3-D Movie Changed Man’s Sight

According to Bruce Bridgeman, as reported by Elizabeth Landau on CNN, he saw greater depth after watching the film "Hugo" last year. During the movie, Bridgemen said he "kept annoying" his wife "with my explanations of how vivid the whole 3-D experience was."

For most of his life, Bruce had poor depth perception. His eyes pointed outward and did not allow him to see, in stereo, a single image with both eyes.

But in February 2012, something changed when he went to a movie theatre with his wife. He put on a pair of 3-D glasses to watch the film "Hugo" and, to his amazement, the characters and scenery in this film jumped out at him in greater stereo vision than he had experienced before.

What's more, after returning the glasses and leaving the theater, Bridgeman's perception of the real world was enhanced as well. A lamppost jumped out from the background, and the trees, cars and people looked somehow more vivid. This was the world with depth. Bridgeman was "euphoric."

"Suddenly, things began to jump out at me," said Bridgeman, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

The effect has stuck around since he saw the movie 16 months ago.

It's impossible to prove scientifically that the film itself altered his visual system, but his hope is that his story could help others with similar eye conditions who struggle through months of training to attempt to see more vividly.

Other experts say the vivid 3-D movie could have indeed jolted Bridgeman's visual system in this way, but that it wouldn't work as a quick fix for most people with eye alignment problems. It's possible with Bridgeman's unique set of circumstances, it was exactly what he needed, but it would probably help few people.

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