Smart People Wear Glasses/Analysis

This trope may have its origins with glasses connection to literacy. Reading aid lenses were almost unheard of to the public before the printing press. They were popular in monasteries however. Once the printing press was made, books were able to be mass produced. This resulted in higher literacy. This in turn made some people realize their eyes weren't so great and that they needed lenses to read. It was only a matter of time before glasses were invented as a way of fitting into this expanded niche.