 --> 00:25:55,400 Speaker 1: people with ocular diseases such as age related macular degeneration, 465 00:25:55,960 --> 00:26:03,440 Speaker 1: retinitis pigmentosa, cataract, retinopathy, cone dystrophy, and oculo cutaneous albinism. Yeah, 466 00:26:03,440 --> 00:26:07,720 Speaker 1: I've also seen references to tinted lenses being recommended for, say, 467 00:26:07,760 --> 00:26:10,680 Speaker 1: people who were undergoing some of the symptoms of syphilis 468 00:26:10,760 --> 00:26:14,560 Speaker 1: or something like that, which makes me wonder if there's 469 00:26:14,600 --> 00:26:17,399 Speaker 1: a connection with I have to go to a movie 470 00:26:17,480 --> 00:26:21,760 Speaker 1: in in Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula, where Gary Oldman is Dracula. 471 00:26:21,840 --> 00:26:24,960 Speaker 1: Where's those tinted lenses in the I guess that's supposed 472 00:26:25,000 --> 00:26:27,840 Speaker 1: to be the nineteenth century in England. Yeah, I mean, 473 00:26:28,400 --> 00:26:31,359 Speaker 1: as I've I've ever read before. There are theories, and 474 00:26:31,920 --> 00:26:36,200 Speaker 1: this is again just a theory that that brom Stoker 475 00:26:36,280 --> 00:26:38,800 Speaker 1: could have had syphilis and that might have on some 476 00:26:38,920 --> 00:26:42,440 Speaker 1: level informed his writing of Dracula. I don't remember him 477 00:26:42,520 --> 00:26:46,800 Speaker 1: mentioning tinted spectacles in the book, did he? I do 478 00:26:46,840 --> 00:26:48,919 Speaker 1: not recall that being a detail of the book, but 479 00:26:49,359 --> 00:26:52,359 Speaker 1: it's definitely there in that movie. Anyway. It's it's interesting, 480 00:26:52,400 --> 00:26:55,960 Speaker 1: it's an interesting choice. Whyever Coppola did it um. But 481 00:26:56,080 --> 00:26:58,359 Speaker 1: for modern sunglasses, it's hard to say that they were 482 00:26:58,400 --> 00:27:02,080 Speaker 1: actually exactly in nted at any particular time, because we 483 00:27:02,440 --> 00:27:06,120 Speaker 1: as we mentioned, various kinds of shaded or tinted lenses 484 00:27:06,160 --> 00:27:10,080 Speaker 1: had existed for a while for various specialized uses. It 485 00:27:10,160 --> 00:27:13,400 Speaker 1: wasn't until the nineteen twenties I think, really when commercial 486 00:27:13,440 --> 00:27:18,280 Speaker 1: sunglasses and tinted goggles for driving often really became popular, 487 00:27:18,320 --> 00:27:21,280 Speaker 1: and then especially it seems in the nineteen thirties when 488 00:27:21,359 --> 00:27:25,280 Speaker 1: commercially produced sunglasses became popular in the in the United 489 00:27:25,320 --> 00:27:28,520 Speaker 1: States due to there being a fashion item worn by 490 00:27:28,520 --> 00:27:31,400 Speaker 1: the rich and the glamorous. Now, if we want to 491 00:27:31,480 --> 00:27:34,720 Speaker 1: focus briefly on the idea of how sunglasses actually work, 492 00:27:34,800 --> 00:27:36,400 Speaker 1: I feel like you can. You can take a couple 493 00:27:36,400 --> 00:27:38,840 Speaker 1: of approaches here. You can go the very simple route, 494 00:27:38,960 --> 00:27:42,480 Speaker 1: or you can go the incredibly tedious route. Right, And 495 00:27:42,680 --> 00:27:45,400 Speaker 1: how do we how do we avoid those two? Well 496 00:27:45,440 --> 00:27:47,520 Speaker 1: we can. I think what we'll do is we'll try 497 00:27:47,600 --> 00:27:50,000 Speaker 1: to We'll try and hit the high notes here and 498 00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:51,760 Speaker 1: and just remind everybody if you want a more in 499 00:27:51,880 --> 00:27:54,800 Speaker 1: depth discussion of how sunglasses work, there's actually a how 500 00:27:54,840 --> 00:27:58,320 Speaker 1: stuff works article, How sunglasses work. Oddly enough, that's the 501 00:27:58,320 --> 00:28:00,480 Speaker 1: title of the article. That's a pretty good one. Yeah, 502 00:28:00,480 --> 00:28:01,959 Speaker 1: and it's it's a pretty it is a pretty good one. 503 00:28:01,960 --> 00:28:03,879 Speaker 1: It takes you through a lot of the more optical details, 504 00:28:03,920 --> 00:28:09,240 Speaker 1: like essentially to really understand how sunglasses work, you needed 505 00:28:09,280 --> 00:28:12,160 Speaker 1: like a full refresher on how light works. And that's 506 00:28:12,160 --> 00:28:14,280 Speaker 1: what this article provides. And that's what we do not 507 00:28:14,400 --> 00:28:17,800 Speaker 1: have time to provide here today. But we talked about 508 00:28:17,880 --> 00:28:21,880 Speaker 1: lumens already, and we've talked about just basically how sunglasses 509 00:28:21,960 --> 00:28:25,359 Speaker 1: modify incoming light to your eyes. Now, there are different 510 00:28:25,400 --> 00:28:29,119 Speaker 1: ways that different types of sunglasses do that, right. Modern 511 00:28:29,119 --> 00:28:33,440 Speaker 1: sunglasses especially depend on a number of different methods. There's tinting, polarization, 512 00:28:33,880 --> 00:28:39,480 Speaker 1: photochromic lenses, there's mirror mirroring, scratch resistant coding, anti reflective coding, 513 00:28:39,520 --> 00:28:43,480 Speaker 1: and UV coding. Tinting, though, is largely what we're talking 514 00:28:43,520 --> 00:28:46,000 Speaker 1: about here, uh, and it's certainly key to the older 515 00:28:46,040 --> 00:28:50,640 Speaker 1: methods of lens based shades. Gray tint is generally popular 516 00:28:50,640 --> 00:28:53,600 Speaker 1: because gray tint reduces the overall amount of brightness with 517 00:28:53,720 --> 00:28:56,719 Speaker 1: the least amount of color distortion. Because this is this 518 00:28:56,760 --> 00:28:58,920 Speaker 1: is actually a really interesting thing to to read up on, 519 00:28:58,960 --> 00:29:01,560 Speaker 1: because when you think about the color of shades, it's 520 00:29:01,600 --> 00:29:04,720 Speaker 1: easy to just think that it's just purely, you know, 521 00:29:04,960 --> 00:29:07,080 Speaker 1: a fashion choice. Am I gonna have brown? Am I 522 00:29:07,120 --> 00:29:10,640 Speaker 1: gonna maybe a mood choice? Like? Are you nero? And 523 00:29:10,720 --> 00:29:13,520 Speaker 1: you want to see the gladiator fights in green because 524 00:29:13,560 --> 00:29:17,760 Speaker 1: you like green? Yeah? Maybe I like rose rose tinted glasses. 525 00:29:17,920 --> 00:29:21,080 Speaker 1: There's actually and now I'm remembering that I have been 526 00:29:21,120 --> 00:29:26,840 Speaker 1: into various New Age stores where they sell um glasses 527 00:29:27,200 --> 00:29:30,480 Speaker 1: that are tinted with and they come with like documentation 528 00:29:30,520 --> 00:29:32,880 Speaker 1: to tell you about how this particular tinant will affect 529 00:29:32,880 --> 00:29:35,480 Speaker 1: your mood. Oh like in a like a magic stone 530 00:29:35,520 --> 00:29:38,120 Speaker 1: power kind of way, like it has the powers of 531 00:29:38,160 --> 00:29:41,440 Speaker 1: the supposed powers of these crystals embedded in the glass. 532 00:29:41,600 --> 00:29:44,120 Speaker 1: Oh yes, there's definitely a new Age crystal vibe to it. 533 00:29:44,160 --> 00:29:46,360 Speaker 1: But also I think maybe there's a they were incorporating 534 00:29:46,360 --> 00:29:48,840 Speaker 1: a little bit of color theory as well. How do 535 00:29:48,960 --> 00:29:52,720 Speaker 1: I get diamond sunglasses? I just want to look through 536 00:29:52,840 --> 00:29:55,920 Speaker 1: dark diamonds. I want to say that um, the dark 537 00:29:55,960 --> 00:29:59,560 Speaker 1: crystal McDuck has those really maybe, but well, I want 538 00:29:59,600 --> 00:30:01,880 Speaker 1: to say the there is like a like, apart from 539 00:30:01,880 --> 00:30:04,120 Speaker 1: the cartoon that showed when it played all the clips 540 00:30:04,200 --> 00:30:06,720 Speaker 1: at the beginning that he had like diamonds stuck in 541 00:30:06,760 --> 00:30:09,240 Speaker 1: his eyes. That's what I'm thinking of, Okay, but I think, yeah, 542 00:30:09,280 --> 00:30:13,400 Speaker 1: you wouldn't want diamonds stuck in your eyes. That'd be pointy. Um. 543 00:30:13,680 --> 00:30:16,920 Speaker 1: But anyway, the take home here is that, uh, different color, 544 00:30:17,320 --> 00:30:21,120 Speaker 1: different tinted lenses do different things. They interact with light 545 00:30:21,160 --> 00:30:24,760 Speaker 1: in different ways. So again, gray um is not going 546 00:30:24,800 --> 00:30:28,600 Speaker 1: to really distort color all that much. Meanwhile, yellow or 547 00:30:28,640 --> 00:30:31,360 Speaker 1: gold tents reduce the amount of blue light while allowing 548 00:30:31,400 --> 00:30:34,280 Speaker 1: a larger percentage of other frequencies through. But they can 549 00:30:34,320 --> 00:30:38,000 Speaker 1: also create a kind of glare known as blue haze. Uh. 550 00:30:38,040 --> 00:30:40,640 Speaker 1: The yellow tint virtually eliminates the blue part of the 551 00:30:40,680 --> 00:30:44,960 Speaker 1: spectrum and has the effect of making everything bright and sharp. 552 00:30:45,600 --> 00:30:49,880 Speaker 1: Amber and brownish tints reduced glare, and they have molecules 553 00:30:49,920 --> 00:30:53,760 Speaker 1: that absorb higher frequency colors such as blue. In addition 554 00:30:53,800 --> 00:30:57,800 Speaker 1: to UV rays, green tints on lenses filter some blue 555 00:30:57,880 --> 00:31:00,680 Speaker 1: light in reduced glare, and they offer the highest contrast 556 00:31:00,920 --> 00:31:04,240 Speaker 1: and greatest visual acuity. I guess that's the thing we 557 00:31:04,280 --> 00:31:07,520 Speaker 1: hadn't mentioned much already, is that certain types of light 558 00:31:07,600 --> 00:31:12,320 Speaker 1: filtering could actually sharpen images and reduced blur, such as 559 00:31:12,360 --> 00:31:17,320 Speaker 1: at the gladiatorial uh Comba. You know, I don't know 560 00:31:17,360 --> 00:31:20,280 Speaker 1: if that worked. Well, No, that makes me think. You know, 561 00:31:20,320 --> 00:31:23,040 Speaker 1: there are these stories from the past of people going 562 00:31:23,120 --> 00:31:25,840 Speaker 1: to the movie theaters with sunglasses on. Right, you'd go 563 00:31:25,880 --> 00:31:28,160 Speaker 1: sit in the movies and watch through sunglasses. I wonder 564 00:31:28,200 --> 00:31:31,920 Speaker 1: if some people were trying to see a sharper image somehow. Now, 565 00:31:31,960 --> 00:31:35,240 Speaker 1: the oldest method of tending to depends on constant density. 566 00:31:35,400 --> 00:31:37,440 Speaker 1: Now what does that mean? So this is a uniform 567 00:31:37,520 --> 00:31:40,720 Speaker 1: tinting throughout the lens. Nowadays, we'd have to wear those 568 00:31:40,720 --> 00:31:44,640 Speaker 1: shades over the uncomfortable three D glasses that were already wearing. Right, 569 00:31:44,880 --> 00:31:48,200 Speaker 1: Let's say you're heading up a chain gang. That's Scott 570 00:31:48,320 --> 00:31:50,880 Speaker 1: Luke in it. Oh yeah, you're talking about old cool 571 00:31:50,880 --> 00:31:53,800 Speaker 1: hand Luke and the man with no eyes that that 572 00:31:53,920 --> 00:31:57,840 Speaker 1: chain gang guard where he's always wearing those those perfectly 573 00:31:57,960 --> 00:32:01,960 Speaker 1: mirrored shades and just seem to have no soul exactly. 574 00:32:02,080 --> 00:32:03,840 Speaker 1: Or at the other end of the spectrum, let's say 575 00:32:03,840 --> 00:32:06,560 Speaker 1: you're just trying to look super cool. I mean, there 576 00:32:06,600 --> 00:32:09,760 Speaker 1: are so many reasons people wear sunglasses that don't have 577 00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:13,360 Speaker 1: that much to do with blocking out the sunlight. Sunglasses, 578 00:32:13,400 --> 00:32:16,520 Speaker 1: I think have a profound psychological and cultural impact, and 579 00:32:16,520 --> 00:32:24,360 Speaker 1: we should talk about that when we come back. All right, 580 00:32:24,400 --> 00:32:27,440 Speaker 1: we're back, So we're talking about the legacy of sunglasses 581 00:32:27,520 --> 00:32:30,760 Speaker 1: of what are they doing psychologically and culturally. Now, one 582 00:32:30,800 --> 00:32:33,640 Speaker 1: thing is that human behavior and self image pretty clearly 583 00:32:33,680 --> 00:32:38,560 Speaker 1: are influenced by some interplay between our ongoing senses of 584 00:32:38,720 --> 00:32:42,520 Speaker 1: seeing and being seen. Right at any given time, you're 585 00:32:42,560 --> 00:32:46,480 Speaker 1: potentially seeing something and you're potentially being seen, and how 586 00:32:46,560 --> 00:32:50,160 Speaker 1: you feel about those things is going to affect your confidence, 587 00:32:50,280 --> 00:32:54,040 Speaker 1: your relation to other people, maybe your generosity. As just 588 00:32:54,120 --> 00:32:56,600 Speaker 1: one strange example, just just think about all the ways 589 00:32:56,680 --> 00:33:00,600 Speaker 1: that things feel different if you're viewing them comply through 590 00:33:00,640 --> 00:33:03,800 Speaker 1: some kind of barrier or screen, Like the way that 591 00:33:04,200 --> 00:33:07,920 Speaker 1: your relationship to the world changes when you're looking at 592 00:33:07,960 --> 00:33:11,600 Speaker 1: that world through a car windshield, you know what I mean, 593 00:33:11,720 --> 00:33:14,560 Speaker 1: How being being inside a car looking out at the 594 00:33:14,600 --> 00:33:18,240 Speaker 1: world fundamentally changes how you think about that world as 595 00:33:18,240 --> 00:33:21,120 Speaker 1: opposed to being in the exact same place but not 596 00:33:21,280 --> 00:33:23,959 Speaker 1: looking through the glass of a windshield. Yeah, Like, it's 597 00:33:23,960 --> 00:33:27,280 Speaker 1: an entirely different scenario if you're just say, um, you know, 598 00:33:27,320 --> 00:33:29,600 Speaker 1: at a summer camp, just walking through the woods. But 599 00:33:29,640 --> 00:33:31,920 Speaker 1: then if you're wearing a hockey mask while doing so, 600 00:33:32,040 --> 00:33:34,840 Speaker 1: it changes everything. Well, no, it really does, I mean, 601 00:33:34,920 --> 00:33:37,320 Speaker 1: And it's not just the act of say, stalking through 602 00:33:37,360 --> 00:33:40,160 Speaker 1: the woods or the act of driving. It also seems 603 00:33:40,200 --> 00:33:43,719 Speaker 1: to be something about that barrier. And likewise, sunglasses can 604 00:33:43,760 --> 00:33:46,800 Speaker 1: be a kind of shield or barrier or blind that 605 00:33:46,840 --> 00:33:49,880 Speaker 1: has psychological effects on the person wearing them in the 606 00:33:49,920 --> 00:33:53,440 Speaker 1: person they interact with. Think again of the Chinese courtroom example. 607 00:33:53,640 --> 00:33:56,480 Speaker 1: You could see in a maybe in a maybe well 608 00:33:56,600 --> 00:34:00,560 Speaker 1: meaning or benevolent way, that a judge hiding or face 609 00:34:01,680 --> 00:34:05,240 Speaker 1: could be a way to try to show impartiality or neutrality, 610 00:34:05,280 --> 00:34:09,280 Speaker 1: not show emotional reactions to arguments or statements or evidence. 611 00:34:09,600 --> 00:34:11,400 Speaker 1: On the other hand, you could say that the judge 612 00:34:11,480 --> 00:34:14,879 Speaker 1: covering their face could be some kind of power move, right, 613 00:34:15,000 --> 00:34:17,520 Speaker 1: you know, the judge says you will not have access 614 00:34:17,600 --> 00:34:20,239 Speaker 1: to my humanity. I will look upon you, but you 615 00:34:20,280 --> 00:34:22,680 Speaker 1: will not look upon me. And even though they're not 616 00:34:22,719 --> 00:34:25,600 Speaker 1: technically the judge that you know, we do see this 617 00:34:25,640 --> 00:34:28,920 Speaker 1: with our our our law enforcement figures right, and those 618 00:34:29,000 --> 00:34:31,440 Speaker 1: chain gang figures like the man with no eyes or 619 00:34:31,520 --> 00:34:35,160 Speaker 1: the clearly the cool ham Luke inspired character in the 620 00:34:35,160 --> 00:34:38,200 Speaker 1: Cohen Brothers. Oh brother where art thou of where you 621 00:34:38,280 --> 00:34:41,520 Speaker 1: often see like fire reflected in his dark shades, but 622 00:34:41,600 --> 00:34:44,719 Speaker 1: never his eyes. And there is actually research on the 623 00:34:44,760 --> 00:34:47,879 Speaker 1: effects of sunglasses on human behavior. Yeah, I was looking 624 00:34:47,920 --> 00:34:50,520 Speaker 1: at a two thousand ten University of Toronto study that 625 00:34:50,640 --> 00:34:54,520 Speaker 1: found that people wearing sunglasses were less generous. Now, this 626 00:34:54,600 --> 00:34:57,239 Speaker 1: was via a very small experiment in which participants were 627 00:34:57,239 --> 00:34:59,560 Speaker 1: given a small amount of money to divvy up between 628 00:34:59,600 --> 00:35:03,600 Speaker 1: themselves in another individual and um and and you know, 629 00:35:03,640 --> 00:35:05,879 Speaker 1: they found that if you were wearing the sunglasses, you 630 00:35:06,000 --> 00:35:08,560 Speaker 1: were a little stingier with the money. In a way, 631 00:35:08,600 --> 00:35:11,160 Speaker 1: It's like they could see less of of you and 632 00:35:11,200 --> 00:35:15,240 Speaker 1: therefore there was less to be lost in uh in 633 00:35:15,239 --> 00:35:18,200 Speaker 1: in in dishing out less money. Well, it's this feeling 634 00:35:18,239 --> 00:35:22,000 Speaker 1: of being inside and being disconnected. I think that has 635 00:35:22,040 --> 00:35:23,680 Speaker 1: something to do with that. I mean, it's the same 636 00:35:23,680 --> 00:35:26,759 Speaker 1: way that you are much I mean, maybe not you, 637 00:35:26,840 --> 00:35:29,600 Speaker 1: but I would suspect you, like most people are just 638 00:35:29,880 --> 00:35:33,719 Speaker 1: less generous when thinking about the people around you. When 639 00:35:33,719 --> 00:35:36,040 Speaker 1: you're in a car. You ever noticed how like if 640 00:35:36,080 --> 00:35:38,920 Speaker 1: you if you were walking past somebody on the sidewalk 641 00:35:38,960 --> 00:35:41,160 Speaker 1: and they got in your way, you wouldn't you wouldn't 642 00:35:41,200 --> 00:35:43,759 Speaker 1: be like, what's wrong with you? You? You know, get 643 00:35:43,760 --> 00:35:46,480 Speaker 1: out of my way. But people in cars say stuff 644 00:35:46,520 --> 00:35:48,720 Speaker 1: like that all the time. I think it has something 645 00:35:48,760 --> 00:35:51,400 Speaker 1: to do with like looking out through that screen on 646 00:35:51,440 --> 00:35:55,040 Speaker 1: the world. It creates this barrier that undercuts your generosity 647 00:35:55,080 --> 00:35:58,280 Speaker 1: and connection with other people outside as humans and turns 648 00:35:58,320 --> 00:36:03,399 Speaker 1: them more into a like obstacle stimuli. Yeah. Now, and 649 00:36:03,440 --> 00:36:05,359 Speaker 1: another thing which you mention is that this study does 650 00:36:05,400 --> 00:36:10,600 Speaker 1: follow in the tradition of Philippa Zimbardo's famous Stanford prison experiment, 651 00:36:11,320 --> 00:36:13,920 Speaker 1: which show it's easy to forget because this is like 652 00:36:13,960 --> 00:36:18,080 Speaker 1: the less powerful detail of that study. But I mean, 653 00:36:18,120 --> 00:36:19,759 Speaker 1: I think I have read that there there are a 654 00:36:19,800 --> 00:36:22,040 Speaker 1: lot of people who look back on that study and think, 655 00:36:22,239 --> 00:36:24,520 Speaker 1: you know, we shouldn't draw too many conclusions from it. 656 00:36:24,560 --> 00:36:27,439 Speaker 1: I think I don't remember exactly what the criticisms are now, 657 00:36:27,440 --> 00:36:30,759 Speaker 1: but I think it it is. It has been critically reappraised, right, 658 00:36:30,800 --> 00:36:33,160 Speaker 1: it is. It is a study that was that it 659 00:36:33,200 --> 00:36:36,000 Speaker 1: certainly has a has a long legacy onto itself. A 660 00:36:36,000 --> 00:36:39,000 Speaker 1: lot of people have revisited it that in cases have 661 00:36:39,040 --> 00:36:41,520 Speaker 1: had issues with it. But it did entail the use 662 00:36:41,560 --> 00:36:44,239 Speaker 1: of mirrored sunglasses. Those assigned to play the roles of 663 00:36:44,320 --> 00:36:49,000 Speaker 1: guards in that experiment were given sticks and sunglasses. What 664 00:36:49,160 --> 00:36:51,960 Speaker 1: And basically the issue is that in that experiment, some 665 00:36:52,000 --> 00:36:54,160 Speaker 1: people were assigned to play the role of prisoners and 666 00:36:54,200 --> 00:36:56,400 Speaker 1: some people who were assigned to play the role of guards, 667 00:36:56,400 --> 00:36:59,520 Speaker 1: and they found that even just being given these fake 668 00:36:59,680 --> 00:37:03,320 Speaker 1: role supposedly the people really took on their roles and 669 00:37:03,480 --> 00:37:06,319 Speaker 1: like the guards, became brutal. Well, you know, no matter 670 00:37:06,360 --> 00:37:09,000 Speaker 1: what we think about the Stanford prison experiment, we do 671 00:37:09,040 --> 00:37:11,120 Speaker 1: have plenty of studies and in clothes cognition in the 672 00:37:11,160 --> 00:37:15,680 Speaker 1: ways that various cultural uniforms change the way we think 673 00:37:15,719 --> 00:37:20,120 Speaker 1: about ourselves. Our own abilities are roles, and typically those 674 00:37:20,120 --> 00:37:22,560 Speaker 1: experiments include things like giving somebody a doctor's coat and 675 00:37:22,600 --> 00:37:25,799 Speaker 1: a clipboard but creases their sense of authority. Yeah, but 676 00:37:25,840 --> 00:37:27,520 Speaker 1: in this but you can look back at Stanford prison 677 00:37:27,600 --> 00:37:30,880 Speaker 1: experiment and say, well, a stick and some sunglasses. This 678 00:37:30,960 --> 00:37:33,560 Speaker 1: is kind of to a certain extent that the uniform 679 00:37:33,920 --> 00:37:37,600 Speaker 1: of the guard, that is, how many how many cases 680 00:37:38,080 --> 00:37:42,520 Speaker 1: are sunglasses a part of a uniform official or unofficial 681 00:37:42,920 --> 00:37:46,200 Speaker 1: that have certain attributes that we perhaps take on when 682 00:37:46,239 --> 00:37:50,520 Speaker 1: we wear them, and we're thinking about that particular archetype. 683 00:37:50,560 --> 00:37:52,560 Speaker 1: For instance, it could be something like just the cool 684 00:37:52,600 --> 00:37:55,560 Speaker 1: cat who's wearing shades. Uh, you know, maybe we're just 685 00:37:55,560 --> 00:37:58,799 Speaker 1: thinking about David Caruso putting those those those deal with 686 00:37:58,800 --> 00:38:01,040 Speaker 1: Its shades on and saying something cool. Well, that's another 687 00:38:01,120 --> 00:38:05,160 Speaker 1: good question. Why are sunglasses so generally perceived as cool? 688 00:38:05,680 --> 00:38:07,840 Speaker 1: I've read about this, and you know, one of the 689 00:38:07,920 --> 00:38:12,560 Speaker 1: ideas out there is that sunglasses are perceived as cool because, 690 00:38:12,600 --> 00:38:15,880 Speaker 1: as we've been talking about, they limit people's access to 691 00:38:16,000 --> 00:38:19,719 Speaker 1: your emotions and to your reactions. Right, they make you 692 00:38:19,800 --> 00:38:23,600 Speaker 1: appear more static when other people can't read your expressions, 693 00:38:23,640 --> 00:38:28,799 Speaker 1: you appear more you know, impassive, more confident, more cool, Yeah, 694 00:38:28,840 --> 00:38:31,400 Speaker 1: more stoic. I mean, you know, the old saying is 695 00:38:31,400 --> 00:38:33,680 Speaker 1: whether the eyes that are mirror into the soul. You know, 696 00:38:33,960 --> 00:38:36,400 Speaker 1: the eyes, Our eyes are an important part of how 697 00:38:36,440 --> 00:38:39,560 Speaker 1: we communicate with people, and they can there can be 698 00:38:39,560 --> 00:38:43,160 Speaker 1: a certain vulnerability. Uh. There there are various ways that 699 00:38:43,239 --> 00:38:46,080 Speaker 1: we can We can just have like dumb, staring eyes 700 00:38:46,560 --> 00:38:48,760 Speaker 1: and if you're wearing shades, nobody can see that confused 701 00:38:48,800 --> 00:38:51,280 Speaker 1: look in your eyes. It's a type of social psychological 702 00:38:51,480 --> 00:38:54,839 Speaker 1: armory in some ways quite literally, right, yeah, I mean 703 00:38:54,880 --> 00:38:58,080 Speaker 1: they're a way to hide. I was also looking at 704 00:38:58,080 --> 00:39:01,480 Speaker 1: a two thousand article published in Psychological Science, a journal 705 00:39:01,520 --> 00:39:05,280 Speaker 1: of the Association for Psychological Science, and in this researchers 706 00:39:05,280 --> 00:39:08,239 Speaker 1: from the Chinese University of Hong Kong found that the 707 00:39:08,280 --> 00:39:13,720 Speaker 1: participants who relived an embarrassing experience tended to prefer large, 708 00:39:13,920 --> 00:39:17,920 Speaker 1: dark tinted sunglasses. And they also found that embarrassed participants 709 00:39:17,960 --> 00:39:22,719 Speaker 1: expressed greater interest in sunglasses as well as restorative face creams. 710 00:39:23,160 --> 00:39:28,279 Speaker 1: So again they're both exercises and covering your face with something. Um. Now, 711 00:39:28,280 --> 00:39:31,040 Speaker 1: the study was conducted with only Chinese participants, so the 712 00:39:31,120 --> 00:39:33,560 Speaker 1: authors pointed out, you know, they're very likely going to 713 00:39:33,640 --> 00:39:37,080 Speaker 1: be certain cultural elements to to these test subjects that 714 00:39:37,120 --> 00:39:39,719 Speaker 1: wouldn't be president and other test subjects. Of course, that's 715 00:39:39,719 --> 00:39:41,800 Speaker 1: always the case. I mean a lot of study studies 716 00:39:41,840 --> 00:39:44,800 Speaker 1: are just done on American college there might be cultural 717 00:39:44,800 --> 00:39:47,719 Speaker 1: issues there as well, exactly. But but I do feel 718 00:39:47,760 --> 00:39:49,720 Speaker 1: like this in general, it does I think it matches 719 00:39:49,800 --> 00:39:52,600 Speaker 1: up with a lot of our experiences. Uh, if if 720 00:39:52,640 --> 00:39:56,360 Speaker 1: you're going on in public and you've been crying, wearing 721 00:39:56,400 --> 00:39:59,120 Speaker 1: sunglasses is the way to go. I mean, we've all 722 00:39:59,160 --> 00:40:01,680 Speaker 1: had situations to where you're just feeling maybe you just 723 00:40:01,719 --> 00:40:05,520 Speaker 1: feeling a little shy or emotionally vulnerable. Putting on sunglasses, 724 00:40:05,800 --> 00:40:08,440 Speaker 1: even if your eyes are not puffy from tears, it's 725 00:40:08,480 --> 00:40:11,280 Speaker 1: a way of like disconnecting and feeling a little safer 726 00:40:11,320 --> 00:40:14,040 Speaker 1: and being just a little less up in the face 727 00:40:14,080 --> 00:40:16,839 Speaker 1: of the world is putting the screen up. Yeah. Now, 728 00:40:16,880 --> 00:40:18,799 Speaker 1: I could be wrong about this, but I also feel 729 00:40:18,840 --> 00:40:22,600 Speaker 1: like that there's perhaps some interesting connection between our preference 730 00:40:22,640 --> 00:40:26,960 Speaker 1: for sunglasses and the way that we experience so much 731 00:40:26,960 --> 00:40:30,640 Speaker 1: of our lives through screen devices. Now you know that 732 00:40:30,800 --> 00:40:33,759 Speaker 1: that the sunglasses introduced this idea of looking at the 733 00:40:33,800 --> 00:40:36,600 Speaker 1: world through a kind of barrier or screen, and we're 734 00:40:36,600 --> 00:40:41,400 Speaker 1: constantly doing now social interactions on phones, on computers, on 735 00:40:41,480 --> 00:40:44,720 Speaker 1: devices where we're also interacting with the world through a screen. 736 00:40:46,040 --> 00:40:48,439 Speaker 1: I don't know if there's anything interesting to tease out there, 737 00:40:48,440 --> 00:40:51,360 Speaker 1: but it feels it feels right to me. Huh. You know, 738 00:40:51,440 --> 00:40:52,879 Speaker 1: I was just thinking of another thing. Have you ever 739 00:40:52,960 --> 00:40:55,560 Speaker 1: encountered somebody internally? We're talking about people we don't know 740 00:40:55,600 --> 00:40:59,479 Speaker 1: that well, or even celebrities, but people who never see 741 00:40:59,520 --> 00:41:02,600 Speaker 1: without their shades, and then when you finally do, it's 742 00:41:02,640 --> 00:41:04,759 Speaker 1: a little unnerving because you're like, oh, is that what 743 00:41:04,800 --> 00:41:07,800 Speaker 1: your eyes look like? It's like seeing kiss without their makeup. 744 00:41:08,120 --> 00:41:10,879 Speaker 1: Yeah exactly. It becomes such a part of their identity, 745 00:41:10,920 --> 00:41:15,000 Speaker 1: you know, um, but it also your Their identity becomes 746 00:41:15,000 --> 00:41:17,440 Speaker 1: this slightly less human thing. You know. There's like the 747 00:41:17,520 --> 00:41:21,920 Speaker 1: stoic eyed, dark eyed country music star. And then if 748 00:41:21,920 --> 00:41:24,480 Speaker 1: you remove them, you're like, who's that guy? Who is 749 00:41:24,520 --> 00:41:26,960 Speaker 1: the one who always wore sunglasses? Was it Roy Orbison? 750 00:41:27,719 --> 00:41:30,439 Speaker 1: Did he always have sunglasses on? Yes? I believe he did. 751 00:41:30,760 --> 00:41:35,000 Speaker 1: Another one is Hank Williams Jr. Sunglasses But I believe 752 00:41:35,040 --> 00:41:38,080 Speaker 1: that was if i'm if i'm if memory serves me correctly, 753 00:41:38,200 --> 00:41:40,520 Speaker 1: part of that was due to an injury he's sustained 754 00:41:40,560 --> 00:41:43,360 Speaker 1: as well. Oh really Yeah, Well, I think another way 755 00:41:43,440 --> 00:41:47,520 Speaker 1: that sunglasses lend a sense of coolness and maybe even 756 00:41:47,640 --> 00:41:50,080 Speaker 1: celebrity or glamor to people is that they increase a 757 00:41:50,120 --> 00:41:52,640 Speaker 1: sense of mystery, Right, that's sort of what you're getting 758 00:41:52,640 --> 00:41:54,120 Speaker 1: at here. Well, yeah, because of the other side, what 759 00:41:54,160 --> 00:41:56,719 Speaker 1: do their eyes look like? What is it like to 760 00:41:56,800 --> 00:41:59,560 Speaker 1: have a personal connection with this person I don't even 761 00:41:59,320 --> 00:42:02,520 Speaker 1: I don't even know who Dare stares into the eyes 762 00:42:02,560 --> 00:42:07,680 Speaker 1: of both Cephis. It's like Medusa. Yeah. Um, Speaking of 763 00:42:07,680 --> 00:42:11,120 Speaker 1: psychology and sunglasses, I also read a two fourteen University 764 00:42:11,120 --> 00:42:14,480 Speaker 1: of Sienna a study Sienna in Italy, and they made 765 00:42:14,480 --> 00:42:19,040 Speaker 1: a connection between panic attacks, specifically panic disorders in fear 766 00:42:19,080 --> 00:42:23,040 Speaker 1: of bright lights. And so people who experience uh, panic 767 00:42:23,080 --> 00:42:25,919 Speaker 1: attacks and and and and have a panic disorder, they said, 768 00:42:25,960 --> 00:42:29,760 Speaker 1: often find comfort in the use of sunglasses. That's interesting. 769 00:42:29,800 --> 00:42:32,240 Speaker 1: I wonder what the I wonder what the causal ordering 770 00:42:32,320 --> 00:42:36,240 Speaker 1: there is. Is it like they find comfort in sunglasses 771 00:42:36,320 --> 00:42:38,960 Speaker 1: because they're afraid of bright lights, or they're afraid of 772 00:42:38,960 --> 00:42:42,200 Speaker 1: bright lights because they find comfort in sunglasses. Yeah, that's 773 00:42:42,200 --> 00:42:45,480 Speaker 1: a good point, because yeah, there's so many, now that 774 00:42:45,520 --> 00:42:48,680 Speaker 1: we've discussed all these various, uh, just psychological elements that 775 00:42:48,719 --> 00:42:51,319 Speaker 1: could be in play, from the unclothed cognition to even 776 00:42:51,360 --> 00:42:54,480 Speaker 1: just personal identity. Like if you wear sunglasses so much 777 00:42:54,560 --> 00:42:56,160 Speaker 1: that they are just a part of who you are, 778 00:42:56,800 --> 00:43:00,000 Speaker 1: then it makes sense that you would feel naked without them. 779 00:43:00,120 --> 00:43:03,000 Speaker 1: Maybe you end up just wearing your sunglasses at night, 780 00:43:03,080 --> 00:43:08,000 Speaker 1: much like Corey Hart did. Are you lonely just like Mercy. 781 00:43:09,440 --> 00:43:11,680 Speaker 1: All right, So there you have it. Uh. That is 782 00:43:11,719 --> 00:43:15,279 Speaker 1: the episode of Invention for this week. We do hope 783 00:43:15,280 --> 00:43:18,560 Speaker 1: that you will check out Invention pod dot com. That 784 00:43:18,640 --> 00:43:22,719 Speaker 1: is where you'll find the existing episodes of the Invention Podcast. 785 00:43:22,920 --> 00:43:26,440 Speaker 1: You'll also find links out to our social media accounts, 786 00:43:26,920 --> 00:43:29,680 Speaker 1: and if you want to talk about this episode inside 787 00:43:29,840 --> 00:43:32,640 Speaker 1: of a Facebook group, you should go to the Stuff 788 00:43:32,680 --> 00:43:35,560 Speaker 1: to Blow Your Mind discussion module because that is where 789 00:43:35,920 --> 00:43:38,040 Speaker 1: we are known to hang out and discuss episodes of 790 00:43:38,080 --> 00:43:39,799 Speaker 1: Stuff to Blow Your Mind. But we're also happy to 791 00:43:39,840 --> 00:43:43,719 Speaker 1: talk about episodes of Invention. Huge thanks as always to 792 00:43:44,120 --> 00:43:47,560 Speaker 1: Scott Benjamin for research assistance on this show, and to 793 00:43:47,719 --> 00:43:51,319 Speaker 1: our excellent audio producer Tory Harrison. If you would like 794 00:43:51,320 --> 00:43:53,040 Speaker 1: to get in touch with us with feedback on this 795 00:43:53,120 --> 00:43:55,840 Speaker 1: episode or any other, to suggest a topic for the future, 796 00:43:56,040 --> 00:43:58,960 Speaker 1: just to say hi, you can email us at contact 797 00:43:59,200 --> 00:44:10,279 Speaker 1: at in vention pot dot com. You whe