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Is Dark Mode Such a Good Idea?

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Re: Is Dark Mode Such a Good Idea?

#531

Post by apotheosis »

marcus_holmes wrote: post #241

Wait. So. "Multiple studies show that light mode is better" trumps my actual experience, with my eyeballs, in my office environment? No. No it doesn't. 1. I don't have that much faith in scientists. Someone trying to p-hack their way to a publishable result that's sensational enough to advance their career is not going to produce good advice for me. 2. Even if they were perfect scientists, they're not using my eyebal…

I'm too tired and bored to source it, but, there are also "multiple studies," as the author puts it, stating that dark mode is better.

If you like sitting in a bright room, you'll prefer light mode; dark room, dark mode.

Re: Is Dark Mode Such a Good Idea?

#532

Post by hkai »

marcus_holmes wrote: post #241

Wait. So. "Multiple studies show that light mode is better" trumps my actual experience, with my eyeballs, in my office environment? No. No it doesn't. 1. I don't have that much faith in scientists. Someone trying to p-hack their way to a publishable result that's sensational enough to advance their career is not going to produce good advice for me. 2. Even if they were perfect scientists, they're not using my eyebal…

While I believe you, you may also see how your argument is similar to the argument "non-proven pseudoscience medical treatments cured my disease, therefore they work".

I would be very interested in a study that looks at how much of the dark/light color scheme preference is just due to habit and esthetics.

Re: Is Dark Mode Such a Good Idea?

#533

Post by labelbias »

marcus_holmes wrote: post #241

Wait. So. "Multiple studies show that light mode is better" trumps my actual experience, with my eyeballs, in my office environment? No. No it doesn't. 1. I don't have that much faith in scientists. Someone trying to p-hack their way to a publishable result that's sensational enough to advance their career is not going to produce good advice for me. 2. Even if they were perfect scientists, they're not using my eyebal…

I can't handle dark mode. If letters are bright they burn into my eyes and follow my gaze. I use black on solarized background color for years after I dropped the white on black and it feels much better.

Re: Is Dark Mode Such a Good Idea?

#534

Post by zwq »

This discussion looks like a harmless discussion about preference. But when it comes to a situation where you are deprived of natural sunlight because your co-workers use a dark mode and need the room to be pitch dark - this is when it becomes very harmful.

Re: Is Dark Mode Such a Good Idea?

#535

Post by retox »

yiyus wrote: post #254
marcus_holmes wrote: post #241

Wait. So. "Multiple studies show that light mode is better" trumps my actual experience, with my eyeballs, in my office environment? No. No it doesn't. 1. I don't have that much faith in scientists. Someone trying to p-hack their way to a publishable result that's sensational enough to advance their career is not going to produce good advice for me. 2. Even if they were perfect scientists, they're not using my eyebal…

Science is not a faith based system. If you doubt about the rigor of some study, by all means point the errors you find. In the meantime, I will trust those scientific studies more than subjective opinions in hackernews comments.

>Science is not a faith based system Some disciplines certainly are, you only need to look at the current rigamaroo around COVID and climate change models. Some 'models' saying millions of deaths before being re-engineered a few weeks later to be mere thousands, or predicting huge swaths of the Earth being uninhabitable by now, etc. You can also look into climate models that predicted perilous cooling on a global scale from decades past.

These sorts of model, which are presented as capital S Science, are at best guesstimates, that don't receive nearly the amount of popular coverage when they shown to be wrong in the fullness of time (or indeed need to be reinforced by changing data). If a model is no better than a coin toss that's faith based to me.

A recent example; WHO "walks backs" statement made a day before about data showing that asymptomatic carriers infecting others is very rare. At the same time saying between 6% and 41% of the population may be asymptomatic with a 16% error margin. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Im0G7jb78jc

Re: Is Dark Mode Such a Good Idea?

#537

Post by saghm »

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #339
taneq wrote: post #329

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it? I mean, serious question - aren't they they same thing? What IS our subjective experience if not our conscious estimation of how we experienced the thing? Is it possible to think you're enjoying something when really you're not, and if so then what the heck does that even mean?

Well, eating at a restaurant with my wife, I said "This is really good!" She looked askance, said "Well, its a little salty". "Yeah, I guess it is." "And not really very hot" "Oh, yeah. Hm." "And there no spice in it. Kinda plain." "Dang, you're right" So was I enjoying it? Or the experience of being out with the wife and not having to cook? Or just hungry and anything would do? And I'd mis-attributed what I was enjo…

Were you actually happier after you changed your mind that the food wasn't as good? I'm struggling to see this as evidence that your experience improved based on that conversation.

Re: Is Dark Mode Such a Good Idea?

#538

Post by SZJX »

marcus_holmes wrote: post #241

Wait. So. "Multiple studies show that light mode is better" trumps my actual experience, with my eyeballs, in my office environment? No. No it doesn't. 1. I don't have that much faith in scientists. Someone trying to p-hack their way to a publishable result that's sensational enough to advance their career is not going to produce good advice for me. 2. Even if they were perfect scientists, they're not using my eyebal…

It's quite absurd how the discussion around this post seems to have turned into a fight on dogmatism. I guess many presumed "scientists" are just quite hurt by the blunt statement "I don't have that much faith in scientists", no matter how valid your points might be.

If one can't even express doubt about some academic papers (note how different it is to expressing doubt on the whole idea of "science"), which exist in the millions, then things are pretty messed up. A lot of commenters are either incapable of some basic reading comprehension or are deliberately misinterpreting it.

Re: Is Dark Mode Such a Good Idea?

#539

Post by swrobel »

amelius wrote: post #191

> When I was in the military, a key tactic of camouflage was to never, under any circumstances, expose yourself on a hilltop or similar, where your silhouette could be easily identified. A dark blob on a light background is far easier for the human eye to see, than the reverse. I hate these obviously one sided arguments. Here they could have said to not use a flashlight while hiding in the dark. But they tactfully le…

Came here to say this and was glad someone beat me to it

Re: Is Dark Mode Such a Good Idea?

#540

Post by sabertoothed »

marcus_holmes wrote: post #265
yiyus wrote: post #254

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Science is not a faith based system. If you doubt about the rigor of some study, by all means point the errors you find. In the meantime, I will trust those scientific studies more than subjective opinions in hackernews comments.

Why not conduct your own experiment, using Science? 1. Start with a hypothesis, that "dark mode is less comfortable for me than light mode". 2. Design an experiment: find the sites that you use most. Use them for 10 minutes each in light mode and dark mode. Write down your impressions. 3. Build a conclusion: was your hypothesis correct? Was it partially correct for some sites? Then you can adapt your behaviour accord…

This is not science.
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