We all know siting in fluorescent palaces i.e. doctor’s offices, Cubicles, DMV’s and other glowing places that this high level of light is in most circumstances aversive to us. Some will say they love sitting in fluorescent places but by in large spending 18 hours in it everyday wouldn’t make too many people happy. I could be wrong.
I find reletively low lit places like places illuminated by fire light, or low wattage bulbs to be slightly if not immensely more attractive then the glow havens stated previous. Would this make me a low light animal? Like those nocturnal lemmings or house cats? Can human beings even classify into a high/low light group? If so count me down as being a low light person. I do like sitting in the sun for prolonged periods on the boat or in the summer at some beach…but hey my cat loves to sit in the sun as well, but she is definitely a low light, nocturnal beast.
If by “low light” you mean “adapted to dim conditions,” I’d have to say “no” for a few reasons.
Firstly, we lack any sort of mechanism for collecting extra light into our eyes–very large pupils or a feline-esque reflector system.
Secondly, humans’ eyes have a high concentration of cone cells, which allow us to see in colour, but which are useless without enough light. Animals that really need to see in the dark tend only to have rods, which distinguish light from dark.
Thirdly, our natural sleep patterns are obviously diurnal, and I’d imagine that daytime–when we tend to operate–isn’t any brighter now than it was when we were evolving.
And this is more true once you remove artificial lights from the equation. I’m always amazed when camping at how tired I get by 9:00, and how wide awake I feel at sunrise, when at home I’m never in bed before 10:30 (usually 11 or midnight), and I drag all morning.
I think the aversion to fluorescent lighting is the spectrum, not the brightness. Fluorescents make everything palid and fishy, not warm and yellowy like sunlight. That’s my aversion, anyway.
A typical “well-lit room” is a far, far lower level of light than a sunny day outside. There are a number of reasons why people might not like fluorescent lights, but the brightness is not one of them.
Obviously people differ. I like low-light situations, but my wife isn’t happy unless the house is mostly windows with the sunlight streaming in. At night, all the lights go on until the level is about the same as an operating room. I feel I have to wear shades until I slink off to some dark den.
I like about 3 bare 200 watt incandescent bulbs overhead if I’m reading or working (other than on the computer, e.g., filling out paperwork).
On the other hand, I gave up a nice office with a window & view because the boss went apeshit when I tried to install genuine blinds that would actually block the sunlight (he’d shelled out for those stupid-but-trendy mesh shades that only block out 1/2 the sunlight), and I just could not work with light streaming in over my shoulder and onto the computer screens I was trying to work on.
I like a restaurant to be bright enough I can read the menu without tipping it up next to the candle but not much brighter.
I like to sleep in absolute pitch-black dark, although I hardly ever get the opportunity.
Ayup. I hate fluorescents because they’re too bright and the wrong color to boot. In every office I’ve ever had, I leave the fluorescents off thankyakindly and switch to using at least 2 incandescents (or the newer fluoros that have more yellow light).