Meet Veronica Seider: The Woman with Superhuman Eyesight

Let's talk about Veronica Seider, a German woman who was awarded the Guinness World record for her super eyesight and vision.

She was rewarded with a Guinness world record in 1972 because of her exceptional ability to see things even from a mile away.

She was born in 1951 and was known for her very keen vision. According to science and medicine, normal people have a vision of about 20/20, while Veronica had a vision of around 20/2, which is very rare for a normal human being to have such a vision. ⁽¹⁾

What superpowers did she have?

• She could see and identify people even from a mile away which is roughly 1.6 km, while a normal human finds it difficult to identify even from half the mentioned distance.

• She could estimate the relative distances between objects and people with great precision.

• She could see microscopic structures with great ease.

Dr. Ashish Markan, MD (AIIMS), MCh (PGI), FRCS (UK) FICO DNB FAICO, Vitreoretina eye surgeon, explains through his Instagram handle @your_retina_doctor about the case of Veronica Seider.

What might be the reason?

Understanding the science behind it: Although cases like Veronica's are very rare to happen, it is quite astonishing to see such a miracle in the human genetic system.

The reasons for such keen eyesight could be because of the following reasons:

Retinal cones: The retina, which is located at the back of the eye contains photoreceptor cells called cones, which help us see objects in a very clear way in bright light conditions.

Cone Density: A good and enhanced come density is responsible for seeing very fine details which might be the case for Veronica.

Vision acuity: According to the Snellen chart the average normal human vision acuity is 20/20, while in Veronica’s case, it was 20/2, which can be the reason for her supervision. ⁽²⁾

But, Dr. Ashish Markan also said that there is no definite reason why this might be possible for a human and it might also be a hoax even with a Guinness World Record certification. Because according to the law of optics, it is not possible for a human to have such exceptionally good vision.

What do you think about this exceptional supervision? If it is a hoax, then why is her name still on the Guinness World Record?

References:

1. Guinness World Records. "Smallest Visible Object." Guinness World Records. Accessed January 4, 2025. https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/smallest-visible-object.

2. Biomedical Insights. "Veronica Seider: The Woman with Superhuman Vision." Medium. Accessed January 6, 2025. https://medium.com/@biomedicalinsights/veronica-seider-the-woman-with-superhuman-vision-d0c7c7e3878a.

By Anam Khan