Final answer:
A diverging lens helps nearsighted individuals see distant objects clearly by producing an image closer to the eye, thereby compensating for the eye's overconvergence of light rays.
Step-by-step explanation:
A diverging lens is used to correct nearsightedness by reducing the optical power of the eye. Diverging lenses produce an image that is closer to the eye than the actual object, ensuring that the image falls within the nearsighted person's range of clear vision, often referred to as their far point. To correct nearsightedness, one must use a lens that makes distant objects appear at or closer than the person's far point.
The use of a diverging lens compensates for the overconvergence of light rays caused by the nearsighted eye. Essentially, the diverging lens ensures that incoming rays diverge more, thus creating an image of a faraway object at a distance where the nearsighted eye can see it clearly, without changing the eye's structure itself.