Darkness: bad or not?

[lpetrich]

Darkness have plenty of bad associations: bad things, obscurity, ... Blackness goes even further, because black is the darkest color.

Yet we like plenty of dark-colored objects without considering their darkness anything bad. For instance, I like dark theming, because I like light-colored text on a black background -- the background makes the text stand out easier for me.

What makes a difference?

I think that we must distinguish between dark objects and dark environments. Dark objects are not any problem, but dark environments are, because one cannot see very much in a dark environment.

 

[skepticalbip]

Darkness have plenty of bad associations: bad things, obscurity, ... Blackness goes even further, because black is the darkest color.

Yet we like plenty of dark-colored objects without considering their darkness anything bad. For instance, I like dark theming, because I like light-colored text on a black background -- the background makes the text stand out easier for me.

What makes a difference?

I think that we must distinguish between dark objects and dark environments. Dark objects are not any problem, but dark environments are, because one cannot see very much in a dark environment.

It looks like you answered your question. We are uneasy if we can't see what is around us. Maybe an evolutionary holdover from when our hunter-gatherer ancestors were the ones who were extremely concerned if they couldn't see any possible predators near them when it was dark. While those who weren't extremely concerned so wandered around in the dark not worrying about predators... thus they didn't live long enough to have offspring so weren't our ancestors.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Dark environments are only a problem if they contain hazards. I've hiked by moonlight plenty of times--I always have a light but with a good trail and decent moonlight I might not use it.

 

[Politesse]

Nyctophobia isn't universal; I'd say you can favor whatever palette you like, and who can tell you you're wrong?

 

[Bomb#20]

Nighttime sharpens, heightens each sensation.
Darkness stirs and wakes imagination.
Silently the senses abandon their defences...

Slowly, gently, night unfurls its splendour.
Grasp it, sense it tremulous and tender.
Turn your face away from the garish light of day,
Turn your thoughts away from cold, unfeeling light -
and listen to the music of the night...

 

[steve_bank]

Blackness goes even further, because black is the darkest color.

Is this a refence to black culture? In today's culture blacks use the term Blackness to distinguish from Whiteness as a culture.

Blacks use the term s a positive affirmation of self. Racists may put a negative spin on it. Whiteness used by blacks and Latinos can often be a derogative.

 

[lpetrich]

Blackness goes even further, because black is the darkest color.

Is this a refence to black culture? In today's culture blacks use the term Blackness to distinguish from Whiteness as a culture.

Not at all. It's a reference to the color in general, the color of the night sky.

As to dark-skinned people, their skin is object dark rather than environment dark, so the bad associations of darkness should not apply to them.

 

[Politesse]

Though, neither "a dark zone" nor "the Dark Continent" have positive implications in Western culture, and these refer to places where people live and are associated with; with social issues, persons and environments aren't always neatly divided concepts.

 

[skepticalbip]

But then the term, "Dark Continent", has nothing to do with the people living there. Africa got that term the same way "dark side of the moon" did. Map makers at the time labeled any area that had not yet been mapped as "dark".

 

[Politesse]

But then the term, "Dark Continent", has nothing to do with the people living there. Africa got that term the same way "dark side of the moon" did. Map makers at the time labeled any area that had not yet been mapped as "dark".

Thank god someone showed up to explain that it isn't really a problem! There couldn't at all be any sociopolitical problems resulting from portrayal of commonly portraying someone's homeland as a frightening, empty void.

If anyone is curious to know more about the subject, I recomment Lucy Jarosz' classic article "Constructing the Dark Continent: Metaphor as Geographic Representation of Africa". Or for that matter, read the OG book that popularized the phrase in question, Stanley's "Into the Dark Continent"; the connection between "dark" land and its "dark" people is made very obvious by the time you get through it...

 

[skepticalbip]

But then the term, "Dark Continent", has nothing to do with the people living there. Africa got that term the same way "dark side of the moon" did. Map makers at the time labeled any area that had not yet been mapped as "dark".

Thank god someone showed up to explain that it isn't really a problem! There couldn't at all be any sociopolitical problems resulting from portrayal of commonly portraying someone's homeland as a frightening, empty void.

If anyone is curious to know more about the subject, I recomment Lucy Jarosz' classic article "Constructing the Dark Continent: Metaphor as Geographic Representation of Africa". Or for that matter, read the OG book that popularized the phrase in question, Stanley's "Into the Dark Continent"; the connection between "dark" land and its "dark" people is made very obvious by the time you get through it...

If someone is looking for "offense" and presumes to be able to read the minds of others then they can easily find that "offense".

Pity those poor Lunarians who live on the side of the Moon that doesn't face Earth. Apparently there are people who constantly slander them by referring to their homeland as "the dark side".

 

[bilby]

It was a black day for humanity when we decided to assign a negative connotation to darkness.

 

[steve_bank]

I believe in China people wear white at funerals.

The image of the Dark/Black Knight vs White Knight in movies. The old TV western Have Gun Will Travel where the character of Paladin wears black. He was a morally ambiguous figure.

Black clothes imply hidden agendas. 'Men In Black'.

I prefer a dark background and white text for best contrast with my eyes.

 

[Politesse]

Pity those poor Lunarians who live on the side of the Moon that doesn't face Earth. Apparently there are people who constantly slander them by referring to their homeland as "the dark side".

Well, there isn't anyone living on the far side of the moon. And the dark side of the moon was not named by "explorers" tasked with finding "empty" lands to exploit. And there aren't five centuries of Western literature conflating and blending their negative stereotypes about the Moon with those of the Moonlings. But you, of course, know this. And you know perfectly well that if I wanted to, I could pull hundreds of literary references to prove my point. And it doesn't bother you in the slightest to know this, because you aren't arguing in good faith anyway, but would either abandon the project or huff and grumble something about "Woke" to dismiss my argument without truly addressing it.

If not: well, I cited my sources. What are yours?

 

[skepticalbip]

Pity those poor Lunarians who live on the side of the Moon that doesn't face Earth. Apparently there are people who constantly slander them by referring to their homeland as "the dark side".

Well, there isn't anyone living on the far side of the moon. And the dark side of the moon was not named by "explorers" tasked with finding "empty" lands to exploit. And there aren't five centuries of Western literature conflating and blending their negative stereotypes about the Moon with those of the Moonlings. But you, of course, know this. And you know perfectly well that if I wanted to, I could pull hundreds of literary references to prove my point. And it doesn't bother you in the slightest to know this, because you aren't arguing in good faith anyway, but would either abandon the project or huff and grumble something about "Woke" to dismiss my argument without truly addressing it.

If not: well, I cited my sources. What are yours?

WTF?

"Dark" areas was a term used by map makers for areas for which there was no information about the topology... so they couldn't create a map. They couldn't map Africa until the nineteenth century or half of the Moon until the twentieth century. The "Dark" term and meaning was adopted by the general population. Your mind reading needs a bit of work.

Do you really need a citation for map makers using "dark" to describe such areas? Does Pink Floyd need to make a groveling apology for their using the term "Dark Side of the Moon" as the name of an album as it may offend someone who has no understanding of what the term means so assume it is racist?

 

[Politesse]

Do you really need a citation for map makers using "dark" to describe such areas?

Do you have one?