Aeroplanes and crazy rules

I had been to Hyderabad during the Republic Day weekend. I had flown this time. There was an argument between air-hostess and a passenger on the flight back. As on every flight, the air-hostess requested everyone to open the window blinds while landing. The sun was falling right into the person's eyes. So, he didn't want to open the blinds. There was some discussion for sometime. This got me thinking as to reason behind this strange request. I did some googling and found the reason.

The passengers can act as an extra set of eyes for the crew and report things such as an engine fire if the blinds are open. If flying at night it also lets the passengers eyes more easily adjust to the dark should the aircraft suddenly be plunged into darkness, as happens while landing and take-off.

Seems reasonable. I think it would serve better for carriers to educate the passengers about the reasons behind such strange requests.