The Art of Seeing
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Art of Seeing is a 1942 book by Aldous Huxley, which contains an explanation of the controversial Bates Method of visual re-education and an account of how the author applied its principles to improve his own poor eyesight.
Many believe Huxley may have been faking his improved vision. In 1952, Bennett Cerf was present when Huxley spoke at a Hollywood banquet, wearing no glasses and apparently reading his paper from the lectern without difficulty:
- "Then suddently he faltered—and the truth became obvious. He wasn't reading his address—he had learned it by heart. To refresh his memory he brought it closer and closer to his eyes. When it was only an inch away he still couldn't read it, and had to fish for a magnifying glass in his pocket to make the typing visible to him. It was an agonizing moment." [1] (p. 241: quotes Bennett Cerf re Huxley's vision in 1952)
Huxley was a student of Margaret Corbett, a well-known Bates practitioner, with whom he began lessons in 1939 and may have continued till as late as 1959. In 1941, Margaret Corbett was brought to trial in California on a charge of practicing medicine without a license, but was acquitted. Later, together with others, including Huxley, she successfully fought a State Bill which would have banned teaching methods of sight improvement and relaxation without a medical or opthalmic license. [2]
[edit] References
- ^ Gardner, Martin (1957). Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science. Reprint: Courier Dover.
- ^ http://www.batesmethodstore.com/books/#corbett Cobett's 'Help yourself to better sight'.
|
|
|
|---|---|
| Novels | Crome Yellow • Antic Hay • Those Barren Leaves • Point Counter Point • Brave New World • Eyeless in Gaza • After Many a Summer • Time Must Have a Stop • Ape and Essence • The Genius and the Goddess • Island • The Crows of Pearblossom |
| Short Stories | Limbo • Mortal Coils • Little Mexican • Two or Three Graces • Brief Candles • The Young Arquimedes • Jacob's Hands; A Fable • Collected Short Stories |
| Poetry | The Burning Wheel • Jonah • The Defeat of Youth • Leda • Arabia Infelix • The Cicadias and Other Poems • First Philosopher's Song |
| Travel writing | Along The Road • Jesting Pilate • Beyond the Mexique Bay |
| Essays | On the Margin • Along the Road • Essays New and Old • Proper Studies • Do What You Will • Vulgarity in Literature • Music at Night • Texts and Pretexts • The Olive Tree • Ends and Means • Words and their Meanings • The Art of Seeing • Science, Liberty and Peace • Themes and Variations • Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow • The Doors of Perception • Heaven and Hell • Adonis and the Alphabet • Collected Essays • Brave New World Revisited • Literature and Science |
| Philosophy | Ends and Means • The Perennial Philosophy |
| Biography | Grey Eminence • The Devils of Loudun |
| Collections | Text and Pretext • Moksha: Writings on Psychedelics and the Visionary Experience • Collected Short Stories |
 |
This article about a non-fiction book is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
