Is 20/20 Vision Good? ®
What exactly is 20/20, and why do so many people think that when it comes to great vision, 20/20 is guiding standard?
20/20 vision refers to how well you can see a line that has been marked at 20 feet away.
This is a visual acuity chart, which was actually developed by Hermann Snellen, a Dutch eye doctor, back in the 1860s. Today, there are numerous variations of this eye chart, but almost all of them display 11 rows of capital letters. One letter is featured on the top row. This is usually a big letter E, but you could use any letter. The letters become progressively smaller moving down the rows. The visual acuity chart is used by eye doctors to measure how well patients are able to see in the distance. An eye doctor will usually ask you to locate the smallest line of letters you are able to see clearly and read those letters.
Eye charts in the United States are designed for placement on a wall that is located 20 feet from the patient. The problem is that the exam rooms (often called exam lanes) in most eye doctor offices are not 20 feet in length. You might see an eye chart hanging on a wall behind a chair or the doctor might even use mirrors to simulate a distance of 20 feet.
While 20/20 vision is considered to be normal vision, in its simplest form, this just gives us a standard way to measure vision. This means you are able to comfortably read text located at 20 feet away from you. Let’s use the big letter E at the top of a standard 20/200 eye chart as an example. If you are only able to read this letter from 20 feet away, you would be considered to have 20/200 vision. This means you are able to read a letter from 20 feet away that people who are considered to have normal vision are able to read at a distance of 200 feet.
The line for 20/20 vision is typically located fourth from the bottom. The lines for 20/15, 20/10, and 20/5 vision are located below that line. Most people do not have 20/10 visual acuity, so you shouldn’t feel bad if your vision is not 20/10. In order to obtain a driver’s license in the US, you will usually need to have at least 20/40 vision.
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