4 ms·

Am I the only one actively disliking this light fetish? Dunno about others, but the semi-darkness was crucial to the awe and spiritual depth & mystery that NDC

by nnq 7y ago

Am I the only one actively disliking this light fetish? Dunno about others, but the semi-darkness was crucial to the awe and spiritual depth & mystery that NDC made me feel when visiting it. Otoh it's probably in line with over-lighting that I saw common at least in Paris lately - restaurants and caffees used so powerful lights that I wanted to wear sunshades inside. I mean... wtf?! I get it that LED light allow you to flood everything with light at nighttime without spending too much electricity, and that glass and polycarbonate are cheap and easy to use, but... some of us love shade and semi-darkness and even actual darkness! Even phones and laptop screens are luminous now that you need to keep them at 50% or smth if you're not using them while sunbathing on the beach. I almost wish I lived in a time where candle light was the only available source of illumination, and glass windows were too expensive to worth having them too big!

magduf 7y ago
>Even phones and laptop screens are luminous now that you need to keep them at 50% or smth if you're not using them while sunbathing on the beach. This is for good reason: so you can see them in daylight. The difference between nighttime and daytime illumination is orders of magnitude; we don't perceive it that way because our eyes are adapted to adjust to lighting levels that are orders of magnitude different. These devices need very bright screens if we want to see them when we're walking around outside. They're supposed to have auto-dimming functions so they turn down when you're inside or it's nighttime, but unfortunately many devices seem to have lousy auto-dimming algorithms.
SlowRobotAhead 7y ago
>Dunno about others, but the semi-darkness was crucial to the awe and spiritual depth & mystery that NDC made me feel when visiting it. Absolutely. It being a giant dark gothic cathedral was the whole point. It would have been something else entirely if it was bright.
- isabella_r 7y ago
  Exactly. It is like being at a club until closing and then the lights come on. It no longer feels cool to be there. Feels like I'm just standing around in a school gym filled with too many people.
souprock 7y ago
If they flood it with powerful LED light, then when you are old you can enjoy the semi-darkness. There is a tremendous difference in light perception as you age. I packed my house with 65 watt LED lights. No, not "65 watt equivalent" ones that only give off 650 lumens. I get 4000 lumens from each. Now I can see again.
- nnq 7y ago
  > Now I can see again. Did you suffer some retinal damage? Maybe too much summer time outdoors without sunshades in your youth? ...and can other people actually tolerate being in your home?! I mean, I can tolerate a 2500 lumen bulb closeish, though I'd enjoy things in the 1000 rage. But 4000 would be torture. Anyway, that's a private space so you can have it your way. But for public spaces there should be a law against "light pollution" or something, banning anything above 2500! Why tf optimize for people with damaged vision while inconveniencing everyone else?!
  - souprock 7y ago
    I don't think I have unusual retinal damage. I've had it checked, which is way beyond the normal eye doctor appointment. I've always been an indoors person, very wary of excessive exposure. I'm getting older though, and that makes a huge difference. The retinas go, the lens darkens, the cornea darkens, floaters form, the pupil opens less, and so on. It's not one thing. I don't have any particular damage; it is all just normal aging. My living room has a pair of 4000 lumen bulbs, a pair of 3900 lumen bulbs, and a couple normal bulbs. I have a master bedroom with something of the same style that is over 50% larger, so maybe 7000 lumens. (a comically huge bulb, 6 inch diameter and 1 foot tall) Smaller bedrooms just get 4000 lumens. The kitchen is 14 40-watt T12 bulbs, probably 2600 lumens each, which would total 36400 lumens. Those are indirect though, reflected off the ceiling. Want to visit? My dad, even older than me, loves it. Sometimes my kids object, but it isn't as bad as direct sunlight. If you live long enough, you WILL have damaged vision. This is a given. It is 100% certain to happen. You too will want bright bulbs everywhere. Northerners also need the light to prevent seasonal depression.

by nnq 7y ago

magduf 7y ago

>Even phones and laptop screens are luminous now that you need to keep them at 50% or smth if you're not using them while sunbathing on the beach. This is for good reason: so you can see them in daylight. The difference between nighttime and daytime illumination is orders of magnitude; we don't perceive it that way because our eyes are adapted to adjust to lighting levels that are orders of magnitude different. These devices need very bright screens if we want to see them when we're walking around outside. They're supposed to have auto-dimming functions so they turn down when you're inside or it's nighttime, but unfortunately many devices seem to have lousy auto-dimming algorithms.

SlowRobotAhead 7y ago

>Dunno about others, but the semi-darkness was crucial to the awe and spiritual depth & mystery that NDC made me feel when visiting it. Absolutely. It being a giant dark gothic cathedral was the whole point. It would have been something else entirely if it was bright.

isabella_r 7y ago
Exactly. It is like being at a club until closing and then the lights come on. It no longer feels cool to be there. Feels like I'm just standing around in a school gym filled with too many people.

souprock 7y ago

If they flood it with powerful LED light, then when you are old you can enjoy the semi-darkness. There is a tremendous difference in light perception as you age. I packed my house with 65 watt LED lights. No, not "65 watt equivalent" ones that only give off 650 lumens. I get 4000 lumens from each. Now I can see again.

nnq 7y ago
> Now I can see again. Did you suffer some retinal damage? Maybe too much summer time outdoors without sunshades in your youth? ...and can other people actually tolerate being in your home?! I mean, I can tolerate a 2500 lumen bulb closeish, though I'd enjoy things in the 1000 rage. But 4000 would be torture. Anyway, that's a private space so you can have it your way. But for public spaces there should be a law against "light pollution" or something, banning anything above 2500! Why tf optimize for people with damaged vision while inconveniencing everyone else?!
- souprock 7y ago
  I don't think I have unusual retinal damage. I've had it checked, which is way beyond the normal eye doctor appointment. I've always been an indoors person, very wary of excessive exposure. I'm getting older though, and that makes a huge difference. The retinas go, the lens darkens, the cornea darkens, floaters form, the pupil opens less, and so on. It's not one thing. I don't have any particular damage; it is all just normal aging. My living room has a pair of 4000 lumen bulbs, a pair of 3900 lumen bulbs, and a couple normal bulbs. I have a master bedroom with something of the same style that is over 50% larger, so maybe 7000 lumens. (a comically huge bulb, 6 inch diameter and 1 foot tall) Smaller bedrooms just get 4000 lumens. The kitchen is 14 40-watt T12 bulbs, probably 2600 lumens each, which would total 36400 lumens. Those are indirect though, reflected off the ceiling. Want to visit? My dad, even older than me, loves it. Sometimes my kids object, but it isn't as bad as direct sunlight. If you live long enough, you WILL have damaged vision. This is a given. It is 100% certain to happen. You too will want bright bulbs everywhere. Northerners also need the light to prevent seasonal depression.