Set Lasers to Fun

Thousands of people undergo laser eye surgery every year, but an individual known only as ceno666 had an unusual motive for opting for laser eye surgery to correct his farsightedness and astigmatism: his glasses annoy him when he uses his Oculus Rift virtual reality (VR) headset (Figure 1) to play videogames (1). In his own words: “For me it is clear, my eyeglasses are like an obstacle for optimal VR experience.” Ceno666 is a Redditor – a user of the popular social media website Reddit – and his recent posts have grabbed considerable media attention and public speculation. Many have questioned whether or not it’s a step too far to undergo over US$2000-worth of eye surgery simply to enjoy playing VR videogames more than before. Others have suggested that the Oculus Rift – which is still under development – may eventually contain interchangeable lenses that could correct for vision problems anyway. More pragmatic commenters pointed out that it’s a very safe procedure that will improve not only his vision in videogames, but in the rest of his life too – which is quite a bonus.

Figure 1. The virtual reality gaming headset, Oculus Rift.

However, it seems that ceno666 will have to continue wearing his glasses with his Oculus Rift for the time being. A thorough pre-surgery eye examination resulted in a recommendation against surgery. “They want to wait one year and see if my combination of +/- diopters settles,” explained the Redditor. His final comments on the subject indicate a level of skepticism about the professionalism of some US ophthalmologists – “I am a little disappointed but also glad that they are really not only after their money and want to do it perfect [sic] […]. To all who consider the surgery, please do your research and be sure that they are really trustworthy and not afraid to reject customers.”