核心畫面

Picture someone squinting at a sign down the street. Everything in their hands is sharp; everything past a few metres has gone soft. Nothing is wrong with the light and nothing is wrong with the sign — the clear zone simply stops close to them. Hold that picture of a short clear zone, because both uses of this word are the same picture: one is about the eyes, the other about thinking.

可以想成一個人瞇著眼看街尾的招牌。手上的東西清清楚楚,幾公尺以外就全糊了。光線沒有問題,招牌也沒有問題——只是那個「更多收起可以想成一個人瞇著眼看街尾的招牌。手上的東西清清楚楚,幾公尺以外就全糊了。光線沒有問題,招牌也沒有問題——只是那個「看得清楚的範圍」在很近的地方就結束了。記住這個「清楚範圍很短」的畫面,因為這個字的兩個用法都是同一張圖:一個長在眼睛上,一個長在想法上。

From the word’s history

The source entry here says myopia was borrowed from Ancient Greek muopia, built from muo, to shut or close, plus ops, eye. Literally it is the shut-eye condition, which matches the squint people fall into when they try to see something far away.

本包附的來源條目說 myopia 借自古希臘文 μυωπία,由 μύω(閉起來)加 ὤψ(眼睛)組成,字面上就是「把眼睛瞇起來」。這正好對上畫面:看遠的東西吃力時,人會不自覺瞇眼。

Wiktionary entry supplied in this packet (source_ref kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:621048747:9742), etymology_text field.

Two branches

眼睛只看得清近的

這一支就是核心畫面本身,而且是字面上的:清楚的範圍真的只到手邊。

noun · C1

A condition of the eyes in which things far away look blurred, because the eye brings the picture into focus just in front of the back of the eye instead of on it.

近視

腦袋只看得到眼前

同一張圖換個位置:看不清楚的不是遠方的招牌,而是以後會發生的事。清楚的範圍一樣很短,只是這次短在時間上。

noun · C1

A way of thinking or planning that only looks at what is close — this month, this profit, this group — and leaves out what will happen later. The speaker who uses this word disapproves.

短視