The reason pirates wear an eye patch? Because in the past they ‘lost’ an eye during an accident or fight of course!
That is the answer that many children and even adults will give you because it’s so obvious of course, right?
As with so many of those obvious things and intimate beliefs, it is wrong.
The real reason pirates wear an eye patch is NOT that they have lost an eye.
The true reason is, they look ahead to the future of their profession, and here is how and why:
They cover one of their eyes so they always have one eye ready to see in the dark when they board the ship below deck.
The pirates were simple and well prepared. Because our eyes need 20 minutes to switch from light to dark, they did patch one of their eyes.
(In your eyes there are cells called cones and rods. The cones ensure that you can properly distinguish details in bright light such as daylight. The rods ensure that you can see well in low light such as in the hold of a ship. It takes a while before the bars get used to it)
20 minutes to adapt to a situation is not so useful if, for example, you chase someone on the ship’s deck while you are sword fighting and that opponent suddenly dives into the darkness, below deck, of the ship. In those days there were no windows there and no light switch, making it quite dark. Seeing your opponent was not insignificant, to say the least.
The treasures were of course also stored in the hold of a ship. The eye patch ensured that they could immediately see what was valuable to steal in the dark! What seemed to be a handicap to the outside world, actually gave an advantage to those in the know. So it was actually pretty smart what the pirates were doing.
In our modern-day’s it’s actually still the same, it is important to see what others don’t see. That must be also your distinctive character if you want to get ahead in life.
True history, people listen to those and want to be with them who are seen as a valuable source of wisdom. Those who see what others can not see have value and wisdom.
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