Things are definitely happening (not much to say other than that)

 It's a feeling.  I'm sitting here, watching Youtube on my TV, noticing the felt changes in my vision.  There's not much to say, but I still document things like this.

Had a psychedelic experience on Friday

 I was just watching TV and I noticed that I had a new kind of control over accommodation.  It felt like there was a little man behind my eyes that was kind of marionetting my eyes, and he was kind of rolling over from one eye to another, and I could control him.  Depending on which eye he was behind was that eye that had focus.  What was different was how much it tangible and real it felt like.  Like I had gained a new faculty and I had gained new degrees of freedom with my vision.  Surely, this is progress.  I noticed it was working still when I wasn't just watching TV, but also switch from one object to another.  I could feel the man, and control him as though he was an extension of myself: another appendage that I gained access to. 

Huge improvement since last month

It's been a month since last update.  Still things are improving at quite a brisk clip.  I haven't been reading much lately.  I need to get back to it.  Still plenty of VR.  I do notice incrementing resolution of depth perception.  Like, the depth info I'm able to get from binocularity is increasing, particularly when doing VR games... like upclose, as in looking at the rear of the M4 rifle.  Also, the difference in accommodation for each eye is coming close to being the same when reading.  I'm not sure how much time I have left.  I am surprised by how slow and continuous the process is. 

Holy carp, Zeno's paradox

Vision is still improving a lot lately.  It's just amazing how much work I find there is remaining.  As much progress as I make, it seems I am always underestimating how much work there is to do.

 I had an interesting and somewhat anxiety-inducing experience the other day when driving home from yoga.  As I was driving from the service road onto the highway I had the sensation of my vision closing in on me.  Yes, it's partly that the double images are coming closer to one another, but it was more than that.  It was the way they were coming together.  It was effortless.  It wasn't just the double image, but the whole field--including the periphery of the lazy eye--was coming in.  

That's another crazy thing about our vision... is the peripheral vision, and all the work (particularly the overlap of the peripheral vision of each eye--which I suspect is the essence of stereopsis) does for us.  I remember that's one thing Susan Barry talked about when she recovered stereopsis: was that one of the breakthrough exercises she did was one which involved developing her peripheral vision.

Compared to her... I'm really just winging it.  It's hard to compare the two.  It took her one year, god bless her.  It took me 12 years.  She had a world-renowned vision therapist.  She's also a very well connected academic and neuroscientist (and most likely she's a genius--I'm neither of those things).  I had few vision therapists here and there, and I found myself dubious about their claims of their abilities to help my situation.

At this point, I can't really say that I'm winging it.  It really took me about ten years to figure out what the hell I was doing.  That's kind of how long it took me.  

It was an extremely long journey, and I'm glad I never gave up, because it wasn't ever really just about vision.  I wanted to know if I could do it, and I wanted to learn about the learning process, because I'm a giant nerd.  In doing so, I've learned a lot about learning.  And this has undoubtedly changed the way I approach problems and learning new skills generally.  We really are moist robots (maybe some more than others).  I think if you think of yourself that way and really know the truth of this, and really try to stage your meat machine in the right way, you'll be greatly empowered to live a life that you're happy and satisfied with.

Making steady and fast progress. Getting antsy.

 Things are going splendidly.  I just got done with a long neighborhood walk, was looking around the house, surprised by the recent changes I'm noticing.  Diplopia is lessening still.  Things are still moving and improving qualitatively at a regular and brisk clip.  Things have not slowed down.  I just wonder how much more time it will take, and whether further progress will require changes to the current regimen of 'special' reading (can't really call it 'special' reading any longer, as it's become a habit), plus VR.  

How much more time will it take?  I've been thinking that... and what will happen when I hit the threshold where the coordination and corresponding input is so good that the eyes are both 100% on all of the time. 

It's kind of a scary thought.  And it should be coming soon.  As said, this train ain't stopping.  I kind of think all I need to do is just keep going, and eventually the coordination will be perfect, and both eyes will be eventually on 100%.  Will it be a smooth ramp?  Will it go from 50, to 60, to 70, to 80, to 90, to 95, to 98 percent?  Or will it go from 50, to 90,  to 100% in a matter of days?  I don't know.  I will have to find out.  

I mention this because I was thinking about an experience I had in April where it felt like both of the eyes were 100% on, but for only an instant.  It was incredibly jarring.  Even though it was only for an instant, it gave me a jolt, and it made me realize how different my vision really is from the vision of normal people.  The impression that I'm getting is that going from my vision to full stereo is going to be incredibly shocking and overwhelming.  It is a very, very different way of seeing.  

And this lines up 100% with what people have said about transitioning from stereoblindness to full stereoscopic vision.  It is a very interesting thing reading  the accounts of people who went from stereoblindness to full stereoscopic vision (whether they achieved their goals with vision therapy, or surgery).  Reason it's on my mind is because it feels like I'm getting so close.  It's getting very real to me now. 

Stupid observation

I recently noticed the double images for the right eye are pretty close to parity now with the left eye--in terms of size, power, but also sharpness--accommodation.  And it seems that the more my vision improves generally, the more in-sync the accommodation is--where it's getting to the point where both eyes are pointing at the same spot in space while simultaneously being able to accommodate down on the object which is the object of attention.  

Well, no shit, right?  Kind of seems obvious--that this is the way it has to be--this is the end goal.  It can't be said that I have normal vision unless my visual system is doing this.  

It seems this is what my exercises are doing, particularly the reading.  I'm focusing on one side, and then 'switching' to the other--but each time it's a little less switching.  And I can kind of use my focus while reading so that I can really get the most out of the workout by really squashing my eyes down on the text with both eyes.  I think each cycle with which I'm doing this is keeping both eyes on more and more, so that, in time, there will be no switching.

Progress is still occurring at a pretty rapid clip.

My dioplopia (double vision) is basically gone

Not entirely.  It's there... almost 100% of the time.  It's just... mostly unnoticeable--because the double images are so close to one another. 

About two weeks ago or so I was very excited by the fact that the double images for far away objects were very close to one another.  Now, they're basically on top of one another.  The double vision is gone. 

It's an extremely exciting time for me.   This is, by far, the most exciting time in my life.  My nervous system is about to get a giant upgrade.  And it will be a permanent upgrade that I will have for the rest of my life.  Even when I'm a crusty 70-year old, I will be a crusty 70-year old who has stereopsis, and who has way better vision than he had when he was 13 years old. 

My vision has improved so much, it's amazing.  Objects are so vivid.  I still don't have stereopsis, but I feel that it is coming.  Maybe 2-3 more months--maybe sooner.  I feel like things are accelerating, due to the fact that I no longer have visual conflict: my eyes are now basically pointing at the same spot in space.  Now my brain is able to say 'hey, we can use this input now'.  So now the circuit is widening to allow in more information from the lazy eye.  I think the binocular neurons are getting primed, and are now taking up more real estate in the brain.  

In the past few days I've noticed some significant ringing in my ears.  This is tinnitus.  I've always had some small level of tinnitus, and it gets louder and quieter at certain points in my life.  I think this is normal.  It's a natural consequence of the way our brains work.  Basically, it's 'noise' from neurons that are nearby the auditory neurons.  I wonder if all of the activity and rewiring my brain is doing right now is causing it.  

Man, I want to nap.  But I told a friend I'd meet her for dinner soon... this is unbelievably exciting.  It's almost unbearable.