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Why can you go cross-eyed, and not the other way? Answered

You know you can put your eyes inward, why can't you put them the other way? This is a weird question, but whatever...



Best Answer 8 years ago

It's because of the way our eyes work.

If you are looking at a very distant object your eyes are almost or exactly focused parallel.  If you are looking at anything closer they are tilted slightly inward.

You can demonstrate this by looking at something far off then put your finger on the object and focus on your finger.  You have just gone slightly "crosseyed" to focus on the finger now move the finger toward your face and you eyes cross more to keep it in focus until they can't go anymore.

There is no distance where our eyes need to look past the parallel position. So we don't have the capability of doing so voluntarily.

There are several defects that can cause our eyes to not follow the correct aiming.  They can be rehabbed by eye exercises or surgery that shortens the muscles of the eye or by corrective lenses.

There is also a condition where one or both lenses are malformed in the eye and even though the eye appears to be looking very cross eyed or the opposite the image is still focused and the person is seeing normally.


cuz is declared an answer in the non scientist world :)

Re-design is completely correct. But some people can do the opposite. Mutations and all that. I knew a guy in high school who could do a "backwards" crossed eye. Freaky to see. But for the most part people can't.

its becuse of the rods and the musels in ur eye soket