Originally Posted by
canklecat
You sure do like an argument. Or getting the last word on every filibuster. And I say that as someone who loves the sound his keyboard makes. So have at it after this post.
So are we just supposed to not
discuss a topic? Yes, I make
arguments during a discussion because I am trying to persuade you (and others) to my point of view. I may reject
your arguments during a discussion because I happen to disagree with them. But when you post something like this, it seems you don't want a discussion at all.
Sorry but I reject the whole "my way of the highway" idea of discussion. That's not a discussion...that's just a pronouncement or to put it in less expensive words, "my mind is made up and nothing is going to change it". Frankly, there are too many people in the world who have that point of view.
Contrary to what most people think, I can be persuaded if your argument is strong enough. I can change my mind and I have in the past. I'm a professional scientist and I'm open to all kinds of new ideas but the idea has to be a good one or it doesn't get past the filters.
Originally Posted by
canklecat
Yeah, I understand the concept of dark adaptation. We did the nighttime training maneuvers in the military, including nighttime orienteering. Our squad won that competition -- despite my nearly complete lack of a natural sense of direction because I can read a compass and topo map and could see well enough we didn't need the red or blue filtered flashlight and none of us smoked cigarettes (which got a rival squad eliminated by an ambush -- those lighters show up for a mile or more across the Camp Pendleton terrain in some areas, and even a glowing cigarette tip can be seen from a surprising distance with dark adapted eyes).
Okay, you have some experience with using night vision. Then why do you talk about your eyes being "night adapted" when you are using lights? Surely at some point in your training, they demonstrated what happens when you are exposed to even a small amount of light when your eyes are night adapted.
Most people have no idea what light does to their night vision because they don't go out at night without the benefit of street lights or car headlights. But some do.
Think about some poor smuck out for a walk with his dog on a dark bike path and is comfortably and well adapted to the dark. Along comes some jerk on a bicycle with his lights blazing. Even when pointed down, the lights are much more than the dog walker is adapted to. In the few seconds that it takes the bicyclist to pass, the dog walker goes from being able to navigate to being totally in the dark. Go back to your training and think about what that would have done to you.
Originally Posted by
canklecat
And you're overstating the differences in a typical suburban and urban area. It's never dark enough on most of our MUP for anyone to attain totally dark adapted eyes. At a minimum there are utility lights within a quarter of a mile of practically every point along the MUP. The one exception might be that stretch with a heavy tree overhang that feels like riding in a tunnel.
You are understating the difference and/or ignoring that not everyone rides in strictly urban, suburban or rural areas. It's a big country and lots of people ride in lots of different places. I would consider 1/4 mile to be a very long distance indeed from a light source. In my particular area, bike paths tend to be in more park like settings where there are few lights, the paths are along rivers and many of them are 200 to 400 yards from the nearest light source and are screened by a lot of trees. They are damned dark and, after a few encounters with walkers in the past and a "well duh!" moment (as well as a few encounters with park patrols since the path is closed at night), I decided that riding on the paths with lights was, well, rather rude. I have other ways to go, so I don't take those routes at night.
Originally Posted by
canklecat
Most of the pedestrians I see along the MUP at night have their noses buried in their phones, their faces lit up blue. Nothing my bike lights do will make a difference. The handful of folks who aren't using lights and reflectors aren't likely to stumble off into the non-existent woods and be eaten by non-existent bears because they were blinded by bicycle lights. The biggest risk to pedestrians is stumbling 50 yards down the bank into the river while playing Pokemon Go.
I seldom have seen a pedestrian on an MUP with "their noses buried in their phones" either day or night. Some but certainly not "most". I agree that those who might deserve just about anything they get.
However, by exaggerating your argument into the non-existent, you demonstrate both your lack of knowledge and/or your lack of empathy (given your previous training) with regard to path users. No, they aren't going to be eaten by bears...although it's not impossible here in Colorado. What they
could do is stumble over debris, cracks or roots in or along the trail and become injured. As the trails in my area are along creeks and they are usually asphalt paths, there is ample opportunity for things to fall over of you can't see where you are going.
Sorry but I just can't be that selfish.