Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Lois & Clark Glasses and Vision

Hi all,

I wasn't sure whether to post this here or in the "Off Topic" folder; strictly speaking, it is off topic, but its relevance to L&C (and therefore the reason I am posting this at all, let alone in this folder) should nevertheless be obvious.

This past Monday, I had cataract removal surgery. The doctor also put in a lens so that I now have good distance vision for the first time in nearly half a century. My other eye will have the surgery next month. In the meantime, just call me "three eyes." In order to be able to see distance properly, I have removed the from my glasses lens for the eye that had had surgery.

So now I am walking around with glasses with only one lens. A few time this past week, my surgery has come up in conversation, and I illustrated my new status by poking my finger through the glasses frame where the removed lens used to be. Without exception, everyone who saw this was surprised and hadn't realized until then that the one lens had been removed.

People really do see what they want to see rather than what is actually there, especially when glasses are involved...

Joy,
Lynn

I think that when you wear glasses for so long people just get used to seeing you wear them and the moment they go people notice straight away. I know from experience having worn glasses since I was 13, I’ve had people ask me the moment I wear contact lenses because I still act like myself

It’s hard to say when it comes to Clark though as he was very careful to not let people see him without his glasses, but in other ways too it is a it is a bit of people expecting seeing what they want to see as Clark’s demeanour changed when he was Superman. Although Lois and Clark’s version of Clark didn’t make him out to be a dork as is the tradition there are still subtle differences to how he acts when in both personas to the point that no one would expect Superman to be Clark

I noticed that a cashier at a grocery store was wearing fake glasses that had no lenses. The bright lights shine on glass and those reflections were absent, that's how I knew. It looked weird, as if she had part of a Halloween costume on. I guess she tried to look smart.

You can also tell if the glasses have much correction in them. The line of cheek breaks if you look at the face from an angle and the eyes can look smaller or larger. Clark could get away by letting everyone assume he only has mild corrections.

I could not fool people by ditching my glasses but I have so strong mannerisms. If I were a disguised superhero, I would avoid the same people meeting me in both guises and especially those that know me in civil. I would not stay long to talk to people nor pose for photographs. I can be fooled, I am prosopagnostic. I might notice your voice though.

Superman doesn't look like he has anything to hide although a tabloid reporter might want to know where he goes after rescuing people, who he dates, where he sleeps or if he sleeps at all etc. Also, there are millions pairs of eyes who could notice something. Just by being observant or lucky.

Some ficcers have Clark so attached to his glasses that he won't remove them when he goes to bed if unaware Lois is present. I don't know how non-bespectacled people see it but if I saw someone go to bed glasses on I would think something is definitely up. I take them off because it is more comfortable and I fear my frames will bend when I snuggle my pillow.

Hi Sorbus,

Welcome to the boards.


Is that the official term for someone with prosopagnosia? I don't have an official diagnosis, but life experience makes me believe I have a mild to medium case of it. I rely heavily on people's voices, gaits, hair styles and the context in which I see them to identify them. (And yes -- presence or absence of glasses is a cue upon which I also depend.) Hair and skin complexion are extremely useful, as well. But faces pretty much all look the same to me -- they have two eyes, a nose, and a mouth in similar configurations; the subtler details tend to escape my notice.

Christopher Reeve's Kal would have fooled me because of his different posture, mannerisms, and voices. Bud Collyer's Kal would have as well, because of the way he changed his voice. But George Reeves' and Dean Cain's Clarks and Supermen were similar enough in voice and mannerisms that I don't think the glasses and the hair would have been enough to preserve their secrets.

I agree about removing glasses when sleeping; the first thing I do in the morning is put them on, and the last thing in the evening is doffing them. If I try to sleep on my side with them on, the earpiece digs into the side of my head in a most uncomfortable way.

Joy,
Lynn

I don't know if it is a medical term. I just wrote it (note: English is not my first language). I don't have any official diagnosis for prosopagnosia but I have a condition to which this trait can be tied, anyways, I have difficulties recognising people.

Hello Sorbus,

If that isn't the medical term, I wish it were. It is certainly easier to say than "prosopagnosia"

Joy,
Lynn

In a Batman fanfic I read recently Batman was wearing gasses undercover. The glasses actually had a noticeable correction he wore contacts that corrected the correction.

That double correction actually makes a lot of sense.