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William Horatio Bates (December 23, 1860 - July 10, 1931) was an American physician and ophthalmologist who developed what is now known as the Bates Method of natural vision improvement [1], a collection of techniques and exercises intended to improve vision. The efficacy of the method is questionable [2] and his theory that the eye does not focus by changing the power of the lens, but rather by elongating the eyeball, through use of the extraocular oblique muscles, was contradicted by mainstream ophthalmology and optometry of his day and is still today. [3] December 23 is the 357th day of the year (358th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
1860 is the leap year starting on Sunday. ...
is the 191st day of the year (192nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Year 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...
The Doctor by Luke Fildes This article is about the term physician, one type of doctor; for other uses of the word doctor see Doctor. ...
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The Bates method is a program created by ophthalmologist William Horatio Bates, M.D., which aims to correct vision habits with relaxation techniques, exercises and optional activities and games. ...
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Optometry (Greek: optos meaning seen or visible and metria meaning measurement) is a health care profession concerned with examination, diagnosis, and treatment of the eyes and related structures and with determination and correction of vision problems using lenses and other optical aids [1]. An optical refractor (also called a foropter...
Biography Bates graduated A.B. from Cornell University in 1881 and received his medical degree at the college of physicians and surgeons in 1885. As an ophthalmologist, he formulated a theory about vision health, and published the book Perfect Sight Without Glasses in 1920. Parts of Bates' approach to correcting vision disorders were based on psychological principles, which was contrary to many of the medical theories of the time and remain so. The Bates Method still enjoys some limited acceptance as a modality of alternative medicine. Cornell University is a university located in Ithaca, New York, USA. Its two medical campuses are in New York City and Education City, Qatar. ...
Ophthalmology is the branch of medicine which deals with the diseases of the eye and their treatment. ...
1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ...
Alternative medicine is defined as any of various systems of healing or treating disease (as chiropractic, homeopathy, or faith healing) not included in the traditional medical curricula taught in the United States and Britain.[1] Complementary medicine is defined as any of the practices (as acupuncture) of alternative medicine accepted...
Bates treated many patients, who claimed to have been cured of vision defects, especially myopia. This brought him into a conflict with his peers. The Bates Method was promoted by the famous writer Aldous Huxley, author of 'Brave new world'. However, as was later revealed, Huxley had been faking the "improvement" in eyesight by memorising readings. This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ...
Brave New World is a dystopian novel by Aldous Huxley, first published in 1932. ...
The Bates method is a program created by ophthalmologist William Horatio Bates, M.D., which aims to correct vision habits with relaxation techniques, exercises and optional activities and games. ...
Bates frequently came into conflict with his peers and defended himself by claiming that other physicians were in thrall to the establishment: ('Perfect Sight' chapter 3 [1])
| “ | Neither by reasoning, nor by actual demonstration of the facts, can you convince some people that an opinion which they have accepted on authority is wrong. | ” | He concludes the chapter: | “ | Between 1886 and 1891 I was a lecturer at the Post Graduate Hospital and Medical School. The head of the institution was Dr. D. B. St. John Roosa. He was the author of many books, and was honored and respected by the whole medical profession. At the school they had got the habit of putting glasses on the nearsighted doctors, and I had got the habit of curing them without glasses. It was naturally annoying to a man who had put glasses on a student to have him appear at a lecture without them and say that Dr. Bates had cured him. Dr. Roosa found it particularly annoying, and the trouble reached a climax one evening at the annual banquet of the faculty when, in the presence of one hundred and fifty doctors, he suddenly poured out the vials of his wrath upon-my head. He said that I was injuring the reputation of the Post Graduate by claiming to cure myopia. Every one knew that Donders said it was incurable, and I had no right to claim that I knew more than Donders. I reminded him that some of the men I had cured had been fitted with glasses by himself. He replied that if he had said they had myopia he had made a mistake. I suggested further investigation. "Fit some more doctors with glasses for myopia," I said, "and I will cure them. It is easy for you to examine them afterwards and see if the cure is genuine." This method did not appeal to him, however. He repeated that it was impossible to cure myopia, and to prove that it was impossible he expelled me from the Post Graduate, even the privilege of resignation being denied to me. The fact is that, except in rare cases, man is not a reasoning being. He is dominated by authority, and when the facts are not in accord with the view imposed by authority, so much the worse for the facts. They may, and indeed must, win in the long run; but in the meantime the world gropes needlessly in darkness and endures much suffering that might have been avoided. | ” | This underdog stance continues to win Bates many admirers, especially amongst those for whom mainstream ophthalmology has not proved effective or those who hold a conspiritorial view of science and medicine. It does not, however, validate his theories. An underdog is a person or group in a competition, frequently in electoral politics, sports, and creative works, who is popularly expected to lose. ...
Part of a scientific laboratory at the University of Cologne. ...
medicines, see medication and pharmacology. ...
Bates' mental health Bates appears to have suffered from a strange episode of amnesia (or possibly psychogenic fugue), referred to in his obituary,[4] perhaps wrongly as 'a strange form of aphasia'. He disappeared, was found, and then disappeared again, only to reappear after his second wife, who searched in vain for him, had died. This episode was said to have given him a particular interest in memory, perhaps influencing the direction of his work. He was married three times, the last time being, in 1928, to the widow Emily C. Lierman, who had been for many years his assistant. In 1943 she published an abridged version of his book Perfect Sight Without Glasses, under the title Better Eyesight Without Glasses. Amnesia or amnæsia (from Greek ) (see spelling differences) is a condition in which memory is disturbed. ...
In psychology, a fugue state (aka psychogenic fugue or dissociative fugue) is a state of mind where a person experiences a dissociative break in identity and attempts to run away from some perceived threat, usually something abstract such as the persons identity. ...
Look up aphasia in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
Discoverey of adrenaline Bates did other serious research, and is famous for discovering a substance produced by the suprarenal gland which later would be commercialized as adrenaline. His report was published in the New York Medical Journal in May, 1886. Epinephrine (INN) or adrenaline (BAN) is a hormone and a neurotransmitter. ...
See also The Art of Seeing is a 1942 book by Aldous Huxley, which contains an explanation of the controversial Bates Method of visual re-education and an account of how the author applied its principles to improve his own poor eyesight. ...
The Bates method is a program created by ophthalmologist William Horatio Bates, M.D., which aims to correct vision habits with relaxation techniques, exercises and optional activities and games. ...
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References - ^ Edited by Thomas R. Quackenbush. Better Eyesight. The complete Magazines of William H. Bates. North Atlantic Books, 2001. ISBN 1-55643-351-4.
- ^ Rawstron JA, Burley CD, Elder MJ (2005). "A systematic review of the applicability and efficacy of eye exercises.". J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus 42 (2): 82-8.
- ^ Robyn E. Bradley. "ADVOCATES SEE ONLY BENEFITS FROM EYE EXERCISES", The Boston Globe (MA), September 23, 2003.
- ^ Obituary of William H. Bates. New York Times (July 11, 1931).
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