Temporary Vs. Permanent
Is flash blindness temporary or permanent?
- Some sources such as NATO and the U.S. Department of Defense state that "flash blindness" can be temporary or permanent.
- Other sources restrict the use of the word to temporary, reversible vision loss: "...These are, in order of increasing brightness: dazzle, after image formation, flash blindness, and irreversible damage." The US Federal Aviation Administration in Order 7400.2F (now cancelled) defines it as "Generally, a temporary visual interference effect that persists after the source of the illumination has ceased."
Because there appears to be no consensus definition, one should be especially clear about which sense(s) of the phrase are meant. For example, using the phrase "temporary flash blindness" when discussing everyday flash photography emphasizes that the condition will disappear without ill effect.
Read more about this topic: Flash Blindness
Famous quotes containing the words temporary and/or permanent:
“... spinsterhood [is considered to be] an abnormality of small proportions and small consequence, something like an extra finger or two on the body, presumably of temporary duration, and never of any social significance.”
—Mary Putnam Jacobi (1842–1906)
“The English were very backward to explore and settle the continent which they had stumbled upon. The French preceded them both in their attempts to colonize the continent of North America ... and in their first permanent settlement ... And the right of possession, naturally enough, was the one which England mainly respected and recognized in the case of Spain, of Portugal, and also of France, from the time of Henry VII.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)