Asked by: Rosie Stevenson, Derby
It’s an association that starts early: when primary school children are asked to draw a scientist or ‘smart person’, they tend to depict them with glasses (perhaps influenced by spectacle-wearing characters like Harry Potter).
This association may be because we tend to assume that short-sighted people are more ‘bookish’ – a stereotype with more than a grain of truth. Lack of time spent outside has been shown to contribute to short-sightedness, as has time spent engaging in close-up work such as reading.
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