By We all know that people are born either right handed or left handed, with some lucky individuals earning the title of ambidextrous, but did you know that right and left eye dominance varies from person to person, as well? As is the case with handedness, nature tends to favor the right, but a good one-third of the population is left eye dominant. But don’t just assume your visual preference will match that of your hands, as right-handed individuals are not always born leaning on the same half of their visual field.
So you might be wondering where I’m going with all of this talk of ocular dominance. Well, consider a recent patent filing by Google. While many have been going about their lives completely ignorant of which eye takes the lead, Google has been developing a mirrored version of Project Glass for folks that favor vision on the left. The current build is designed for those that have stronger vision in their right eye, and it isn’t clear if any production-level left-oriented prototypes exist (or if they will be available when the limited run of Project Glass launches for those that registered at Google I/O).
OK, so now how do we know which eye we favor? Here’s a quick and simple test to determine your ocular dominance (Edgar provides a demonstration at the end of the above video):
- Extend your arms in front of you and form a diamond between the forefingers and thumbs of both hands.
- Frame a distant object in the space between your hands and focus your vision on it.
- Slowly draw your hands back toward you eyes.
- The opening created by your hands should move toward your dominant eye.
And that’s about as easy as it gets to determine which side your vision naturally favors. We can’t say for sure without proper hands-on time, but it seems choosing the right style of Glass frames could definitely have an effect on the overall experience. Google obviously deemed having both options available as important, and it makes sense. If you are going to even partially obscure the vision of one eye with a floating user interface, better to put the extra burden on the stronger of the two.
So informal poll: raise your hand if your the results of your dominant eye test weren’t what you expected. Or just let us know in the comments below!
I hope that the folks at project glass are taking people with monocular vision into account as well. Not everyone has 2 eyes so project glass also should try to be unobtrusive. If they need a tester I know of one.
The biggest problem is trying to focus with the non-dominant eye.
I really don’t understand why someone would minus your post [in my mind it goes a bit different – “who the f. would dislike a post about something they don’t know s..t about].
I’m totally with you, I only have one eye working, and things like 3d and project glass are simply out of my reach.
I must be doing it wrong, because I keep winding up with the diamond dead center.
Did Tim cook tell you that you we’re doing it wrong?
This explains it: http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ln2zpwnf9o1qd46pd.jpg
Haha, well played!
You have to push your hands together and not widen the diamond, so that when touched to your face in the middle, neither eye can see through it
right eye
Another easy way to test is to hold out your hand in a small diamond shape, hands the same way as the above test just closer together, then close one eye and then the other without moving your hands. The object will stay basically centered with the dominant eye and off center or (like me) move behind the hands with the other eye.
This is a much better way. I ended up dead center each time with the way they previously said. This method ends with the left eye being dominate every time.
Definitely a better way.
+1 to this… This is the way my eye doctor had showed me for determining this when I had laser eye surgery. *thumbs up*
I’m personally left handed and can switch my eye dominance back and forth, although generally I favor left eye dominance. I would think I’d want my google glass on my right eye and have my left clear of any screen. How about anyone else?
Everyone involved in shooting sports already knows this. Not sure how much cross over there is with android ownership, but should be some.
Make a small diamond, pull it back all the way to your head. If it was dead center your hands would be covering your eyes.
I am both an Android user and a shooter. Being right-handed and left-eye dominant I find rifles a bit of a nuisance to shoot with compared with handguns.
Same when trying to shoot a bow for archery.
Left
This sounds tough. I’ll just wait until Apple decides which of my eyes is the dominant eye.
lol
when unable to accurately operate the iDevice, Apple releases the following statement, “you’re looking through it wrong”.
To please everyone, they’re going to make it for Cyclops people only, don’t worry the Opposite will be on the back, as usual
Right handed. Left eye dominant. Very.
same!
Eye preference is very important, we had many left eyed people in the army that had to relearn to fire a weapon with the left hand.
Left handed right eye dominant
My method is the easiest. Take a brick and hit yourself in the nose. Whichever eye waters the most is your dominant eye. Lemme know what you find.
My brown eye watered the most…
Right handed, left eye dominant.
Right handed, VERY right eye dominant.
Left handed and left eye dominant
Seems my comment about double rainbow got moderated, I did not mean disrespect, I think the look is beast……(a good thing)
Since I am legally blind in my right eye my left is my dominant eye even tho I am right handed.
i can’t figure out which eye is dominant, none of the tricks work for me.
perhaps it’s because i need both my eyes to see sharp most of the time, so i can’t afford to have 1 dominant eye.
Right-handed, right eye dominant
me too!
Just point at something with both eyes open. close your left eye. if you are right dominate your finger will still point to where you picked. close your right eye and you will see your finger is pointing off center from where you picked. vice versa for left eyed dominate.
This is the first step you take before you start shooting a gun, or playing golf. it matters a whole bunch
I have known I was right eyed dom since I was 8. my brother is left eyed. *grumble* hits the golf ball much easier.
I hope my current glasses work. Buuuut they’re probably to thin.
I learned (and it’s easier) to pick a distant object, and with a fully extended arm, create a circle using your thumb and index finger, then “circle” the object. Close each eye individuality, and whatever eye you see the object through the circle is, that’s your dominate eye.
No, you idiots. The point of the patent is that Project Glass is integrated into the actual frames themselves.