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Ooooh story time…
I worked for a small company in 2017/2018 that had recently expanded its building and added offices into their second floor, which had previously been a storage area. The second floor offices didn’t have any windows, but is also the spot that they decided IT would go.
One day I came in and the fluorescent lights didn’t turn on. There happened to be some random old lamp (I think from the 60’s or 70’s) in a storage closet so I grabbed it and put it on the intersection of 4 cubicles to light the area. There were only 6 IT people that worked in the area and as people were coming into work, no one mentioned the light. We all just did our work.
Halfway though the day, one of our senior devs asked “hey, so what’s with the light?”
I let him know the overhead lights didn’t come on when I got here this morning so I just grabbed a lamp.
5 of us discussing the lighting situation all vocally said “yea, this is much better, the fluorescent lights suck.” One person was quiet.
The overhead lights were “fixed” not too long after but people started opting for turning them off in favor of the lamp. This upset 1 of the 6 IT people working in the area.
It eventually became an HR issue, and the one person won; to the detriment of the other 5.
I ended up quitting about 2 weeks after that, not from the light issue; but I let them believe it was a large contributing factor in the exit interview.
bolderdash
Hum... Yeah... That'd be me. The creature of the night. Not rave n' disco night... More like, night night. Even during the day.
90% of the time, the explanation is "I was doing a thing that didnt require external light source and didnt notice the sun went down."
yeah but even if i did notice the sun went down i prefer to stay in the dark as long as it's not necessary to have light
lol I don’t bother to explain I usually just say “nothing” I don’t owe anyone an explanation for why I want the lights off
Is there a eye-strain-related reason that the lights should be turned on in this circumstance? I find myself in this position a lot, not realizing the screen is way brighter than it needs to be for the brightness in the area.
This is one of my great sensitivities. I can't drive without sunglasses. My eyes will tear up and I'm unable to keep them open.
I’m with you. Do you get it at the movies too? IMAX is too much but if I go to a smaller screen theatre I’m usually ok.
No not in theaters unless it's a really bright scene like an explosion.
Going outside to let my dogs out in the AM is genuinely painful! The dark to light is SHOCKING mentally and physically, I used polarized glasses for driving for the same reason you do. I find certain kinds of lights to be agitating even not just uncomfortable or painful
I find myself wearing my sunnies indoors more often than not. On days I forget and grab my regular glasses, switching over to the tinted lenses is literal full body relief as the light input is reduced.
Everytime I read something about neurodivergent behavior I am astonished that another atypical thing I do is actually typical behaviour just not for neurotypical persons. (sry for my English - not a native speaker)
Your English is good, don't worry! In fact I quite like the way you worded that. Isn't it comforting to realize you're not as alone as you had thought you were?
Coworkers like 75% spectrum. Office is DARK
When we have meetings, boss comes in and opens the blinds. We scurry around like roaches
We used to keep the light off in the tech bullpen. There were no windows but enough lights from the screens to keep people from tripping over themselves walking to their desks. Fucking director level POS hated it. When he didn't have anything to do he'd come back there and loudly exclaim "I don't see how y'all can work in the dark!"
It's almost like different people work different ways and have different levels of comfort. I can deal with either just fine but damn, don't just loudly pronounce shit and change the environment immediately. That absolutely stops pretty much everyone from working because they want to bitch about how it's different now.
I think it was 50/50 not giving a shit about the comfort of others and wanting attention because he was as useless as a bag of used microplastics.
I used to work in an IT call center like that. It wasn't even dark it was just dim because no one wanted the light over their desk turned on. There was enough light from the kitchenette area and the walkways to easily see. We got a new manager that hated that we all wanted the lights off so she used like 3 people who complained about it (and were in a corner of the room with the lights on so... stfu) as a pretext to do a poll to keep the rest of the lights turned on. She came back saying there was "a lot of" support for turning the lights on so now it was required but refused to release the results. Immediately lost all respect from the room. She would have eventually anyway because she was a shit manager but that was like right out of the gate.
She showed her true colours immediately. Didn't care about the people in the team.
We did that as interns. Our official response was the light was causing interference with the testing and needed to be off.
Somewhat related but does anyone else like driving in the dark? Like no other cars back roads in the middle of nowhere, the only light is from my instruments, radio, and headlights? Fucken peak especially out in the truly middle of nowhere with minimal light pollution with the cosmos visible.
The Prius (and more historically Saab) used to have a near blackout mode which shut off interior lights and dash indicators, basically only leaving the indicator that shows your headlights are on. It was wonderful to drive with the blackout mode and just have your eyes perfectly adjusted to the light outside the cabin.
I drive a lot of retro cars and can say that while there usually wasn't a dedicated mode you could turn down or off all of the interior lights. For example my 2001 Jeep Cherokee it's just turning the light knob (same applies for the '91) as for my 2001 Toyota Tacoma it's a matter of turning the dedicated knob that's funnily enough the same spot as the one on the Cherokee.
That sounds really really nice.
Then you pull aside, roll down the window, and hear nothing but the buzzing and chirping of whatever nature's out there. It's just... zen.
I've always lived in pretty densely-populated areas, but a few years back I got to drive around eastern Arizona for a few hours at night. It was so dark and so empty, I felt like I was flying through space. I could've gone into a trance, had I not been somewhere unfamiliar (I had to keep some focus in this unfamiliar area with spotty cell reception, where I was alone, at night.)
I try, but then that fucking clown shows up...
Agreed, I love this part of long drives to out of the way destinations. Definitely better in older cars without obnoxious touch screens.
I enjoy some games that can simulate this too, like Elite Dangerous scooting around in the lander on the dark side of some barren planet deep in uninhabited space. Not the same as the real thing of course, but I still enjoy it.
Yes! I wish I could drive with out headlights but I know it’s too dangerous. I have incredibly good night vision even in my late 30s, I don’t need light at night why am I forced to use it??
The lights are also so others can see you, not so relevant when you're really out away from civilization but there are many laws that require headlights to be on when windshield wipers are used
Can you imagine if we just started making snarky comments and turning off lights that people purposely put on? Wow, that'd be so rude! Right? Right??
"I rule from the shadows" is my usual response.
"leave me to do my dark bidding in peace".
"Oh, what are you bidding on?".
"A table"Normally I just hisss
I like the way they worded it as if you were misplaced by them. Ah shoot, where did I leave my nuerodivergent again? Probably left them next to my keys in the kitchen.
Yeah, why tf do people need to turn on my lights?
I'm not Vashta Nerada (I wish tho).
Yes! Please let me be part of the flesh devouring hive mind colony that likes books and lives in the dark.
It's the prefect life.
Also, we sometimes like the dark.
Would you like it if you were in a room with a comfortable lighting level and changed the lighting level to suit ourselves without saying anything first?
I want a secret button that makes the room 100x brighter than normal lights so when this happens I can come back with, "idk how can you see in such dark spaces?" Then close my eyes and initate Operation Surface of the Sun.
With home assistant and enough LED drivers you probably could.
“Why don’t you ever come out of your room?” flashbacks, lol
I just hiss as I retreat under the bed.
"Does a vampire live in here"!?
*flips switch*
Haha I used to get this from grandma who always complains about the electric bill. Like im trying to save money!
Furthermore, other people turning OFF a light that's in another room because that's the precise amount of light I want where I'm at. Absolutely infuriating.
Reminds me of an Aussie comedian who said that when someone turns the light on suddenly you get momentarily transported to hell.
Wouldn’t them being in the dark bolster the argument that they are bats?
And if they were lost bats, what would turning the lights on be meant to do?
I should get that diagnosis. 😐
I never denied I’m a bat, I’m simply not lost!
This is why I wear sunglasses when in the office, it’s too damn bright. If in the first one in then it’s always the next guy asking why I don’t have the lights on and I’m like cause I can see just fine like this.
That’s always my question, like yall really need that much light to see?? Do their eyes just literally not work? Why would I need hella bright light to see normally?
In my old gym there was a guy who liked to turn the lights off and then take showers in the mens locker room.
Neurodivergent or not, that's really weird.
I'm guessing he is just self conscious. I never really liked showering around others. Even when I was really fit
That could be. My first thought was... what's he doing in there that not having the light on is a necessity?
Nah, dark showers are actually peak. I have my eyes closed for most of the time anyways. Unless I’m doing something like shaving, there’s no reason to have the lights on.
I wouldn’t do it in public though…
I used to have these cheap, waterproof light ball things, that could be either red, green, blue, or a slow transition between all three. They were designed for use in a pool, but I got them for my shower.
They were absolutely perfect. If I was having trouble sleeping and decided to take a shower (which sometimes help me sleep), I could keep my night vision intact by setting the light balls to red. They provided plenty of light for me.
I moved houses since then, however, and haven't seen them in years. I'm going to have to look around pool toy sections soon, see if I can find something else like them.
I wouldn’t do it in public though…
By all means, do your thing in the privacy of your own home. No shame in that.
Why weren't the lights already off?
In a public bathroom? Safety, don’t need people bumping into stuff, slipping and falling, not seeing what they could grab to break the fall etc
i use light mode everywhere. i change color schemes to light, and create my own for applications that don't provide them.
i don't know why.
It takes all types. No shame in having your own preferences ¯\(ツ)/¯
