Prøve GULL - Gratis

From evolution to digital revolution

Financial Express Mumbai

|

January 02, 2025

THE EYE GAVE Charles Darwin "a cold shudder". Writing in The Origin of Species, he struggled to explain how natural selection could create something so intricate. Over millions of years, our eyes evolved exquisitely. They adapted to function in natural light, their view constantly varying as our ancestors moved, gathering food and hunting, their blink rates perfectly adjusted to protect and nourish the eye. Today, the eyes are under unprecedented assault, their evolution utterly outpaced by technological change.

- S RAMADORAI

Earlier this month, I attended an event where Sankara Nethralaya and the Optometry Confederation of India launched guidelines on improving visual health in the digital age. Distinguished ophthalmologists, including Dr TS Surendran, chairman, Sankara Nethralaya and Dr PP Santanam, renowned as the father of occupational optometry, were present at the event.

These guidelines address the growing concern about Digital Eye Strain (DES), which experts call a silent pandemic. The American Optometric Association defines DES as a group of eye and vision-related problems resulting from prolonged use of digital devices, which cause increased stress to near vision and damage long-term eye health. The statistics are stark: 69% of Indian adults and 50% of children suffer from this condition.

In 1978, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Professor Michael Dertouzos, head of the Laboratory for Computer Science, gathered leading computer scientists to brainstorm how to keep computers busy. Less than five decades later, the tables have turned dramatically. Computers are not just busy; they keep us perpetually engaged, often to the point of obsession. The fourth industrial revolution has ushered in an era of sweeping digitization, transforming every facet of our lives. From manufacturing and healthcare to education and entertainment, screens have become indispensable.

Our workdays often chain us to computers, our eyes glued to glowing screens. Evenings offer no escape, as we succumb to the allure of TVs, phones and tablets, binge-watching shows, scrolling through social media, and losing ourselves in video games. As MIT Professor Sherry Turkle observes in her book

FLERE HISTORIER FRA Financial Express Mumbai

Financial Express Mumbai

Why Bollywood remains thrilled to spy films

Major titles lined up, to cash in on Dhurandhar trend

time to read

2 mins

January 18, 2026

Financial Express Mumbai

Neville Tata's induction into SRTT delayed

THE PROPOSED INDUCTION of Neville Tata to the board of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust has been pushed back after a scheduled meeting of the Trust, slated for Saturday, was cancelled, according to people familiar with the matter.

time to read

2 mins

January 18, 2026

Financial Express Mumbai

HDFC Bank net rises 11.5% to ₹18,654 cr

HDFC BANK, THE country’s largest private sector lender, reported an 11.5% year-on-year increase in net profit to ₹18,654 crore for the quarter ended December, slightly above the Bloomberg estimate of ₹18,367 crore.

time to read

1 min

January 18, 2026

Financial Express Mumbai

Compact SUV slowdown likely to persist into 2026

NEW LAUNCHES AND facelifts in the under-4 metre SUV segment are expected to remain limited this calendar year, suggesting that the category’s recent slowdown could extend into 2026 even as overall passenger vehicle demand stays firm.

time to read

1 mins

January 18, 2026

Financial Express Mumbai

DGCA imposes ₹22.2-cr penalty on IndiGo over Dec disruptions

THE DIRECTORATE General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Saturday imposed penalties totalling ₹22.2 crore on IndiGo.

time to read

1 min

January 18, 2026

Financial Express Mumbai

HDFC Bank net up 11.5%

ON A SEQUENTIAL basis, the net profit was almost flat.

time to read

1 min

January 18, 2026

Financial Express Mumbai

Musk sues Microsoft and OpenAI, seeks over $134bn

ELON MUSK WANTS OpenAI and Microsoft to pay him damages in the range of $79 billion to $134 billion over his claims that the generative Al company defrauded him by abandoning its nonprofit roots and partnering with the software giant.

time to read

1 min

January 18, 2026

Financial Express Mumbai

Are trains now the most luxurious way to travel?

From Angola to Turkmenistan, sumptuously outfitted railroad cars are taking passengers on over-the-top journeys back in time

time to read

4 mins

January 18, 2026

Financial Express Mumbai

Missing municipal governance

LAST WEEK, WHEN the results came for the election to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, it was the Chief Minister of Maharashtra who made it clear that he was the hero of this victory.

time to read

3 mins

January 18, 2026

Financial Express Mumbai

India-EU FTA to boost exports across sectors

TEXTILES, PHARMACEUTICALS, CHEMICALS, engineering goods, gems and jewellery exports will receive a boost from the free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the 27-

time to read

1 min

January 18, 2026

Listen

Translate

Share

-
+

Change font size