Quote:
Originally Posted by charleski
Wilkins, A. J., Nimmo-Smith, I., Slater, A. & Bedocs, L. (1989). Fluorescent lighting, headaches and eye-strain. Lighting Research and Technology, vol. 21, 11-18
This is a double-blind cross-over study which showed the incidence of headaches and eye-strain was more than halved by a measure that reduced the amount of light modulation in the 100Hz region.
Yes, there's concrete scientific evidence that flicker causes eye-strain, though it varies between individuals. LCD flicker is caused by the compact fluorescent tubes commonly used as backlights, and presumably LED lighting eliminates this.
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A backlit Liquid Crystal Display is certainly not the same device as a fluorescent light cited in the study you reference.
LED backlit LCD displays have no flicker beyond the refresh rate of the LCD(
Wikipedia: Refresh rate: The number of times per second in which the monitor draws the data it is being given. Since activated LCD pixels do not flash on/off between frames, LCD monitors exhibit no refresh-induced flicker, no matter how low the refresh rate.[3]) LEDs don't flicker, the diode is electrically powered and the phosphor emits light until the electrical stimulation stops.
So while I'll have to agree that you've quoted valid science about flourescent lighting causing headaches and eyestrain, it has NOTHING to do with the types of LCD displays in laptops/netbooks/MIDs/iPods built in the last few years. Science mis-applied is worse than myth. An recent LCD device is a perfectly acceptable ereader IF all the other attributes meet your needs (battry duration, size, cost, OS, etc.), but the 'eyestrain' factor is not a valid criteria. All I'm saying is to justify your e-ink purchase on
valid factors (I'm still in the market for one because of the battery duration).