Visual test for Brain Functionality

[Jason]

University of Georgia researchers have developed a simple technique to measure an individual’s visual processing speed–the speed at which an individual can comprehend visual information–in order to identify whether or not they may have cognitive issues.

The recent study, published in the journal Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, focuses on using a simple test of visual flicker to evaluate an individual’s level of executive cognitive abilities, such as shifting attention between different tasks, planning or organizing and problem solving.

http://neurosciencenews.com/visual-proc ... tion-3117/

[Jason]

So if you're like me, and fluorescent lights make you sick from all their constant flickering (and they ALL flicker ALL the time), then it just means you've got a fast CPU in that noggin of yours.

[rachelbean]

I am sitting under fluorescents right now and they make me so tense. It's one of the reasons I hate it getting dark so early. Sitting under these things without any real light

[JimC]

Much more comfortable at school now, since it swapped all its fluorescent lights for LED panels, which are not only non-flicker, but use half the power for the same light...

[mistermack]

I am sitting under fluorescents right now and they make me so tense. It's one of the reasons I hate it getting dark so early. Sitting under these things without any real light

Maybe it's not the fluorescents, it might be a touch of SAD.

SAD's prevalence in the U.S. ranges from 1.4% in Florida to 9.9% in Alaska.[4]
The U.S. National Library of Medicine notes that "some people experience a serious mood change when the seasons change. They may sleep too much, have little energy, and may also feel depressed. Though symptoms can be severe, they usually clear up."[5] The condition in the summer can include heightened anxiety.[6]

Light therapy or phototherapy (classically referred to as heliotherapy) consists of exposure to daylight or to specific wavelengths of light using polychromatic polarised light, lasers, light-emitting diodes, fluorescent lamps, dichroic lamps or very bright, full-spectrum light.

So if you had a touch of SAD, certain fluorescents could be part of the cure, rather than the cause.

[laklak]

[rachelbean]

No, I definitely don't have SAD. I am happiest this time of year, I just really dislike florescents

[Jason]

Fluorescent lights make me nauseous; I've learned to suppress it over the years but it's still there at a subconscious level.

[mistermack]

No, I definitely don't have SAD. I am happiest this time of year, I just really dislike florescents

For me, it's the colour of artificial light that affects me. The whiter the light, the better I like it.
Yellower light, no matter how bright, doesn't do it for me. But light that is as white as possible makes me feel more comfortable. Even if it's dim in level, it's still much better for me.

Now, with LEDs, they give a "colour temperature" number, to describe the kind of whiteness to expect.

Color temperatures over 5,000K are called cool colors (bluish white), while lower color temperatures (2,700–3,000 K) are called warm colors (yellowish white through red).

It's actually the opposite way around for the light from stars. Hot stars give "cool" bluish white light, and cooler stars are more yellow to red. (as in red giants). It's like when you put a poker in a fire, red hot is actually cooler than white hot.

I've bought various LEDs on ebay, and you can really see the difference. 6,500k is a nice white light and anything over that is the kind of artificial light that I enjoy.

The Sun actually gives light that is almost white, with the slightest tinge of yellow. But when you look up, the sun looks yellow. This is because the sky scatters the blue frequencies in all directions, giving a blue sky. The frequencies that are left look yellow, without the blue.
On a cloudy day, the clouds re-combine the blue from the sky with the yellow from the remaining Sunlight, giving a light that is pretty much back to it's original white.