Why you should get anti-reflective lens coating the next time you buy glasses

Here is the only fashion advice I’m every going to give on this website:

Opt for anti-reflective lens coating when you get your next pair of glasses.  It’s worth the money.

It’s really a shame that sales people make it seem like this option is the equivalent of undercoating on a used car or an extended warranty at Best Buy.  They start talking about cutting glare from your computer screen and car headlights, reducing eye strain, and so on, and it just sounds like someone’s trying to pull a fast one.

There are several reasons why you should just skip the sales pitch and cough up the extra cash:

People want to see your eyes. Eye contact is one of the most important aspects of interpersonal communication, and reflections from your glasses get in the way.  This reason alone justifies the expense.

Reflections are distracting.  Assume you’re giving a presentation.  You already have a strike against you if people can’t see your eyes clearly; you earn another one by inviting everyone to ponder how well room lighting can be mirrored off your face.

Reflections darken the lenses.  Reflected light often makes the lenses look tinted.  Did you want tinted glasses?

Reflections steal attention from your frames.  Remember how careful you were in picking out frames you really liked and that suited your face?  No one will even notice if it looks like your lenses are flashing S.O.S. signals to passing ships.

Now clearly, if you’re just getting reading glasses you can ignore the above.  Otherwise, there’s no reason to bat an eye at the cost of AR coating.

You want this:

Not this: