I’d be more concerned about why the pilots are debating this. Is that what they are seeing up there?
this post was submitted on 01 May 2026
265 points (99.6% liked)
People Twitter
9899 readers
395 users here now
People tweeting stuff. We allow tweets from anyone.
RULES:
- Mark NSFW content.
- No doxxing people.
- Must be a pic of the tweet or similar. No direct links to the tweet.
- No bullying or international politcs
- Be excellent to each other.
- Provide an archived link to the tweet (or similar) being shown if it's a major figure or a politician. Archive.is the best way.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
"I have terrible news: the people flying this plane are nihilists."
"We believe in nossing!"
I changed my mind. I’ll pay the $8 for that beer now.
lol, 8. It's been 10 for ages on most flights.
I imagine there's a decent amount of slack time on long haul flights.
The plane literally flies itself for most of the trip.
I imagine that the abyss is like a mirror, and when you stare into it long enough you realize that you're staring into yourself; hence, you the abyss is staring back into you the sub-conscience projection of self-entity.
Ophthalmologist: "Well clearly he was writing of the dangers of reading in the dark and the long-term damage it does to your eyesight."
Pretty shitty opthalmologist if they didn't point out that's wrong.
Not necessarily reading in the dark, but I imagine staring into the dark for long periods of time means that your eyes aren't ever focusing on anything.
Too much "indoor time" where peoples eyes aren't getting exercised by focusing on distant objects often enough strongly correlates to myopia.
I still think staring too long into the abyss would be detrimental to eye health, even if not for the exact reason the other person said!
Being inside yes, darkness, no. And that's straight from my eye doc when I asked about reading by the campfire.
Believe me, I've stared into the abyss plenty outside. Actually staring into the distance in darkness is a suggested exercise to relieve eye strain from screens.
I think we're talking about two different things and at vastly different magnitudes.
Being inside doesn't make your eyes worse because of like... the air in there. Or a roof. It's because wile you're in there your eyes aren't ever focusing on something far away.
And it doesn't happen overnight. It's over the course of tens of thousands of "missed outdoor hours".
If you stared into an abyss with nothing distant to focus on over tens of thousands of hours, it'd be the same problem. It's not because it's dark. It's because it's an abyss.
When he was warning about "too long" into the abyss, it's tens of thousands of hours (which displace outdoor time). You can look into the abyss a little bit. Sometimes. As a treat. Just not for too long.
I'm talking pitch blackness. My eye doc said turn off all lights, cover both eyes, open them, and try to focus as if you're focusing on something in the distance.
Seems like same level as staring into the abyss, just less existential dread
I concede if that's the case. If you're saying that without active effort, looking at nothingness in leiu of looking at actual objects that demand focus has no detrimental effect on eyesight... forever... then I guess you're right.
I don't believe it... the idea that you or anyone have described this absurd hypothetical scenario (which is fundamentally not at all the same as "reading by a campfire" by multiple dimensions) on your own accord to a medical doctor srltrikes me as ludicrous, but, it sounds like you do fundamentally understand the premise I'm laying out.
But, if you actually did, and that was te actual response, then there is no rebuttal to be had, and I guess im just out to lunch on this one.
I hope not. They should be in the plane.