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Modern decor may be straining people's brains

studyfinds.com

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Re: Modern decor may be straining people's brains

#31

Post by obscurette »

michaelchisari wrote: post #5

If you've ever been in an home owned for generations, filled with books and knickknacks and heirlooms and family photos, despite the clutter it all feels comforting in a way that modern decor doesn't. The article doesn't touch much on why modern decor emerged as it did. It's a market response where everyone needs to (or feels the need to) pick up and move at a moment's notice. Companies are either expanding or like t…

I had a discussion regarding this some time ago with my grandchild who has an ADHD diagnosis. She has troubles being in noisy (especially visually) environments, yet she finds my home (relatively large home full of books, music always playing etc) comforting. She explained that all this stuff in my home is interesting for her and speaks with her - "It's you and grandma, it's full of stories". But the very modern and "must be comforting" environment in school full of patterns and pictures drawn on walls etc is just irritating – "There is no stories, just noise".

Re: Modern decor may be straining people's brains

#32

Post by thelittlenag »

I really hate lighting in modern offices. If there was one thing that folks actively worked to improve I would choose lighting. Having lights with a broader spectrum would go a long way in reducing eye strain and general fatigue, while likely allowing the lights to actually be brighter. Unfortunately I don't see this changing anytime soon.

Re: Modern decor may be straining people's brains

#33

Post by alpinisme »

BobbyTables2 wrote: post #27
MajorTakeaway wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The article does explicitly state that the brain doesn't adapt to this. From the article: "And when the brain encounters something it can’t process efficiently, it doesn’t simply adapt. Brain imaging studies cited in the review show it generates stronger neural responses in visual areas, consumes more oxygen, and in some people produces pain, distortion, or worse."

Seems like the first half of that could be flipped as a disadvantage. Imagine someone claiming the opposite causes dementia, evidenced by reduced oxygen usage and lowered brain activity…

I don’t think it needs to be “flipped”…that’s the plain reading, isn’t it?

Re: Modern decor may be straining people's brains

#34

Post by blooalien »

SoftTalker wrote: post #18
rrjjww wrote: post #2

Off topic but I really hate modern web design. I found the content of this article interesting but I could hardly read it scrolling through in-article ads, banners, etc. One of the reasons I like HN is the prevalence of personal blogs that just have text for me to sit and read.

I use reader mode on most sites where it is possible. It makes a big difference in most cases. Readable font size and face, good contrast, and comfortable margins. I don't know why so many sites ignore good practices on this stuff.

> I use reader mode on most sites where it is possible. ...

That's my go-to solution on mobile devices almost every single time because on small screens even a good adblocker simply isn't nearly enough to overcome the other issues you mention in your comment here.

Re: Modern decor may be straining people's brains

#35

Post by bawolff »

SP711 wrote: post #26

I don’t buy this. Feels like a non-problem or a very first world problem to even analyse and with the exception of lights, nothing else seemed plausible

Really, you don't find it plausible that environment could affect mood?

I dont know if the hypothesis in the paper is correct, but it seems clear that environment can affect mood in some cases. There is a reason why night clubs and libraries are decorated differently. From there it seems very plausible other elements of environments could have an affect (perhaps subtle) on mood.

Re: Modern decor may be straining people's brains

#36

Post by VeninVidiaVicii »

meindnoch wrote: post #10

>Eyes and brain alike evolved over millennia to process natural scenes, forests, rivers, coastlines, open skies. These environments share a specific mathematical pattern: their visual complexity decreases predictably as you zoom in on finer and finer details. Wut? It's precisely the opposite. Natural patterns have infinite complexity as you zoom in, and human-made patterns (most often) not.

I’m pretty sure they mean perceptible complexity at the level of the human eye. Of course, everything has quarks and leptons in infinitely complex patterning.

Re: Modern decor may be straining people's brains

#37

Post by slopinthebag »

It's not just decor but architecture as well. Look I've been to Europe, I've seen the old architecture and decor there. It's unquestionably better. I get the feeling that modernity, at least in this day and age is about cost cutting and non-offensiveness more than anything else.

Re: Modern decor may be straining people's brains

#39

Post by smallnix »

appreciatorBus wrote: post #19
michaelchisari wrote: post #5

If you've ever been in an home owned for generations, filled with books and knickknacks and heirlooms and family photos, despite the clutter it all feels comforting in a way that modern decor doesn't. The article doesn't touch much on why modern decor emerged as it did. It's a market response where everyone needs to (or feels the need to) pick up and move at a moment's notice. Companies are either expanding or like t…

I am skeptical this is the origin of modern decor. The trend away from ornamentation, toward simplicity, flatness, etc in design goes back several generations and transcends interior design. If the thesis was true, we'd expect rich people who will never be compelled to move against their will, or to move into less space, would prefer cluttered homey interiors, and poor people would prefer sparse & modern. In reality,…

Trends, status signalling?

Re: Modern decor may be straining people's brains

#40

Post by Cpoll »

idopmstuff wrote: post #6

The Limitations section at the bottom certainly has a lot of limitations: > This paper is a review, meaning it synthesizes and interprets existing research rather than presenting new experimental data. The authors themselves note that current visual tests for susceptibility to discomfort are subjective and poorly standardized. They also acknowledge that the proposed mechanism (that discomfort is the brain’s response…

I think there were studies on this, leading to, among other things, painting control rooms seafoam green to reduce visual fatigue. This implies that people don't simply adjust (or that the studies were too limited).
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