For the record, solar flares have negligible effect on the total visible-light luminosity of the Sun. What’s described in Niven’s “Inconstant Moon” (incidentally, my choice for best science-fiction short story ever), if it were to happen, would be considered a nova, not a flare.
The moon’s an arrant thief and her pale fire she snatches from the sun.
OP answered.
No, the moon’s a harsh mistress.
I always figured this was poetic license until I went for a walk in some snowy woods under a full moon. It wasn’t like midday, but it was definitely more like day than night.
Of course, acclimation of the eyes also plays a large role.
I read once, may even have been here, that the reason the myth of “lunacy” emerged, that people go slightly nuttier during a full moon, is simply because, pre-electricity, more people were out and about during those nights, the light being clear enough for wider travel, so the odds of noticing something weird increase.
More people doing weird things, more people seeing weird things, - full moon is responsible. Well, indirectly, apparently so.
I saw that Outer Limits episode.