Professor Arnold Wilkins obtained his PhD for work on human memory. His subsequent interest in vision was a result of two years' post-doctoral study at the Montreal Neurological Institute where he was asked to see a patient with pattern-sensitive epilepsy. He then worked at the MRC Applied Psychology Unit in Cambridge for 22 years working on visual discomfort from patterns and lighting. He moved to the University of Essex when the unit was disbanded. He is now emeritus but continues to publish on visual stress.