Yesterday I read on an astronomy website that during a meteor shower you should not look at the point that the meteors are emanating from, as it is very hard on the eyes. Is this true, or is it one of the many misconceptions that people have about astronomy?

There's supposed to be a meteor shower going on around this time. I couldn't see anything because of cloud and fog, but I think it's going on for several days in the Southern and Eastern sky.