Comment on Optometrists Calling Us Names (Again) by Steve

Before we get into people calling us names, let’s take one wee step back for a little background.

Despina, our contributing optometrist just wrote a draft post for the blog.  In it, as always with well chosen words, she sounds less than completely excited about my recent lapse of tactful discourse (probably this post here).  And she is indeed spot on, sometimes I lose patience, and that all still makes into into the blog and onto Twitter on occasion.

Her post should be up tomorrow.  I”m always open to critique, and there’s zero censorship here.

A lot goes on behind the scenes.  I’m working with several researchers and medical science authors on formatting myopia reversal experiences and progress reports into a format to be able to quantify mechanistic data to be part of clinical data.  Studies are being written, and there are rumors of someone headed towards a PhD candidate spot on this whole topic.  Imagine that!  Long term plans and short term navigating, and while I still can I like to let some of my emotion, be it frustration or otherwise, find its way into my writing.

I don’t want this blog, or our relationship, devolve into sounding like a newswire, or the lowest common denominator tone of what you consume in daily news media.  I want to keep it real, even if that’s not always pleasant or conformist.  The risk of course is that you sometimes realize that I’m not always a consummate professional (Jake, ever?).  The risk is a hit to credibility.  The risk is that some may be offended, possibly even rightfully so.

That’s the deal.  Eventually there will be others who can give the same quality advice as you get from me, coming from various other types of personalities.  Meanwhile I hope you at least sometimes enjoy the rough edges that are part of reality.

Hey, let’s look at some reality right now!  

This morning I see some of the usual drama on Twitter.  Optometrists getting lippy again.  Guys who I try to be nice to and about, calling @endmyopia names.  Seriously, how is that appropriate.  Who you ask, starts the fire?  It’s almost never from us.

dramatwit1

Look at that.  (Haris is referring to one of the @endmyopia articles, which the other guy had retweeted.)  So @endmyopia is a money scam, he says.  You wonder why I lose my patience sometimes, with these characters.  

Some guy who you know is dispensing advice that contributes to the worldwide myopia, making money with it, calls you a money scam.  A guy who most ironically, unwittingly himself is a shill in the 100 billion dollar a year money scam.  And that guy points the finger at @endmyopia, taking pot shots. 

How many times can you see things like that before you push back?

And here’s the thing.  There is no way that any one of these guys can survive a full on confrontation on this topic.  If you’re a long time reader, you probably chuckle at this point.  The overwhelming scientific evidence on lens-induced myopia, the thousands of studies on pseudo myopia, the massive growth in stock valuation of lens companies, the rapid progression of the myopia epidemic.  How long of a debate is an optometrist going to make it through, before looking foolish about his or her lack of insights into the science and heavily documented findings?  

There is only one correct question that an optometrist can ask us here.  There’s only one thing that can be said, that demonstrates the person has some integrity and modicum of intelligence. Amazingly, Haris defies the odds and becomes exactly the one guy with a respectable comeback:  

twitdrama3

See that?  Well done, Haris.  

The only right comeback is, show me the science.   You can call @endmyopia a scam at first glance.  We’ll shrug that off.  But upon further inspection, you have to ask for evidence.  You have to demonstrate that you’re going to substantiate your accusations.   

And hopefully that leads to positive discourse.  Since the renovations took place and we opened the doors to optometrists, all the opportunity is now here.  Even if I sometimes lose some parts of the well tempered temper in blog posts.  😉

Cheers,

-Jake

** Update **

Nooope, nope.  Spoke too soon. 

twitdrama4

Yea that’s right.  I sent him this pretty fascinating compendium of published research, as a start.  That’s 59 clinical research references, from publications he should be reading like Investigative Ophthalmology, and dozens of published ophthalmology PhD’s multi years of research, discussing exactly the topic he’s busy ignoring.

First this doctor of optometry calls us a scam, and when confronted with science, he makes not one inkling of a move towards acknowledging even the remotest possibilities. 

This is why I get cranky, occasionally.  Idiocy hurts my brain.

Learn more at http://curemydisorder.com/links/improve-eyesight-tedmaser-site