I’ve long been a member of the much maligned minority who strongly prefer a light theme for Emacs and, for that matter, everything else too. All the cool kids have dark themes, some even using grotesque combinations like blue on black. The dark themers assure me that using the dark option is easier on the eyes.
It turns out—although, admittedly, I didn’t know it—that I was right all along. At least according to a recent article in TidBITS. Adam Engst wrote the article about the Mac’s dark mode feature, The Dark Side of Dark Mode, before the recent WWDC announcement that dark mode would be available on iOS/ipadOS devices as well but it takes on new force with Apple’s making the option available in its mobile devices too.
Engst makes the case, backed up with research, that the human brain has evolved to prefer dark on light. That’s partly why printed material uses that method. Light on dark makes it harder to discern shapes and read the printed word. As I say, he quotes a great deal of research purporting to show this is true. It’s an interesting article and worth reading whatever your preference.
If you’ve been around for a while, you know that I’m always suspicious of such findings. Of course, Engst quotes several studies which lends credence to the results. Mostly, though, I’m just having fun with this in a sort of “I told you so” way. Like most things different people will prefer different color schemes. And, of course, once again Emacs lets you have it your way.