Originally Posted by
escape4
Well actually no, I cannot read by only relying on the small reading light; unfortunately it gives me a headache because it's not enough light.
I have no problem watching TV at home at 2pm if the sun is not directly beaming at the TV. On previous flights, I have watched IFE with lots of ambient light without any problem.
The sun was not facing anybody's screen when my shades were open; so everybody could still watch their movie, and I could read.
I think the issue was more about this man wanting to sleep rather than light causing an issue with IFE to him or anybody else. So it came down to his sleep vs my reading. If he cannot sleep while wearing eye shades, then I am sorry he cannot. But I am not sure his sleep issues should necessarily have priority over my intent to read for more than half the flight. I did not want to cause him problems but the minute he became impolite then I stopped having much concern about weighing his needs vs mine.
If he knows he cannot sleep with eye shades, then he needs to find another solution that works for him. If he simply relies on every single window side passenger wanting their window shade down, then chances are he will be disappointed.
There's something amusing about dismissing reading from a reading light because it gives you a headache, then dismissing someone suggesting they can't sleep with an eyemask on...
The way I see it, you're both equally right/in the wrong, though you have overall control given it's "your" window shade. Though it's rich to say someone else should use a product to overcome their dislike of the cabin brightness when you don't seem willing to do so yourself! Granted you didn't have much choice then, but now you know it can be an issue you could easily bring a small LED reading light with you - you can probably find one in the dollar store that will be perfectly bright and weigh virtually nothing/take up almost no space.
Originally Posted by
LondonElite
I'm curious, when people are at home watching TV during the daytime, do they close the blinds?
My very old TV has the contrast/brightness of a typical economy IFE device, so I often do close the curtains!