Blog
Dr. Robert Burke is an optometrist and co-founder of Calgary Vision Centre, known for pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in eye care. With over 17 years of experience, he brings an unrivaled level of curiosity to the intersection of optics, physics, math, and human vision. His work blends cutting-edge technology with a drive to rethink traditional approaches to eye health. This blog is where some of those big questions and the fascinating deep dives they spark, come to life.
How to see Mt. Everest from the United States (Sort of)
Earth's atmosphere sometimes bends light in bizarre ways, letting sailors spot ships beyond the horizon and creating phantom sunrises in Antarctica. But could those same tricks stretch a sightline 30,000 kilometers across oceans and continents? We break down the physics, the math, and how big a landmark would have to be to pull it off.
Don’t Sleep in Your Contacts
You’ve probably seen the TikTok horror stories—someone nearly lost their eyesight after swimming in their contact lenses. But how likely is that really? Are eye doctors overhyping the risk of Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK), or are we just bad at understanding odds? This post cuts through the anecdotes and breaks down the real numbers behind AK and why your habits might make it more dangerous than riding without a seatbelt. Plus, try your luck with our AK risk simulator and see if you beat the odds… or not.
Dry Eyes in Calgary: What’s Actually Causing Them and How to Fix It
Dry eyes in Calgary are no joke. Learn why low humidity, computer screens, and your meibomian glands are at war—and what you can do to protect your tear film.
Binocular Vision Dysfunction: The Weird Reason Your Eyes Might Be Giving You Headaches
Ever wonder why focusing on a screen all day feels like running a mental marathon? It might be your eyes secretly fighting each other behind your back. Take a 10 second red dot test that could reveal a hidden vision issue affecting millions — and learn what it means if that dot jumps when you cover an eye. It’s weird. It’s science. It might change how you think about your eyes forever.
Keep Your Eyes Up: Did Michelangelo go blind painting the Sistine Chapel?
Did Michelangelo sacrifice his sight for art? The grueling years spent painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling pushed his body to its limits, but did they rob him of his vision?
How to Increase Reading Speed: Why Your Eyes Are Stuck in the Stone Age (And How to Fix It)
Ever feel like your reading speed is stuck in the Stone Age, no matter how much you try? Don’t worry—it’s not you, it’s 300,000 years of evolution being unhelpful. But what if there’s a way to hack your brain, turbocharge your reading, and finally shrink that mountain of unread books? Let’s get into it.
What are these guys looking for?
What could be of enough importance in 1962 that if it was lost, a regular season NHL game would halt mid-play and the players would drop down on their hands and knees and look for it?
The Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of Ray-Ban: A Sunglasses Saga
Ray-Ban went from Hollywood icon to gas station bargain bin, nearly fading into obscurity. Then, in a shocking twist, it made one of the greatest comebacks in fashion history. Here’s how it happened.
Why Your Vision Feels Glitchy After a Concussion—And How to Get It Back on Track
After a concussion, vision feels glitchy—blurry text, light sensitivity, motion issues. The problem isn’t your eyes; it’s your brain running a buggy update. Like a frozen computer, it’s stuck in an infinite loop. The fix? Contoured prism glasses act like Ctrl-Alt-Del, instantly resetting your visual system. Here’s how.
Best Contact Lenses for 2025: Expert Reviews, Ratings & Top Picks for Clear, Comfortable Vision
Are you ready to upgrade your vision in 2025? Discover our ultimate guide to the best contact lenses, where we break down every option—from daily disposables to advanced scleral lenses—with expert ratings, real-world pros and cons, and all the details you need for crystal-clear sight.
If the Calgary Saddledome was made of glass
Frequently patients ask me why their glasses’ lenses are thick on some edges and thin on the other, and I typically respond that because they have astigmatism their lenses have two types of curvature on each lens, just like the Calgary Saddledome. But that got me thinking, what if the Saddledome was a lens, what prescription would it have?
How far away can a person see a golf ball?
If a person with 20/20 vision hits a golf ball, how far along the ball’s flight path can they see and track the ball before it disappears?
Eyelid Twitching Explained: The Weird, Benign Nerve Zap You’re Experiencing (And How to Stop It)
Ever notice how your eyelid seems to throw its own secret Morse code—one that only you can see, even if everyone else is blissfully unaware? Click here to join us on a quirky journey into the strange world of eyelid myokymia, where we break down the science behind those baffling twitches.
A cool trick to show people how bad your eyesight is
It can be challenging to demonstrate to someone how you actually see without your glasses. You can’t just give them your glasses to try on since their eye will automatically try to clear them up (and possibly kick start a headache). But it turns out pretty much every smartphone has built in feature that does an excellent job in truly capturing how bad you see when your glasses are off.