This "design flaw", i.e. placing wiring (nerves) in front of detectors (retina) is interesting and has been discussed at length (e.g. https://www.quora.com/Is-Dawkins-right-about-the-human-eye-b...), because it is point of contention for people arguing for Intelligent Design. Cephalod eyes evolved differently so don't have this problem (impossible not to feel a bit jealousy for this, like the randomized gradient decent optimization designed by your colleague converging on a much better solution than yours :-)