RE: "modern" colors Re: Changes for emacs 28

[arthur miller]

-------- Originalmeddelande --------

Från: Dmitry Gutov <dgutov@yandex.ru>

Datum: 2020-09-13 02:45 (GMT+01:00)

Till: Arthur Miller <arthur.miller@live.com>, "Alfred M. Szmidt" <ams@gnu.org>

Kopia: Ergus <spacibba@aol.com>, casouri@gmail.com, emacs-devel@gnu.org, monnier@iro.umontreal.ca, ghe@sdf.org, tecosaur@gmail.com

Ämne: Re: "modern" colors Re: Changes for emacs 28

On 12.09.2020 16:16, Arthur Miller wrote:
> I don't liek staring at white backgrounds, it is like looking into a
> lamp. As I write this I have half of my screen on white background (a
> github page) and white in dary green (Emacs) and I can clearly compare
> and see how much harder it is to look at white background of Github.

This looks like a common misconception. Here's how this experiment is
flawed.

The eyes adapts to the current ambient level of lighting. That why when
you go outside you don't usually have to cover your eyes. Even though
daylight's brightness is an order(s) of magnitude higher than the
lighting inside an average office, indoors.

As soon as your eyes and brain notice that the basic level of
illumination has increased, the iris muscles in your eyes contract, the
irises become smaller and let in only the amount of light that is needed
for you to see things clearly, but not more (leading to too-bright a
picture). And when you go back into the shade, the iris muscle relaxes
and the pupils enlarge to, again, capture the appropriate amount of light.

If you ever did some photography (digital or otherwise), you probably
know that more light is generally a good thing, and most cameras can
produce a good picture in generous lighting. In twilight, that takes
more effort.

The bulk of the eye strain comes from those moments when the eye has to
adapt to the new level of brightness. That's when the iris muscle does
its work.

So if you have been working in a dark Emacs for some time, and
especially if the room around you is not well-lit, of course Github and
similar websites would immediately look like a bright sun.

But if you turn on more lights in the room (or simply lower the screen

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It was in the middle of the afternoon when light is at brightest at my place :-).

I don't think it is a misconception. I understand your reasoning but I don't think it really applies. Yeah, sure, there is some adaptation and o on between dark and light, but try to stare at Sun on a shiny day, or to stare  longer time at a light bulb. I don't think your eyes will appreciate, mine certainly won't.  

I also think there is a lot of subjectivity here. Muscles and sensitivity is different from person to person. By the way I didn't claim it was a scientific experiment,  just my perception atm.