Iam2,
Overly poor visual acuity can be a result of what you described below, but also due to the shape of the cornea. If it is not shaped right, you will not be able to focus properly, hence the need for glasses.
When I referred to the 1:1 ratio for cones and the multiple:1 ratio for rods, I was referring to the bipolar cells. However, many different types of bipolar cells exist, so it is not quite as simple as I presented it. However, for the purpose of my article and a few other references I have seen, this is adequate because it shows why central vision has greater acuity. It would have taken too much time to have covered ten different types of bipolar cells, horizontal cells, etc.
So yes, simplications were made, but most of the material I see on vision does distinguish between two vision systems. Some call them day and night vision, others refer to conscioius and subconscious, rod and cone, etc.
Thanks for your comments. I'll probably go on to study this further in neurophysiology classes.
