Lenses Convex lenses converge rays of light. Parallel rays converge a fixed distance away from the lens. This is known as the focal length.
A concave lens spreads out incoming parallel beams. It has a negative focal length found by tracing back refracted parallel rays.
Short and long sight Long sighted people are unable to focus on nearby objects. A convex (converging) lens is used to correct this. Short sighted people have a retina which is too far away from the front of the eye. A convex (diverging) lens is needed to correct their sight.
Convex lenses act as magnifying glasses as long as the object is closer to the lens than its focal length.