Sustained Inspiration: Reflections on Human Responses to Light and their Quantification

In 1991, my junior year in college, I took a course taught by Prof. Craig Bernecker in which he introduced John Flynn’s work on the psychological aspects of lighting [Flynn and others 1973; Flynn and others 1979]. That’s what hooked me on lighting. Two ideas from Flynn’s work inspired me then and continue to propel my research today.

First, I was surprised to learn that architectural lighting could be intentionally designed to reinforce, or even evoke, planned perceptual responses. Using light—a medium that is formless on its own—to summon emotion seemed almost magical. I was intrigued by the potential of light to lift a person’s spirit, create relaxing settings, direct attention, and create delight.

Second, Flynn’s analytical approach to the psychological properties of light was empowering. He described systematic methods for studying connections between quantifiable lighting conditions and seemingly impalpable human perceptions. I could more easily identify with Flynn’s research-based approach to lighting than to a design approach that often relies on inspiration and metaphor. Prior to studying Flynn’s work, I had a naïve view of human nature, based in part on the childhood axiom that every person is unique. I had not previously considered that groups of people behave and respond in ways that can be described with statistical distributions. The idea of using light to elicit shared and predictable emotional responses was new to me, and powerful.

Today, lighting professionals are lucky to be in the midst of two transformations. The first is being driven by technological advancements in solid-state lighting, the second by deeper knowledge and awareness of circadian photobiology. These advancements have required paradigm shifts in lighting research, design, and application. Yet, Flynn’s basic conclusions about group responses to spatial patterns of light, and his push to study human responses to optical radiation with scientific methods, remain relevant. Today we are building on the foundation laid by Flynn and other pioneers, augmenting and expanding the work that they began.

LEUKOS publishes articles that employ rigorous scientific methods to make inferences and conclusions about light and lighting. Quantification of lighting quality continues to be the aim of many articles that appear in LEUKOS. While LEUKOS readers appreciate basic scientific results, even more appreciated are transcendent articles that place research results in the context of lighting practice, and provide interpretations that shape how we think about lighting. Much like Flynn’s seminal works, LEUKOS articles that offer wisdom have greater potential for broad impacts. It is exciting to know that, in addition to advancing lighting science for today’s professionals, the pages of LEUKOS contain knowledge that will inspire the next generation—much like Flynn’s work did for me.