I may have changed the course of intellectual history. Before me, scholars went blind in middle age and stopped working. I let them keep reading. What am I?

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Accepted Answer

Reading Glasses. Reading glasses were invented around 1286 in Italy. Before spectacles, many scholars and intellectuals lost their ability to read due to age-related long-sightedness (presbyopia) in their 40s. Glasses extended productive intellectual life by decades.

"I may have changed the course of intellectual history. Before me, scholars went blind in middle age and stopped working. I let them keep reading. What am I?"

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