Data obtained with the laser optometer demonstrate that when viewing through small pupils, in the dark, or while observing a clinical acuity test chart, accommodation is strongly influenced by the individual's resting position of accommodation. These data are interpreted as supporting the intermediate resting position hypothesis as opposed to the more traditional view that the relaxed eye is accommodated for optical infinity. It is suggested that the intermediate resting position hypothesis provides a simple and parsimonious explanation for night, instrument, and empty field "myopias" in all of which inappropriate accommodation is manifested. Data confirming this interpretation are presented for instrument myopia while viewing through a microscope. Methodological and theoretical implications are discussed.