For the source text click/tap here: Taanit 10
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We each have our own gait: Some of us amble along, saunter and meander, others march or stride, while there are those who seem to be traipsing from one place to another.
Our sages detail conduct that is unbecoming of a Torah scholar and include a directive about how to walk (B. Berachot 43b): A wise person should not walk with broad strides or with an upright posture.
Further in the talmudic passage, our sages explain that a large stride takes away 1/500th of a person's eyesight. Elsewhere, our sages advise all people - not just Torah scholars - to avoid large steps and thus preserve their eyesight .
We explore the relationship between visual acuity and gait, and how it reversed between antiquity and modern science.