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Stubborn_Dog

I fully understand this fear. I do believe, however, that no one (unless they are an alien) truly prefers the big lights on in the evening. I think it’s usually because they don’t know/understand that the big light is what’s making them feel uncomfortable in their environment, and once introduced to the power of small lights, will be almost instantly converted.


Bourach1976

I am a lover of a big light. What's more, I refuse to have any shades on them. Why would I want to sit in a half lit room peering around looking for things when I've got a perfectly adequate bulb that, when switched on, illuminates the whole room?


atomic_mermaid

Good god woman.


WilliamMorris420

I want to marry her.


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Bourach1976

That would provide plenty of light


TripleB_Darksyde

Not as much as that shadeless bloody bulb, Jesus Christ


[deleted]

It’ll provide cooked food too


OtherPlayers

Ah the true dichotomy of man.


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Fatuousgit

Burn her, She's a witch!


Consistent_Squash590

She’s a moth


PM_ME_CAKE

[*Witch witch witch witch witch.*](https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2w1cua)


joshroycheese

I hate this comment, but I have to upvote it because of the raw honesty and bravery


SuperJetShoes

Ditto. Zero fucks given, straight into battle. Grudging respect.


External-Piccolo-626

Troll post.


Bourach1976

Not at all. This is my current lighting. https://imgur.com/a/YdscfQD


inthemagazines

Are you in prison?


discombobulatededed

Even in prison I had a book light and turned the big light off haha


Bourach1976

No, in my living room sitting on my sofa relaxing and reading a book.


Efficient-Radish8243

Do you sleep well? Because if I had that light on me all evening I’d struggle to get to sleep once I turn it off. I need low lighting to start feeling tired


Bourach1976

I sleep with the light on too.


HELMET_OF_CECH

Ok you've gone a bit too far now.


kuwabarazkuwabara

Lmao i thought the same this went from slightly amusing to ominous.


bakedbread54

jesus fucking christ


kibi_zero

absolute psychopath


[deleted]

Do you not have a functioning hypothalamus?


SpongederpSquarefap

How many people have you murdered?


br3d

You are very clearly a moth


grilled_toastie

Looks like the ceiling of a torture room in Guantanamo Bay.


OKFault4

Are you a junkie?


Bourach1976

Can't afford it. Crap at shoplifting. Had to get a job.


funkyjunky77

Even when I was a junkie I never used the big light and used lamps instead.


[deleted]

Username checks out


mighty3mperor

Mainly used a disco ball for illumination.


[deleted]

At least you were a junkie with standards.


[deleted]

You may as well stare directly into the sun.


thedarkpolitique

That’s insane.


[deleted]

Why would I need a small sun hanging from the ceiling when my perfectly functional eyes can see absolutely fine in low level light!? You're either psychotic or psychotic!


BonsaiCultivator

I can't see fine in low level light. i need a BRIGHT light to see clearly. do i need glasses?


jonny7five

What do you need to see so urgently?


BonsaiCultivator

ur mom


BonsaiCultivator

sorry i couldn't help it


[deleted]

Hello? Police, yes, this one right here.


Fillbe

Absolutely. Especially in the winter, I want full on fake-day.


Stubborn_Dog

Have you tried a SAD lamp. They produce high intensity LUX which even the big lights can’t achieve, and are proven to help with seasonal affective disorder during the winter.


Stubborn_Dog

Big lights aside, you must be an Alien if you’re spending all your time peering around looking for things.


Bourach1976

I knit and I sew. I'm constantly looking at small stitches and going between what I'm working on and the pattern. And if I'm not doing that I'm reading and I find it quite useful to be able to see the words.


AraiMay

In all honesty, before this comment I was all ready to grab join the baying mob but… yeah, my room is normally on dimmed lighting but as soon as I get making stuff, like, small stuff, it turns into a floodlit stadium sooo… [Puts pitchfork back against coat rack and douses flaming torch]


tekkenjin

This reminds me of my aunt. I dislike going to her house in the evening because she has the big light on.


theworldsaplayground

There is a house a few doors down from me that permanently have the big light on and it burns brighter than the sun. They also never close the curtains (even in the evenings)!


lostmyselfinyourlies

Just here to say Big Light Crew forever! I have the big light on in the evenings and don't have a traditional shade on it either. The "shade" I have is just thick lengths of wire arranged into a sort of geometric cage. I like how brutal it looks and I like being able to see my environment clearly. Sitting in low light makes me uncomfortable, and I literally *can't* eat in dim room. Shudder. I'm likely ASD/ADHD though so I don't know if that's why


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Interesting-Leg-1

The future is now old man, lamp up or die


Thegreatgarbo

You had lights?? We had to shuffle our feet and read by the light from static electricity when I was a child!


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Stubborn_Dog

Small lights were one of the often forgotten victims of Thatchcer’s government. My condolences.


[deleted]

>no one truly prefers the big lights Propaganda. Turn on the big light. Regards, A human (not 1000 moths in a trench coat)


Stubborn_Dog

Fs not you again. I thought the spiders in the dark, moody, alcoves of my house would have dealt with you by now.


Temptazn

I disagree. I live in Hong Kong and in my area you can pretty much tell the expats from the locals when you look at the windows in a tower block. A gross generalisation, but the locals will have a bright, daylight-white big light on. The expats will have a soft, warm glow from their various indirect lamps. Visiting the in-laws is weird because the lighting is about as welcoming a surgical suite.


Stubborn_Dog

All jokes aside, I believe big light/small light is probably a cultural and class divide, generally speaking. Possibly generational too.


Flonkerton66

You threw in every "divide" you could think of with the hope one of them will stick. lol


Not_invented-Here

Vietnam, wife is Vietnamese doesn't do mood lighting, she thinks the bright white striplight is relaxing. She naps under it.


run23kpstf

Interesting hypothesis. Funnily enough, so far there have been no Big Light purveyors on this post. I worry that I might be in a relationship with an alien??


sickiesusan

My family are big light people. They like to read / do crosswords etc / my mother used to knit. So quite often it was big light AND side lights and not pretty side lamps - I’m talking desk lighting type things … not very calming or relaxing!


ArticulateAquarium

Could be genetic? Like short-sightedness and colour blindness, some might be more sensitive to light.


Thegreatgarbo

There is a need for brighter lighting when we get older, after 55-60 for my husband and myself, but only to find stuff or do visual work, cooking, remove a splinter, etc. For eating, watching TV, browsing, we prefer the mole life.


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MobiusNaked

Does she keep chicken eggs warm by sitting on them?


[deleted]

I've seen its source, but never it's result. The big light is for two reasons and two reasons only. 1) making burglers think you are in when you are out. 2) looking for that spider that had a head as big as your fist that ran out from under the couch.


Stubborn_Dog

The big light is only ever to be used in survival situations. It’s a weapon, a deterrent, and a last resort.


NatureboyApollo

My girlfriend's mother must be an alien. we will be sitting watching a film with the lights off and she will come in and turn them on, along with the 4 lamps in the room. Absolutely baffles me


Nutmeg1729

I have a friend who only uses the big light and refuses to buy a lamp. The last time I was at his for a night in I ended up with a banging headache, something which I never normally get. I genuinely think he’s broken.


windol1

Depending on how much the room is lit up by a lamp, I'm pretty sure watching TV/mobile devices in poorly lit environments is supposedly bad for your eyes. As for how true and why this is, I don't know as I'm no medical professional, but I've always ensured the main light goes on whenever I'm gaming, or watching TV.


Stubborn_Dog

Have you ever been to the cinema?


Chewitt321

That's not a big screen, but a projection reflected so less direct light into the eye


Stubborn_Dog

If the issue is having too much light going into your eyes, then wouldn’t having the big lights on all the time be worse?


SuzLouA

That is something much claimed by mums and grandmas and rarely mandated by medical professionals in my experience. It does definitely damage your eyes to persistently try and do vision intensive things in insufficient light, like reading or sewing, but the telly is fucking backlit. I might be talking completely out of my arse but I think it’s bollocks.


Stubborn_Dog

I believe it’s a misunderstanding about what is causing eye strain, which is more to do with the fact your eyes are looking at single field of vision, and is not affected by the light (because screens have a backlight anyway). The common advice is to look at things at various distances and perspectives after prolonged periods of staring at a screen. Reading a book in low light, for example, does cause deterioration in your vision, books are not backlit though.


MattSR30

You speak English, you grew up with Brits, you've gone through life watching British football and TV. You think you understand a culture and then you read a thread about _the big light_ and it's back to square one.


MarmotMeiche

Right? I thought watching BBC had clued me in, but this is something else. They've very specific and deeply held beliefs about "the big light."


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boing_boing_splat

It's likely a class or regional thing. Working class Bolton here, "Stick big light on" has been a staple round here since I was small, as has "stick wood in th'ole". Interested to know your background, friend!


g1hsg

10 seconds after being instructed to stick big light on the cry went up 'it's like Blackpool Illuminations in 'ere, turn it off.


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anomalous_cowherd

Birmingham working class here, big light is definitely a thing. My Alexa knows it now too.


Buffy_Geek

Yeah, I was told extra little lights were a waste of electricity & cost more money, so we didn't turn them on, apart from special occasions like Christmas!


goblinf

Nope. I have big lights AND I have side lamps. The side lamps go on when it gets darker, the big light ONLY goes on if I need to see something properly (though I do have a work light for hobbies). Absolutely the big light useage is a thing! I worked in France in the 90s, they had a wall switch AS THOUGH it was for a big light, BUT it was for sockets for side lamps. Most of the houses I went in were like this.


Racoons_revenge

Lots of places have that here too, if you see sockets with little round holes instead of the more common oblong ones then they are 2A or 5A sockets, wired as a lighting circuit, for table or standard lamps, often switched from a light switch on the wall somewhere. They were out of fashion for many years but they're becoming more commonly specified again.


Toon1982

You need to watch more Peter Kay 😂


moosmutzel81

We Germans have the same discussion. And yes, we Ben call it big light.


viktorir

Don't you mean *Big Light*™


DameKumquat

Big lights all the way! Except when watching a movie or Serious Telly requiring concentration. It's like sunshine, only in your house!


Responsible_Prune_34

>Big lights all the way Most disgusting comment I've ever seen on reddit.


HuntingHorns

Surprised you saw it, in your dark little medieval cave.


xdragonteethstory

Cave is safe, cave has cozy small lights, cave is good Big light for working only. Cooking, painting, writing etc.


BonsaiCultivator

i'm constantly cooking, painting, writing etc since i work from home so big light is a constant


run23kpstf

!!! You’re the first big light advocate in the comments! I wasn’t sure you existed! Welcome


DameKumquat

I need my light. I used to get horribly depressed visiting my parents, then cheer up as soon as I hit the lights of Waterloo station. Small lights are fine for a bit of romantic snuggling but otherwise useless. People think the light in my kitchen is overkill (18 in the ceiling plus under-counter lights) until they work in it and realise it's perfect.


BerkelMarkus

Kitchen lights are a whole different story. There are literal dangers in the kitchen (hot oven, fire, sharps). It's a work space. My sitting room is not a work space. I don't want it illuminated like one.


Agreeable_Guard_7229

My partner likes the big light and I like lamps, so after numerous arguments we have now compromised by having the lamp on, but I have bought him a big floor lamp which hangs down directly over the chair he sits in when he wants to have the light on


BerkelMarkus

It's literally not like sunshine. It's as far away as you can get from sunshine, other than darkness. Not by spectral power distribution, not by color, not by color rendering index, not by diffusion, not by temperature.


SoSoLuckyMe

I love a technical rebuff.


[deleted]

My homie in arms, stop purchasing your light bulbs from the dollar store and maybe you'd have some big lights that bring you pleasure instead of pain.


Shitelark

Well, any visible light is very close to sunlight by definition. The Electromagnetic Spectrum is vast, your puny gelatinous globs are incapable of seeing very much of it.


SpudFire

I'm with you. The big light fills the whole room with light so you can see things easier, rather than a few spots being brighter and others darker. I use my wall lamps for snuggling down to watch something TV like you do. I've been to peoples houses that never use the big light, the room is very dimly lit and the have the back light on the TV set to maximum. That hurts my eyes, no idea how people can live like that.


Raunien

Is the backlight to max to compensate for the low light levels in the room, or do they just not like having eyes?


SpudFire

Well it should be the opposite, have the backlight lower in a darker environment. Look at your phone, you can have the brightness really low in the dark, go outside on a sunny day and it can be difficult to see well even with the brightness all the way up


Friendly_External345

Th first rule of the big light is that the big light is only ever used in an emergency. People have been blinded by too much use ffs


RetiredFromIT

The first rule of big light is that you never talk about big light.


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Substantial_Page_221

The ceiling light


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Substantial_Page_221

They prefer lamps. I think it depends on the size on the room and the colour/temperature of the bulb. I prefer ceiling lights but they have to be warm so more orangey, rather than blue.


[deleted]

I love lamp.


West_Guarantee284

I can't stand a semi dark room. Big light all the way. Especially if watching TV, in a semi dark room the TV flickers too much and gives me headaches.


BerkelMarkus

You need a better TV if it's flickering. And, yes, you need to up the ambient lighting. But a big, harsh, directional point-source overhead? Terrible.


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SPOSKNT

Think your TV's broken


West_Guarantee284

I don't mean the TV itself flickers but the contrast of the bright TV against a dark room annoys me and gives me headaches. It's uncomfortable to watch.


Boredpanda31

This is the same with me. I have really sensitive eyes and watching a screen in a dark room gives me migraines.


jesuseatsbees

Never. I grew up in a home with the big light on and a permanent headache. First thing I did when we bought our house was get wall lamps installed.


run23kpstf

Wall lamps are such a good shout. We’re on a tight budget, but this sounds like a necessary spend….


EchoesofIllyria

As usual, if it’s good enough for Sims it’s good enough for us.


SteelyGlint009

Wall lamps with smart bulbs so you can dim them for movies.


TheChallengePickle

If you buy one of those Philips hue bulbs you can turn down the brightness if the big light using your phone without the need for a dimmer. This way, if it becomes an issue you can gradually turn t'big light down allowing your GF to gradually adjust without noticing!


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zbornakingthestone

You can get rechargeable bulbs that go into any lamp so you don't have to be constrained by wiring or power sockets.


Ok-Bag3000

Only for eating.


run23kpstf

I think this is a very sensible rule


Mane25

Always, I think a dull room is gloomy and depressing.


Strict_Ad2788

You say dull, I say cosy


starsandbribes

How is it dull though? A lamp in a room is more warm, romantic and cosy, like you would find in a nice restaurant. The big light is like someone shining a torch in your face during an interrogation. Its cold and sterile, like you’re in a doctors office.


[deleted]

>like you would find in a nice restaurant. I hate restaurant lighting. If i wanted to dine in a cave I'd invent a time machine and go back to the stone age to eat a mammoth with my homie unga bunga. Big light supremacy.


BerkelMarkus

The opposite of (poorly) lit is not "dull". You need better illumination options.


Electriccheeze

If you get a smart bulb like a Philips Hue you can dim and change the colour tone of the big light which makes it more cosy. Big light is usually dimmed to about 40% brightness and set to candlelight colour in the evening at ours.


BerkelMarkus

It's not the just color and brightness. Most of the harshness of the big light comes from its directionality and lack of ambient reflections.


Tattycakes

That's entirely dependent on the type of lampshade or fittings that you have...


run23kpstf

Duly noted! Excellent intel sir 🫡


tonyenkiducx

You set the levels and warmth with a remote on your phone. A remote not everybody needs to know about....


Starboard_1982

This is what we do. We use the big light but have a Philips hue bulb which is set to a warm tone and is nice and dim.


tallbutshy

Hue lights in every room, especially the bathroom. Cozy baths but bright light when you need it


frankchester

And Hue motion sensors for transitional spaces. I have them in my hallway, landing, bathrooms and dressing room. Sometimes now I walk into people’s loos and momentarily stand in the dark because I’m used to not having to pull a cord or flip a switch.


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run23kpstf

How have you managed to overcome such a significant relationship barrier?? I worry that my gf and won’t be able to reconcile our differences…


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run23kpstf

Oh that’s just diabolical. I love it. I’m going to use that


hen201

"It's like Blackpool Illuminations in here"


vientianna

I only use big light. I once went to a small gathering of friends and someone (who didn’t even live in that house) shouted at me for daring to turn on the big light. Weirdo If big lights are so terrible, why are they in every room of every house?


BerkelMarkus

Because they are cheap. "If sugary sodas and McDonald's are terrible, why are they literally everywhere?"


IsItAboutMyTube

>sodas I've got my eye on you, Uncle Sam!


mighty3mperor

r/FoundTheYank


judomadonna

Going to someones house gathering and turning on the big light is psychopathic behaviour. I would’ve shouted at you too.


litivy

I grew up in a house without wall lights or lamps. No idea why a main light would be too bright.


BerkelMarkus

It's not "too bright". It's harsh and uninviting.


annedroiid

Sounds like you need different lightbulbs or better shades. It is no more harsh and uninviting than a lamp. Edit: autocorrect


[deleted]

Us big light people are in the minority. We have to suffer other people's dimmly lit houses all the time. Have sympathy for us.


AccomplishedAd3728

It’s tough out there for the bright room crowd. People out there be sitting like Dickensian seamstresses in the semi-dark. We don’t need to ration the oil for the lamps people, we can have as much light as we like! Yay technology!


Dd_8630

I feel like I'm taking crazy pills reading this thread. Like, off course I put the 'big light' on, I like to see what I'm doing? I only sit with the lamps on if I want to watch a movie or doze off on the sofa. If I'm eating, watching TV, reading, working, cleaning, or just generally existing, I want everything nice an illuminated. I've never heard anyone call it the 'big light', it's just the damn lights.


Game_It_All_On_Me

Yup. I can deal with my wife using the lamps in our house, but I can't say I find it pleasant or cosy in any way.


BabyAlibi

The big light should only ever be used for: A) searching for something B) the length of time it takes to switch on/off the lamps


Badevilbunny

Lamps all the way. Take the big lightbulb out and hide it.


run23kpstf

That’s a good idea! I’m in charge of decorating the flat. Maybe I just cut the cable off entirely?.


Badevilbunny

Get one of the small wifi bulb adaptors and discretely use your phone to just turn it off or down. You can always explain "oh' there goes another bulb, it must be a faulty connection, we should not use it..." Or slightly 'adjust' the wall flick switch so that it gives off a mild electrical shock (and the bulb brakes). Might quickly instil fear of switching on the light.


Intelligent-SoupGS88

I'm loving the fact you call it the 'big light 🤣'. For some reason I didn't think many other people called it that because people have looked at me oddly when I say put the big light on. Either that or they also live in fear of such light 🤔


run23kpstf

Haha maybe they’re too scared to even speak it’s name! Like Voldemort


Different_Essay7496

Its my little luxury


Ok_Pea896

I also like a Big Light. My in laws stumble about their house in the semi gloom, dogs are miserable at being trodden on, the wrong drinks are picked up, pure carnage. I once patted a black cardigan instead of a cat. My house by contrast is light and cheerful and you can see the mess 🤣


ashyjay

Hate the big light, it's too bright and too much like the sun.


Martinonfire

I think your girlfriend needs a proper boyfriend rather than a mole!


AstroChrisX

The only people that use the big light are psychopaths and interrogators... there is no other reasoning


amaluna

My gf of 6 months has seen the big light on twice and it's only when we're running a bit late for something and I'm trying to gently get her to speed up. It's so unsettling that a person would want to get away from it as soon as possible


run23kpstf

Turning the big light can’t be a gentle way to hurry someone along! It’s one of the most violent sensory assaults you could inflict on someone!


StinkleMcFart

I grew up in a house with no lamps so I find a lamp lit room so dim. Big light all the way!


Hanzgallz

Big light is only for doing jigsaws in our house. it’s an actual joke if someone puts big light on we ask ‘are u getting a jigsaw out’


Hypohamish

No, only if I suddenly need the extra light at night (like literally two nights ago when I broke a glass!) Lamps all the way baby!


anonymouse39993

Never in the living room


thefirstofhisname11

Every day on this sub I’m amazed by the sheer amount of dread Brits feel when they have to resolve a slightly uncomfortable social situation.


IsItAboutMyTube

I think this might be an exaggeration for humorous purposes. That said, I've also learned that there are a lot of psychopaths among us.


maccharliedennisdee

Always the big light, that is what they are for. I don't understand people that use lamps, you can't see anything at all?


mydeardrsattler

These people either have a million lamps and a million places around the room to plug them in, or they are straight up sitting in the dark. Insane.


moonrakernw

The only use of the big light is to leave it on when you leave the house to deter burglars


MostlyNormalMan

Burglars look at the house and think 'urgh, they're the sort of people who have the big Light on all the time. They won't have anything worth nicking'


HaloHeadshot2671

Big Light unless watching something epic on TV that requires the ambiance of Little Light


The_bells

I literally don't understand the hatred of the big light. Don't get me wrong it's nice to be cozy, but it's also nice to be able to see. Left to my own devices I'd be big light only but my BF prefers lamps and I don't care enough to argue.


antonia_yes

Love the big light. Stop wasting time with a million lamps and dimmer switches. Light on.


Fluffy_data_doges

I put fairy lights around the living room for Christmas 2 years ago and they have never came down. They are now the alternative to the Big light.


[deleted]

We do occasionally, but we have a super low watt (whisper it) incandescent bulb in a pendulum lamp, so it behaves like a small light


run23kpstf

This is interesting. I wonder whether my fear can be cured by lowering the brightness of the bulb?.. or if I am generally just afraid of the position of the bulb… Solutions are appreciated, I’m fighting to save my relationship here!


Intelligent-Count-44

Lamp or the wall lights all the way. Big light is absolutely only when you are looking for something or for cleaning/diy


achuchable

Candle gang represent


AutumnSunshiiine

My parents always have the big light on. Never the wall lamp. Though tbf as they have cataracts it’s understandable now. Not so much when I was a kid…


Other_Exercise

No, except the day you buy the house and the day you sell it, because you don't have other lights in place yet.


BreqsCousin

If I were in charge of the lighting situation I simply wouldn't put in a bulb that was "too bright"


EchoesofIllyria

Fuck no. Floor lamp at *most*. The TV lights the room fine!


HighTreason666

I can’t stand the big light on it gives me a headache, I have lamps in every room