Question
Hello,
I have a question about the lyrics of "Sweating Bullets":
The text says:
Hindsight is always 20-20
What actually does "20-20" mean?
Cheers Mareike (Germany)
Answer
Hello Mareike,
Vision or visual acuity is tested by reading a Snellen eye chart at a distance of 20 feet. By looking at lots of people, eye doctors have decided what a "normal" human being should be able to see when standing 20 feet away from an eye chart. If you have 20/20 vision, it means that when you stand 20 feet away from the chart you can see what a "normal" human being can see. (In metric, the standard is 6 meters and it's called 6/6 vision). In other words, if you have 20/20 vision your vision is "normal" -- a majority of people in the population can see what you can see at 20 feet.
The definition of "Hindsight is always 20/20" is an ability to figure out what one should have done after it is too late to do it. Looking back you have a clearer vision (20/20) of the event.
But alas, in the song Sweating Bullets, looking back is still a bit fuzzy. Nice story...
-ScorpioN
