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Can someone explain to me what polarized lenses actually do? I’m not asking what they’re supposed to do, or even what they are made to do in the laboratories in which they are spawned, but rather, when the average bloke puts them on, what does it do that makes them better than normal lenses?

I recently replaced my Oakleys with a pair of Maui Jim’s, which are less gaudy and have superior clarity. However, for the life of me I can’t figure out how their polarization does anything benign. I get the whole “reduces glare” bit, but I find it rather negligible and hardly noticeable compared to my unpolarized Oakleys. Furthermore, I tend to see weird patterns in people’s car windows, and the light around me shifts uncomfortably. Even worse, when I’m cruising on my motorcycle and down my plastic visor to protect me from undo airflow, colors get wacky: the sky becomes ultraviolet, windows take on neon purple colors, and I see rainbows as though I’m a leprechaun with a head up his ass.

Isn’t polarization supposed to reduce distractions on the road? Or are my Maui Jim’s some kind of freak-hybrid that escaped the labs untested?

At least they make me look cool.

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