[TremendousJudge]

>A white reflective surface (whiteboard) in direct sunlight is 1.6cd/cm^2. Consumer monitors are ~300cd/cm^2

Why does it hurt my eyes to look outside after a while looking at a screen in a well lit room? (the sun is not directly visible, just buildings, trees and sky)

[atomicnumber3]

Because the sun is an enormous sphere of hydrogen-helium plasma with a core that's undergoing fusion just due to gravity. Even indirect sunlight is still a very large amount of light and energy.

I don't mean to sound flippant, but I think sometimes people forget just how insanely energetic stars of all sizes are.

[TremendousJudge]

But GP's point was that a screen is much brighter than a sunlit surface. You can't both be right, or I'm missing something.