Oda a la oscuridad

Look at a satellite image of Earth. Where before it was dark as night, it is now lit up like a Christmas tree. If you zoom into a city, you'll see spotlights, neon lights, car lights, and streetlights. If you get even closer, to your own room, you can see lamps and television screens, tablets and phones. The human being has always fought against darkness, but is there not enough light now? What is all this artificial light doing to our sleep patterns, our rhythms, and our bodies? Sandberg explores our intimate relationship with the dark: why it scares us, why we need it, and why the ever-imminent light harms our well-being. Beneath the dark polar night of northern Norway, he ponders the cultural, historical, psychological, and scientific significance of darkness, while testing the limits of his own fear. For as long as he can remember, Sandberg has been afraid of the dark. The dark is an ancient fear shared by all children. However, today, in our cities permanently illuminated by streetlights and screens, by cars, factories and billboards, can we say that we know the dark? Sandberg writes about what happens to the body at night. He alludes to sleep, stars, black holes, and the global struggle to preserve a night sky. Could it be that the darkness that Sandberg has always feared is much more important than we may have thought?