"Light is making your body later."
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I don't think it matters whether or not the grammar and English is correct. If I can't understand what it's trying to say, it needs clarification. Also, did anyone in this thread actually clarify what the hell it means? I've read the whole page and still haven't the slightest what the damn sentence is trying to tell me.
It needs to clarify two things:
A.) Later than what? What is getting later? My body can't physically be 'later' without there to be something later...than.
B.) What light?I'm positive it should just say "Your sleep cycle is becoming later".
Also, I COMPLETELY disagree with the guy who said it's a perfectly good English sentence. Your body can't be late or early; unless it's late TO something, or it's late in DOING something. Your body just is unless there is a verb attached to the sentence. Everything about this sentence screams incorrect, unless you assume everyone that uses the app, unlike me, is able to associate the fact that the app appears to want to be a sleep cycle planner (which it isn't), it's a goddamn screen dimmer.
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Thanks for sharing your thoughts and suggestions, @Ben-Tricarico.
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The only other way to say the same thing is by putting a paragraph on the window.
Idea 1) What's wrong with a paragraph in the window, if it makes sense?
Idea 2) Alternately, if space in the window is limited, what about a link to a webpage with coherent, concise paragraphs of what you're trying to say?
Idea 3) Are you sure that instead of "Light is making your body later," you don't have room for "Exposure to light is keeping you from getting tired, and you're waking up in 6 hours! Go to sleep!!" Is that too much of a paragraph?
-neil-
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@neil-j said in "Light is making your body later.":
The only other way to say the same thing is by putting a paragraph on the window.
What's wrong with a paragraph, if it makes sense?
Alternately, if space in the window is limited, what about a link to a webpage with coherent, concise paragraphs of what you're trying to say?
Are you sure that instead of "Light is making your body later," you don't have room for "Exposure to light is keeping you from getting tired, and you're waking up in 6 hours! Go to sleep!!" Is that too much of a paragraph?
-neil-
Nothing personal, but that's too much to read for this kind of an app or program. When I tried to read it while imagining that I was reading it on the f.lux window, I stopped at around "tired,". I don't have a short attention span (just take a look at some of my extremely long posts on here for proof), but I do know that the average person out there isn't going to read much more than just a few words on a window of a program like this one. That's one of the reasons they are trying to find the shortest possible sentence to say what they are trying to say.
It's not just too much to read though. It's also not entirely accurate. It's possible to be very tired even though you're being exposed to too much blue light. What's happening though with too much light exposure after being awake for most of the day is, your circadian rhythm is being shifted in an unhealthy direction. Light is making your body later.
So, light exposure too late in the day isn't keeping you from being tired. It's shifting your "clock" to be later, and it's possible to be completely unaware of it. That's the problem most people are facing these days. That's why Michael and Lorna are working hard to help people understand these things. Yes, "Light is making your body later" isn't a common statement in today's world, but it is still absolutely 100% grammatically correct.
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Thanks @neil-j - feedback (like yours) on this particular text has been a valuable conversation for us. We'd love to put a better description in, it's one of the weirder and more interesting aspects of human biology, so when we put in more specific information we want to get it really right. Like @TwoCables mentioned, there are many variables so sometimes brevity is the right first approach, even if it needs an update later.
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@lorna said in "Light is making your body later.":
Thanks @neil-j - feedback (like yours) on this particular text has been a valuable conversation for us. We'd love to put a better description in, it's one of the weirder and more interesting aspects of human biology, so when we put in more specific information we want to get it really right. Like @TwoCables mentioned, there are many variables so sometimes brevity is the right first approach, even if it needs an update later.
Thank you.
Perhaps you need a link on the window that says "What does this mean?" that points to a web page explaining what it means. It would need to be immediately to the right of the text saying "Light is making your body later."
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@twocables yes! that is most likely what we'll do, we haven't yet because it turns out that writing that page correctly has added years of new research to our todo list...
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@lorna said in "Light is making your body later.":
@twocables yes! that is most likely what we'll do, we haven't yet because it turns out that writing that page correctly has added years of new research to our todo list...
I had a feeling that was one of the problems you were facing. Perhaps for now you could make a simple page that explains it in simple terms, but with a statement that you are still doing research on this to create a much more informative and educational resource. At least that way, everyone who sees this and gets confused can at least have a way to clear up their confusion on their own without having to post on here. I think most people would be fine with a very simple explanation that takes just a minute or less to read.
Believe me though, I know all too well the whole desire of giving people your very best (only when it's finished and ready to be seen) instead of giving them something that's just crossing the border of "just good enough" while you still work on finishing the masterpiece that will blow everyone away. Sometimes it's best to just give everyone something that will satisfy them in the meantime. Besides, in today's world, I doubt anyone would want to read anything that is much more than a few sentences long anyway, says the guy who writes extremely long posts. :)
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Digging this up because that line doesn't make any sense. It might be proper in a technical sense I suppose, but it fails at getting the point across and there are multiple ways to retain the box space and make a message that does not seem like its an improper translation.
Even something like Blue light will keep you up is better.
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Also, after viewing multiple posts on this, twocables seems to fall back on: once you understand what it means argument.
If you have to understand what it means, as in someone has to explain it to you, that is an absolute failure of an attempt. Its honestly better to put nothing there.
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I do agree with your point that if something needs to be explained then it's a failure in terms of user experience.
Perhaps it really is correct in, say, a technical sense - however I'm not an expert in the subject to make this determination.
Perhaps the question here is, who is the target audience for this application? If the answer is casual everyday users like you and me, then I think the wording of that message can definitely be improved to make it a bit more accessible.
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Created an account just to reply to this old thread (which is what I found when googling that phrase).
I've read the whole discussion and I still am not sure what the phrase was supposed to say.
If you need to have more words to express yourself in a way that make sense, then just use more words. Because the current phrase doesn't make sense and looks like broken English, even if maybe it isn't (something that I'm not inclined to agree with just yet).
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artificial light delays the timing of the circadian clock
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It's been years and this absurd message still shows up every time I have the misfortune of clicking the flux icon. I can't fathom why, given that virtually anything would be a better fit.
@TwoCables said in "Light is making your body later.":
It's proper English though. I can assure you of that. When you understand what it's saying, you realize just how perfect the English is here.
@TwoCables said in "Light is making your body later.":
Yes, "Light is making your body later" isn't a common statement in today's world, but it is still absolutely 100% grammatically correct.Yes, a bizarre use of the comparative form of the adjective "late", which tangibly sensible in this context, as in "Continuing, or remaining after the correct, usual, or expected time; delayed" (as per the Free Dictionary which I happen to be fond of), is, indeed, correct. That doesn't mean it's a good fit, or that the average reader's immediate reaction isn't to consider the adverb "later", which greatly hampers the intelligibility of the sentences.
The simple fact that people have been bringing this up as hard to comprehend—that this thread exists, in other words—is enough proof that this unfortunate wording ought to be modified. And given that changing two strings in the source code should certainly be a trivial task, I am baffled it hasn't been done yet.
But just so you don't say I'm a curmudgeon who won't offer a better alternative, here's one. "Light is making you stay up later". You even get to keep the "later" whilst still being completely and fully comprehensible! And for the opposite one, "Light is making you wake up earlier", or whatever the sentence is supposed to mean.
