3 ms·

For some of the reasons mentioned by other people in this thread, I don’t think glasses actually fix the problem. I have astigmatism and generally light text o

by cbzbc 5y ago

For some of the reasons mentioned by other people in this thread, I don’t think glasses actually fix the problem. I have astigmatism and generally light text on a dark background is difficult to focus on.

Luc 5y ago
It sounds like glasses (or lenses) would help you. Glasses can fix astigmatism! I can understand though that someone might not want to bother with glasses if the problem is easily fixed by using a light theme.
- cbzbc 5y ago
  I have glasses but possibly due halation as mentioned here https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29494640 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29494640 still find light writing on dark backgrounds to be an issue. Contacts aren’t an option because my astigmatism is strong enough that a rotation of 2 degrees throws them off. But separately from eyesight issues I thought there was some evidence to suggest that aesthetic preferences aside, dark lettering on lighter backgrounds was still easier to read.
  - Luc 5y ago
    Have you found that a combination of the right theme and glasses makes reading from the screen for hours comfortable? I have read about that research but I don't think we can conclude from it that dark backgrounds are a fad. They have other advantages (e.g. matching the dark room I work in) and besides, most dark themes are not pure white on black, but something less contrasting.
    - cbzbc 5y ago
      I've always forced myself to take a break from the screen, and for very long (book length) stuff will always either use a hard copy or ebook so perhaps my usage patterns won't match yours. I use variants of solarized style light themes, though do experiment occasionally as I've never found the definite 'answer' to the best theme for me. I don't think the research would conclude that dark backgrounds are a fad necessarily. The reason I'm attracted to themes with darker backgrounds is that they are generally better for getting a set of text colours with roughly equal levels of legibility - whereas lighter backgrounded themes often have two or three colours which are really hard to see. The flip side is that darker colours + astigmatism seem to lead to reduced breadth of vision.
      - Luc 5y ago
        Very interesting, thank you for that.

by cbzbc 5y ago

Luc 5y ago

It sounds like glasses (or lenses) would help you. Glasses can fix astigmatism! I can understand though that someone might not want to bother with glasses if the problem is easily fixed by using a light theme.

cbzbc 5y ago
I have glasses but possibly due halation as mentioned here https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29494640 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29494640 still find light writing on dark backgrounds to be an issue. Contacts aren’t an option because my astigmatism is strong enough that a rotation of 2 degrees throws them off. But separately from eyesight issues I thought there was some evidence to suggest that aesthetic preferences aside, dark lettering on lighter backgrounds was still easier to read.
- Luc 5y ago
  Have you found that a combination of the right theme and glasses makes reading from the screen for hours comfortable? I have read about that research but I don't think we can conclude from it that dark backgrounds are a fad. They have other advantages (e.g. matching the dark room I work in) and besides, most dark themes are not pure white on black, but something less contrasting.
  - cbzbc 5y ago
    I've always forced myself to take a break from the screen, and for very long (book length) stuff will always either use a hard copy or ebook so perhaps my usage patterns won't match yours. I use variants of solarized style light themes, though do experiment occasionally as I've never found the definite 'answer' to the best theme for me. I don't think the research would conclude that dark backgrounds are a fad necessarily. The reason I'm attracted to themes with darker backgrounds is that they are generally better for getting a set of text colours with roughly equal levels of legibility - whereas lighter backgrounded themes often have two or three colours which are really hard to see. The flip side is that darker colours + astigmatism seem to lead to reduced breadth of vision.
    - Luc 5y ago
      Very interesting, thank you for that.