Why do they do the old perched on top of the nose thing? I think that it looks ridiculous. Are they so lazy or constantly going back and forth from looking at things closely to things far away that they can’t be bothered to take the glasses off and them put them back on? Get bifocals, then, for chrissakes! I know it’s become sort of a trademark for both of them, but it’s just unattractive. (I know, I know…but, still, they would at least look better without those oddly-placed specs.) It annoys me the same way as it does that Jack Nicholson always wears sunglasses inside. Pretentious, much?
I don’t really see a factual question in the OP, so it’s not suited for GQ. It’s too weak a rant for the Pit. Since it is about show-biz types, I guess it might as well go to Cafe Society as anywhere else.
Hazle, please try to pay more attention to where you start your threads.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
My partner doesn’t need bifocals, but does need glasses for reading. At work it’s not practical to take glasses on and off because it would be disruptive to her work (for which her hands are usually required). So she will look over her glasses from time to time.
In other words: tough noogies. I can think of hundreds of people who do the same.
Sorry. I usually do. I believe that this is the first post I’ve had moved (or at least one of very few.) I was pretty sure that there would be a factual answer. That’s why I opened it where I did.
I look over my reading glasses at people all the time. I specifically buy ones with narrow lenses to make this easier. I refuse to wear bifocals; I hate 'em. Wearing my glasses this way does make me look like an old geezer–even more so than nature intended–but it’s what I’m comfortable with, so as Eats_Crayons sagely observed, tough noogies.
Yeah, but with these 2 ladies, it’s not a “from time to time thing,” it seems to be a constant. And you rarely see them actually looking through the glasses, just over. I have ever only known one person to do this in real life and it bugged the shit out of his wife and employees. I do appreciate your answer, because, as I said, I believe that there are factual answers to this. I should have just made it generic, but those two women are perfect examples of people who do this. I’m not sure why it’s a CS thread when I’m merely asking why people in general do this? I’ll not be as specific next time. I was just wondering if it was some sort of pretentious affectation, the way Jack Nicholson’s sunglasses appear to be.
Why am I getting tough noogies? I’m just asking a question. Save the noogies! 
I’m doing it right now because I lost my bifocals. I have an appointment tomorrow for an eye exam and replacement, though, so I should be back to bifocals soon.
I’m lucky. I adjusted quickly to the lineless bifocals. Not everyone can adjust. They leave blurred areas on the side that you just have to get used to. I imagine there’s an adjustment for the lined bifocals, too.
And even if you adjust, wearing bifocals can cause you to hold your head in odd positions in order to focus. I can see how that might be less than optimal when on camera, depending on what sort of focusing you needed to do.
Also, not everyone needs the top half of the bifocals – I wear contacts, which correct my medium- and long-distance sight just fine – but with presbyopia, I need magnification to read. I also leave the “half” glasses perched halfway down my nose throughout the day as the easiest way to handle this.
The reason you don’t see Whoopi or Penny look through their glasses is that you’re not seeing them read or do other close work.
Well, you said “ridiculous” and “lazy” and “unattractive”.
Hence you are deserving of noogies. Tough ones. Barrels full.
Okay, I’ll donate $25 to the Save the Noogies foundation.
Are you saying Whoopi and Penny would be attractive woman if it weren’t for those glasses?
My doctor made bifocals for me last time and I wish he hadn’t. They drive me crazy between trying to move them or or my reading material to the proper spot for clarity. I seem to have more depth of field problems too.
Maybe I need the type of glasses they have. I certainly couldn’t be made any less attractive!
It was the fact that much of the OP consisted of comments like these that moved it out of GQ territory. If you had just asked what reasons someone might have to wear glasses like that, it might have qualified as a GQ.
That is one of my points. Why, then would they wear them for interview when they can’t possibly need them?
Got it. You are correct, sir/ma’am. I do like the idea of a “Save the Noogies” fund, though!
Bifocals are for people who need correction in two fields of vision. The “readers” that you’re referring to are for people who only need correction when they are doing close work, such as reading.
It may look a little pretentious, but it’s a “meh” on the annoyance scale for me.
Because a) you get so used to having them on your nose you don’t even realize it, and b) you never know when you’re going to need them. (What happens if the interviewer shoves a newspaper clipping at them and asks them to comment?)
Nope, sorry, you’re out on a limb here – you may find it annoying, but they’re not doing it as a fashion statement but a matter of practicality.
When I first got bifocals (my first glasses ever, dammit), I went back to the optician several times and tried 3 different lens types before I got something that worked for me. I don’t know if my optician is abnormal for this, but the change of lenses was free. You might want to go back and tell them you’re having trouble adjusting and see what they can do for you.
What twix said. I can say from experience that those ladies are barely cognizant of thier existence - *until they need them! * At that moment they need them right where you keep the glasses you need for other vision - in front of their eyes. They couldn’t care less about their appearance or its impact on your delicate sensibilities.