Did You Know Your Eyes Never Grow?

Article Level: B1-B2

Explanation: The idea that your eyes never grow is a popular myth. Although our eyes are already quite large at birth, they continue to develop as we grow. Their size, colour and ability to focus can also change throughout different stages of life.

  Commonly Used Words from the Article

     1. Proportion /prəˈpɔːʃən/ (noun) : The size or amount of something compared with another thing.

         A baby’s eyes take up a larger proportion of its face.

     2. Gradually /ˈɡrædʒuəli/ (adverb) : Slowly over a period of time.

         The shape of the face gradually changes as a child grows.

     3. Flexible /ˈflɛksəbəl/ (adjective) : Able to bend or change easily without breaking.

         The lens of a young person’s eye is usually very flexible.

    4. Pigment /ˈpɪɡmənt/ (noun) : A natural substance that gives colour to something.

         The amount of pigment in the iris helps determine eye colour.

    5. Complex /ˈkɒmplɛks/ (adjective) : Made of many connected parts and not simple.

        The human eye is an extremely complex organ.

  Phrasal Verb

• Develop into /dɪˈveləp ˈɪntuː/ : To gradually grow or change into something more developed.
  
  During childhood, the eyes develop into their adult size and shape.

  Idiom

• The tip of the iceberg /ðə tɪp əv ði ˈaɪsbɜːɡ/ : A small visible part of something much larger or more complex.

  Changes in eye size are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to how our eyes develop.
  
  

Read more: Did You Know Your Eyes Never Grow?

 Did You Know Your Eyes Never Grow?

You may have heard the surprising claim that your eyes never grow. It sounds believable because babies often seem to have very large eyes compared with the rest of their faces. But is it actually true? The answer is more interesting than the popular saying suggests.

When a baby is born, its eyes are already quite large compared with the size they will eventually reach. However, this does not mean that they stay exactly the same size throughout life. The eyeball continues to grow during childhood, although the change is much smaller than the growth we see in many other parts of the body.

A newborn baby’s eyeball is roughly 16 – 18 millimetres from front to back. As the child develops, the eye gradually becomes larger. By adulthood, it will usually have reached around 24 millimetres. Most of this growth happens during childhood and the teenage years. During this period, the eyes develop into their adult size and shape. So, while your eyes do grow, they start life much closer to their adult size than many other parts of your body.

But where did the idea that our eyes never grow come from? There does not appear to be one known person responsible for starting the claim. Instead, the belief probably became popular because of the way babies’ faces look. A baby’s eyes are already relatively large at birth, while the rest of the face still has a great deal of growing to do. This creates the impression that the eyes remain the same size as we get older.

As a child grows, the skull, nose and jaw become larger and the proportions of the face change. The eyes therefore begin to look smaller in comparison with the rest of the face. This visual effect may have helped the myth survive for so long. However, measurements of the human eye show that the eyeball does continue to grow after birth. In other words, what seems true from simply looking at a baby’s face does not tell the whole story.

Eye size is also only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to how our eyes change throughout life. The lens inside the eye gradually becomes less flexible as we age, which can make it more difficult to focus on nearby objects. The muscles and tissues around the eyes change too.

Interestingly, eye colour can also appear to change. Some babies are born with lighter-looking eyes because the amount of pigment in the iris has not fully developed. As more pigment develops, their eyes may become darker. Lighting and the size of the pupil can also affect how eye colour appears.

Our eyes are extremely complex organs, and scientists are still studying how they develop and age. In the future, new technology will probably help researchers understand these processes in even greater detail. This knowledge may lead to better treatments for vision problems and new ways of protecting our eyesight.

So, the next time someone says that your eyes never grow, you will know why the claim sounds believable — and why it is not actually true. Our eyes start life relatively large, but they still grow and change. It is a good reminder that even familiar “facts” are sometimes worth questioning.

Grammar Notes

 

Future Tense

The article uses several future forms to talk about future changes, predictions and developments.

Will + base verb is commonly used for predictions or statements about the future:

“The muscles and tissues around the eyes will change too.”

Structure: Subject + will + base verb

Example: Scientists will discover more about human vision in the future.

The article also uses the Future Perfect to describe something that will be completed before a particular point in the future:

“By adulthood, it will usually have reached around 24 millimetres.”

Structure: Subject + will have + past participle

Example: By the age of 18, the eye will have completed most of its growth.

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Five Questions Based on the Article

• Why do babies often appear to have very large eyes?

• How does the size of the eyeball change between birth and adulthood?

• Why did the belief that our eyes never grow probably become popular?

• How do changes in facial proportions make the eyes appear smaller as we grow?
  
  

• How might future technology help researchers understand the development and ageing of our eyes?
  
  

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