[dlkinney]

The study referenced by his reference is not very good.[1]

They use full white and full black for all modes. As we know, dark theme is typically white on dark gray (or equivalent), not pure white on pure black. I can't think of any dark mode that uses pure black. (AOSP, IOS, macOS, etc.)

This alone invalidates the study, because it doesn't reflect the real world. Science is only as good as it is rigorous, and if it fails to model the real world, then it's not very good.

Science, these days, seems to have become a faith based system, because most people don't usually review the content of the studies.

That (and bad science, like this study) is a shame.

1: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001872081351550...

[ziml77]

"Invalidates" might be a bit strong, since it still does show that white on black isn't a great choice. It just doesn't follow from the study that the average dark theme is worse than the average light theme.

[K0SM0S]

> Science, these days, seems to have become a faith based system

> That (and bad science, like this study) is a shame.

Tangential, but this has indeed been a slow drift since the 1970s roughly. We are witnessing the consequences of that, now that entire generations of academics have been molded as such.

I think we need a vocal and principled reaffirmation of Positivism in science, to meaningfully move away from all the faith-based and broadly political conduct of scientific affairs at large (and the reporting thereof).

[pb7]

iOS is pure black in dark mode.

[mitjak]

it is absolutely not. 90% of visible UI is dark grey painted over a black background. a lot of apps also use dark tones too, like dark blue or green.

[pb7]

90% is a gross exaggeration. The Mail app is pure black[0]. Apps that have grey on black like Messages have styles carried over from the light version of apps — they weren’t specifically optimized for dark mode to improve readability. Other apps that I’ve checked: Music, Phone, Photos, Files, Calendar, even Twitter.

[0] https://www.litmus.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/bildschirm...

[voxic11]

I don't see any blacks in that screenshot?

[Jackim]

If you bring the image into a photo editor you'll find that the background of Mail's dark mode is RGB #000000, the purest digital black there is.

[pb7]

It’s hard to have a discussion when you act in bad faith. The background is #000000.

[zwily]

Maybe you’re not looking at it on a screen capable of true black?

[chooseaname]

Blue on black/dark gray is horrible for visual acuity.

[there_the_and]

Blues exist along a range of brightness values and blues work great in dark terminals and editors all day every day for many many people. I'm typing into a browser window surrounded by probably about 4 or 5 terminal and editor windows peeking out of the background with somewhere between 5 and 10 different shades of blue on dark grey backgrounds and they look clear, bright, and amazing. The dark background makes the blues pop.

[chooseaname]

Blue is objectively the hardest color to see. Amber would be so much better in this scenario.

[dylan604]

or green like the Hombebrew default scheme in Terminal. non-techy people I used to work with called me the matrix because my screen was stacked with multiple terminal windows with the green text on dark background color scheme