The advantages of optical sights has been well known since the 18th century, but so were the disadvantages. The main advantage is having the sight and the target in the same optical plane so the eye doesn't have to try to focus on two or three distances at the same time. Even a 1x scope is better than "irons" when it comes to precision, regardless of distance. This contributes more to sighting accuracy than all other scope features combined. Secondly, but not quite as important, is magnification. The advantage of magnification is it allows you to better see what your shooting at and becomes more important as the target distance increases. This is not to say a scope is necessary to shoot well and will not make a bad shooter a good shooter or make up for poor hunting/field skills. However, a scope will make any shooter a better shooter. Target match shooting proves this. At any given range, scores shot with an optical sight are generally higher than those shot with metallic sights. I do agree that a scope adds nothing to the "looks" of a firearm and a Lyman Alaskan looks better mounted than the most expensive European variable with a 56mm objective.
