Live data from Hacker News

Modern decor may be straining people's brains

studyfinds.com

111–120 of 292 posts

Re: Modern decor may be straining people's brains

#111
post #75

The biggest revelation I've had regarding interior design is to stop using overhead lights. Anyone who has ever worked in the games industry will tell you that lighting is the most important element of what makes a scene look a certain way. The crazy thing about lamps is you can put them anywhere. They only use a constant amount of power regardless of scene complexity. Lighting in my GPU is definitely more expensive.…

I like this, but to play the devil’s advocate: How does that mesh with usually having just one giant overhead light (the sun) outdoors?

Re: Modern decor may be straining people's brains

#112
post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> pick and chose which parts of scripture to stand by OK. Next time you read the parable of the good Samaritan I want you to reframe it as "The Good Drag Queen". That's how you are meant to see it.

I read it as a take encouraging me to render aid to anyone in a dire emergency regardless of their background.

That’s a very narrow reading. The parable was in response to the question “who’s my neighbor” in the “love thy neighbor” statement and Jesus basically said “even those you hate”(i.e. the Samaritans).

Re: Modern decor may be straining people's brains

#113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Only the rich can afford to own nothing/exert effort to have empty space without consequence. Ordinary folks when presented with an object have to perform a mental calculation over the cost/inconvenience of storage vs. disposal and if wanted again, replacement.

The rich also can afford to keep their minimalist modern spaces clean and clutter-free, through paying staff. These environments tend to look awful when not tended to continuously because a single out-of-place item is so clearly visible. Cluttered old homes with lots of things all over the place make it a bit less jarring when there's a stack of work left out on a table.

They are awful to even look at, IHMO. Cold, sterile, tells something about people living in such fugly soulless places.

Which is fine to be honest, its nice to see clearly the type of person on the other side of the table, no need to dig through empty speech clutter for clues. But impressive it is not.

Re: Modern decor may be straining people's brains

#114
post #52

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…

My parents lived in the same house for 40 years, my entire childhood was there. My grandparents (both sets) lived in their house for 50 years. I can't comprehend how Americans keep moving for jobs or to upgrade or to get to a better school district. Surely you want some permanence? Get to know your neighbors? Edit yes I did move around in my twenties, but that stopped at 30.

Is it really an American thing? Every company's London office is filled with Germans, French, Italians and polaks/Russian. How'd they get there

Re: Modern decor may be straining people's brains

#115

>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.

>I’m pretty sure they mean perceptible complexity at the level of the human eye

That's precisely what they're wrong about.

Take a look at tree branches. A field of grass. A stone cliff.

Now take a look at human-made decor: drywall, plastic, laminated boards.

Which one has more visual detail?

Re: Modern decor may be straining people's brains

#116
post #109

The trend to put acoustic panels or an imitation of their pattern on _everything_ is one of my pet peeves. They create some stroboscobe effect with my (not normal) vision. The result is that they mess with my 3D perception and break my brain a bit for that reason. I’d rather not have them put anywhere.

They are a fad, like many before, and not the best one due to copy&paste uniformity. Since its used so aggressively and so often, many places look weirdly similar like if many people bought exactly same Ikea furniture. Proper wood like oak can be very pretty in many forms but this is not.

In future it will clearly mark the era of (re)construction.

Re: Modern decor may be straining people's brains

#117
post #28

I really hate shops, malls and supermarkets. I'm not easily overwhelmed and can handle being there fine. But it's just horrible there. Way too loud, bright and often too warm. Completely full of chaos and way too many useless products. When I have to go I try to be out there as quickly as possible. I always thought that's weird, shouldn't those shops be designed in a way that makes me want to explore them, look at al…

Just go to Costco: they only stock 4,500 items compared to Walmart's 100,000 per store

Re: Modern decor may be straining people's brains

#119
post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I read it as a take encouraging me to render aid to anyone in a dire emergency regardless of their background.

That’s a very narrow reading. The parable was in response to the question “who’s my neighbor” in the “love thy neighbor” statement and Jesus basically said “even those you hate”(i.e. the Samaritans).

I can love you and still disagree with the things you do and not endorse them. These are not in conflict.

Re: Modern decor may be straining people's brains

#120
post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I read it as a take encouraging me to render aid to anyone in a dire emergency regardless of their background.

That’s a very narrow reading. The parable was in response to the question “who’s my neighbor” in the “love thy neighbor” statement and Jesus basically said “even those you hate”(i.e. the Samaritans).

"Even those you hate" is too strong a reading, in my view. "Even those you are bigoted towards", perhaps. (Jesus did say elsewhere to love your enemies, but I don't think this parable says that.)
Post reply on HN