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Is Dark Mode Such a Good Idea?

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Re: Is Dark Mode Such a Good Idea?

#541

Post by makruiten »

roelschroeven wrote: post #316
dsego wrote: post #283

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's because you're used to them, that's fine. Many of those actions can be done via key combos or other keys (esp on a Mac), like C+R to refresh, C+Sh+I for browser console or Enter to rename a file. Function keys at this point are certainly old school and could even be considered an atavism, like the Print Screen button or the numeric keypad.

Some functions have replacements, others don't. Just one example: both F5 and CTRL-R in browsers do a refresh; CTRL-F5 does a hard refresh (also renews the cache); I don't think there's a non-function-key alternative for that. Losing the function keys would be a major nuisance. The numeric keypad is useful to me too. A bit less than the function keys, perhaps, but when entering a list of numbers it works so much bett…

In Firefox CTRL+SHIFT+R does a hard refresh as well. I don’t know about other browsers.

Re: Is Dark Mode Such a Good Idea?

#542

Post by therealdrag0 »

athenot wrote: post #310
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…

Dark mode has 2 main advantages: - Better rendering of hues. This comes in nice for things like syntax coloring, or photo editing. The eye is evaluating a color next to the absence of light, instead of next to washed out light. - Less eye strain when ambient light is insufficient. Ideally the brightness of the screen should be within the same range of brighness as the surroundings. In my home office, I have about 20,…

Personally I just have different light profiles on my monitor and I dim it as my room is dim.

Similar trick to you, I just try to reduce brightness until it looks like a kindle—it’s matte and blends in with other objects in room.

Re: Is Dark Mode Such a Good Idea?

#543

Post by marcus_holmes »

sabertoothed wrote: post #540
marcus_holmes wrote: post #265

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

why not?

Re: Is Dark Mode Such a Good Idea?

#544

Post by marcus_holmes »

daveed wrote: post #306
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…

Wait. So. Multiple studies showing that the earth is round trumps my actual experience, with my eyeballs, outside? At least read the studies talk about and their setups, otherwise this kind of sentiment is what also gives us all sorts of out-there beliefs.

You're talking about an objective reality.

This article is talking about a subjective experience.

The earth is a slightly flattened sphere regardless of what you or I choose to believe.

Dark mode is more productive for me in my experience. And showing me concrete proof that other people are more productive in light mode is not going to change that. It's still going to be more productive for me regardless of how many other people find it less productive.

I think this is the core of why we have such out-there beliefs at the moment: everyone believes they live in their own reality, and their subjective opinions trump objective reality. Partly, I think this is due to social sciences attempting to make objective reality out of statistical analysis of subjective opinions. A million people believing the earth is flat doesn't make it so, yet that's exactly what social science says.

Re: Is Dark Mode Such a Good Idea?

#545

Post by marcus_holmes »

bovermyer wrote: post #305
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…

By the same token, I hate dark mode and prefer light mode. My experience resonates with this article, but it's not because of this article.

I completely agree :)

Re: Is Dark Mode Such a Good Idea?

#546

Post by marcus_holmes »

wtetzner wrote: post #442
nogabebop23 wrote: post #384

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> I don't have that much faith in scientists. well I guess you have faith or dogma to fall back on, then. Safe travels!

Note they didn't say they don't have faith in science , but that they don't have faith in scientists . There's an important distinction there.

thank you. Scientists are human, and as flawed as the rest of us. The scientific method doesn't need my faith, but it has it anyway.

Re: Is Dark Mode Such a Good Idea?

#547

Post by musicale »

I have been using dark mode for years, usually green-on-black (though sometimes amber) for code editing and notes. Not all typefaces look good in dark mode however.

Maybe I prefer it because of retro-cool-nostalgia, but most of the time it just feels less stressful.

Dark mode also seems to be superior for phones and smartwatches in dark environments. One of these days I want to try red-on-black for reading and writing in a darkened room, as red light seems better for not interfering with night vision.

Re: Is Dark Mode Such a Good Idea?

#548

Post by Firadeoclus »

jonathanstrange wrote: post #422
taneq wrote: post #322

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So you're telling me I'm wrong and I actually like bright mode more than dark mode? We are literally discussing my subjective experiences here . And you're telling me I'm wrong. About my subjective experiences. Ohhh-kay.

The hidden assumption you make is discussed as the Preference Satisfaction Thesis in the philosophy of welfare economics, it's the idea that people (subjectively) prefer what is best for them. Almost everybody agrees that the thesis is generally speaking false, although some people would argue that you should accept the preference satisfaction thesis as a rule of thumb if you are an ethical anti-paternalists. Anyway,…

> The hidden assumption you make is discussed as the Preference Satisfaction Thesis in the philosophy of welfare economics, it's the idea that people (subjectively) prefer what is best for them.

The hidden assumption in that framing is that there's an objective measure of "what is best for them" which somehow isn't based on what people subjectively prefer.

Re: Is Dark Mode Such a Good Idea?

#549

Post by Apofis »

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.

So, in the meantime you will use light mode... against your own comfort?

Re: Is Dark Mode Such a Good Idea?

#550

Post by loco5niner »

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.

> If you doubt about the rigor of some study...

I doubt the rigor of MOST studies.

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