"Time is money", a truth touted by all. Parents remind their kids of it, teachers preach to their students about it, society reinforces it with wages being paid by the hour; everything we do, every purpose we have, every goal we strive for, every moments we live by, it is what all for. So simply, that we are told thousands of times.
But do we believe it live we believe the existence of life itself? Can we see it as we see everything crystal clear around ourselves?It was not too long ago that I went to an optometrist to have my eyes examined. I set aside the entire day, believing that I would leave the exam with dilated pupils and that like last time, I'd not be seeing properly for a solid three hours, three hours that I would never have returned to me. However, unbeknownst to me, in the time between my previous eye exams, a new machine had been developed. This machine called the Optomap Panoramic Retinal Imaging System, and on that day, it stood in the corner of a room and hummed sonorously.
Casting it aside as a non-contact tonometer, I sat down and instinctively braced myself for air puffing, bright lights and minor discomfort or in other words, an eye exam. Passing through the tests in mere minutes, the dreaded moment of pupil dilation was to rear its unwanted head in. However, much to my surprise, I was directed to the corner where the previously sonorous hum now bordered ominous. The doctor proceeded to ask if I would like to use the humming Optomap in lieu of pupil dilation.
I asked apprehensively if this would be a simpler procedure and was given an enthusiastic nod in return. Against my better judgment, I allowed for the optometrist to take images of the retina through the Optomap. Amazingly, it was mere seconds per eye and my exam was finished. This machine which at first appeared almost ominous had saved me three hours of my time. I had been by some miracle, reunited with the three hours that I thought I would never be seeing.
The feeling I had afterwards was nothing short of euphoria.On top of this feeling of elatedness because time is equivalent to money, by the application of the substitution property of equality it can also be said that this machine, the Optomap, saved me money as well. It was from that moment, I felt that every person and ever time consuming medical procedure could benefit from the effects of advanced technology made available by bridging the gap between the various principles of engineering to the world of medicine. It is this experience, a simple visit to the optometrist for an eye exam that I consider one of the most significant of my life.
