Blue light?

Question

Well, I don't intend this as a statement.
However, Belgian and Brit scientist (Liege & Surrey) kinda mapped the parts of the brain which are stimulated by... light. In short and very abruptly put, exposure to blue light makes you smarter (there were already known uses of this frequency in skin diseases treatment) and there already are preoccupations for utilizing blue light emanating electric bulbs in offices etc.
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0001247
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PLoS_ONE
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_therapy
http://www.livescience.com/health/060201_blue_light.html

My question is - this stuff is relatively new but it seems to gain territory on the scientific fields. If someone would have talked about it let's say ten years ago, would he have been labeled as... just a fool? I mean, come on... light is just light, how could it have any influence on the brain?

Answer 1

First, what does the use of blue light skin treatment have to do with blue light stimulating a certain part of the brain? There are two different things at work here, so you can't say blue light is magical and has many applications. The mechanism which causes it to be effective as a treatment of skin conditions could be quite different from that which is causing certain parts of the brain to be stimulated.

Second, according to the links you posted, the blue light doesn't make you more intelligent or smarter, it decreases fatigue. This could have a very useful application in keeping drowsy people awake, but there's nothing magical to it.

I see no problem with light having an influence on a person's alertness. It could be as simple as light=daytime=wake up or no light=night time=go to sleep. I fail to see how this is anyway parallel to seeing some current paranormal claims as dubious (if this is what you're getting at).

Answer 2

What's new about blue light? Ever stand in moonlight before? On a full moon, everything looks blue.... blue light. People have been worshiping the moon since the beginning of mankind! The moon could heal you, give you wisdom and guidance.... think about it.

Now, think about the sun. Even artificial sunlight has a direct effect on the brain. Sometimes, people call sunlight "nature's prrozac" because it provides vitamin D which puts you in a happy mood.

Strobe lights in clubs (or wherever) have been known to cause seizures, panic attacks and hysteria. Again, a direct link to light and the brain.

As far as using light for medical reasons, when you think about all that stuff, it makes perfect sense to me!

Answer 3

If they had claimed it worked without being able to prove it, then yes, they would have ignored him. Just as they would have ignored someone 2000 years ago if they said the Earth went around the Sun and couldn't prove it. It doesn't matter if you're right - it matters if you can provide evidence to support yourself. Coming up with the right answer for no good reason (say, guessing randomly on an exam) won't get you any credit because you had no reason to think that.

Answer 4

to some degree blue light is toxic, that is what most of the studies 10 years ago said.
I don't think it is really toxic.
most people do not like to much blue light,
I can take about 25 min. of blue before I start getting annoyed.
I wonder if it makes you smarter because you are so on edge around it.
or does blue light actually make you smarter and most people find that slightly toxic ?

Answer 5

I don't know about the effects of blue light....but I know that one time I had a terrible headache. I went outside and there was a huge,bright full moon. I looked at it a few minutes and my headache went away. It really surprised me. I wasn't expecting anything to happen.

Answer 6

The Blue Light

Your Ethos
Your Pathos
Your Porthos
Your Aramis
Your Brut Cologne
You're writing home
You are hopeless
Your hopelessness
Is rising around you, rising around you
You like it
It gives you something to do
In the day time
Hey buddy, you need a hobby
You are tired of moving forward
You think of the future
And secretly you piddle your pants
The puddle of piddle
Which used to be little
Is rising around you, rising around you
You like it
It gives you something to do
In the night time
Well, you travel to bars
You also go to Winchell's Doughnuts
And hang out with the Highway Patrol
Sometimes you'll go to a pizza place
You go toSharkey's to get that
American kind of pizza
That has the ugly, waxey, fake yellow kind
Of yellow Cheese on the top...
Then you go to Straw Hat Pizza,
To get all of those artificial ingredients
That never belonged on a pizza in the first place
(But the white people really like it...)
Oh well, you'll go anyplace, you'll do anything
Oh you'll give me your underpants
I hope these aren't yours, buddy...
They're very nice, though
You'll go to Santa Monica Boulevard,
You'll go to the Blue Parrot
No problem, you'll go anyplace
You'll do anything
Just so you can hang out with the others
The others just like you
Afraid of the future
(Death Valley Days, straight ahead)
The future is scary
Yes, it sure is
Well, the puddle is rising
It smells like the ocean
A body of water to isolate England
And also Reseda
The oil, in patches
All over Atlantis, Atlantis
You remember Atlantis
Donovan, the guy with the brocade coat,
Used to sing to you about Atlantis
You loved it, you were so involved then
That was back in the days when you used to
Smoke a banana
You would scrape the stuff off the middle
You would smoke it
You even thought you was getting ripped from it
No problem
Ah Atlantis, they could really get down there
The plankton, the krill
The giant underwater pyramid, the squid decor
Excuse me. Todd
The big ol' giant underwater door
The dome, the bubbles, the blue light
Light, light, light, light
Blue light blue light
The seepage, the sewage, the rubbers, the napkins
Your ethos, your pathos
Your flag hole, your port-hole
Your language
You're frightened
Your future
You can't even speak your own ******* language
You can't read it anymore
You can't write it anymore
Your language
The future of your language
Your meat loaf
Don't let your meat loaf
Heh, Heh, Heh
Your Micro-Nanette
Your Brut
Cologne

-Frank Zappa

Answer 7

Light Therapy: The future of medicine - I LOVE IT!

Technology is going to get better and SMARTER! AWESOME!

Answer 8

Watch out where the huskies go, don't you eat the yellow snow.
Frank Zappa