"Mr.T" MrT@home wrote in
u:

Defense mechanisms typically work that way, matter of fact.

I'm interested to know what's the "defence mechanism" that benefits
from low color temperatures?


I doubt there is one. The reason prolonged bass might be unsettling is that
any animal is wary of a conspicuous expenditure of energy, and that really
IS about as close to a 'universal' 'preference' as we can get. Any agency
that can conspicously expend energy is potentially a serious risk, either
because it's a source of elemental power, or because it's aware of its
power and feels no need to hide it from the world around it.

The animals with a defensive relation to colour temperature are likely to
be those that fear fire, or are wary of us because we have learned to use
fire. That won't likely be evolution (might need an actual genetic record
to establish that), but it is conditioning, adaptation.

I don't think we have any imperative that makes us need low colour
temperatures. We do have an imperative for warmth, and while that comes
from flame it is possible to connect the two things, but as soon as we get
warmth some other way, all bets are off.

It's interesting to look at how other animals relate to tungsten lighting.
(Crude generalisation alert!) Cats and dogs like it, rats and snakes do
not. That surely shows that it really doesn't matter half as much as how
they react to us.

Preference for higher colour temperatures might be likely based on
efficient shortwave light making things easily visible. Preference for low
colour temperatures is mostly symbolic. The purely functional
basis of the preference for low colour temperatures is itself symbolic,
many people find 'functional' to be almost a synonym for 'bleak' or
'dreary'. Possibly because of an aversion to work (which I can understand),
or more likely because having to ration energy usage implies discomfort.
There's no reason it should do so though, as in this case we're talking
about limiting energy expenditure by choice. That's the whole point of
these new kinds of lamp. Being able to choose leaves us open to new kinds
of conditioning.