There is magic today on the front page of the paper--for me, the Washington Post. It should be on all of them. Mankind has invented an artificial eye. This being Washington, the Food and Drug Administration has approved its use.
Yes, an eye. I have an artificial heart valve. Many do. They thump, keep a beat. And many are walking around with an artificial knee or dancing with a manmade hip. But an eye? An eye sees shapes, can tell squares from circles, sees colors and speeds and distances--sees in short, the world. Some patients, the Post says, not all, "will regain the ability to do simple but significant tasks, such as recognizing words on a page, (read Shakespeare?), detecting street signs and matching pairs of socks."
One man representing an organization involved in the research says, "It's a life changer, to suddenly be able to walk into a room and see where the door is." The Post says European regulators appoved the eye in 2011 and that more than fifty people are now wearing them.
Science, sure, with a little science fiction added. But don't forget the magic.
On a day like this, you can almost see it.
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