Got confused again.. with the viewing distance

[enialal]

For example, I have a 40" LCD TV which is capable of Full 1080p. So the recommended viewing distance for that size is 5 feet away from the TV right.

Here are my questions:


1) What if I sit closer than the recommended viewing distance, what benefits would be lost/would I not get?

2) What if I sit beyond the recommended viewing distance, what benefits would be lost/would I not get?

3) Why is that if you're screen is larger, for example, 52", you'll need to sit around 6.5 feet? Why not like the 40" which is closer? I thought the bigger size of your screen, the nearer you can watch but I was wrong. It was otherwise.

4) So the the purpose of bigger screens like 50" is to let you sit farther from the TV so that your eyes would not hurt and you can still get the full benefits of a Full HD 1080p? Unlike the smaller ones, 40" which can hurt your eyes because of sitting close to the TV just to experience its full benefits OR you're going to sit beyond the recommended viewing distance so you wouldn't hurt your eyes but you would not experience the true essence of Full HD 1080p because, yes you can still see more vibrant colors compared to lower resolutions but you won't anymore notice the difference of the detail between a 1080p and 720p or 1080p and 480p because you're already sitting at the recommended distance for the 720p/480p resolutions. It's just like you're going to watch a 720p/480p movie. Am I right?