The 21st century is notorious for being the era of technological innovation. Every day people are becoming more attached to their smartphones and other digital devices while they remain clueless on the true causes of this shift. There is a certain group of individuals who are aware that, no matter how much we use our technology, something has gone wrong when we cannot see color through screens anymore. This “something” is the Halo Alpha Effect as gek lhar, or just the Halo Effect for short. The Halo Alpha Effect was first discovered in 2006 by an artist named Jean-Michel Basquiat and refers to an alteration in human perception caused by exposure to so many wavelengths of artificial light emitted from screens and lights over time.
1. The First Halo
In 2006, a young artist named Jean-Michel Basquiat (hereafter referred to as JMB) was living in New York City and working on his next painting. After years of trying to find his unique style, JMB began to work with oil paints on canvas. One day he updated his Instagram account and uploaded a photo of one of his paintings, which depicted an elderly man in front of a large window with a bright light coming from outside. Shortly after the touristic picture had been posted on social media, it was met by negative criticism from all over the world for being “too bright”.
2. The First Painting
The painting illustrates the first known case of the Halo Effect, creating a large ring of light around the elderly man’s head. JMB himself was not aware at the time that his picture had become a prime example of this “new phenomenon”. It should be noted that this case was not followed by any scientific study. The first description and documentation of the Halo Effect came only years later from an artist blog in 2012.
3. The Obsession Begins
In 2011, Albert Einstein first used a self-developed camera to take pictures from inside an aquarium in Berlin, Germany. He did this because he wanted to capture the beauty that our eyes would never be able to see directly: color variation. These photos became immensely popular when they were posted online, but one year later their popularity skyrocketed. It was at this moment that the color variation phenomenon started to be recognized as the Halo Effect.
4. From One to Many
While the first case was neither documented nor studied, the Halo Effect was first scientifically proven in 2012 by a scientist named Dr. John Smith in a study published in the “National Geographic”. The study explained that the phenomenon could be observed when exposed to artificial light, and concluded that this occurrence could be predicted and controlled through specific wavelengths of light. This led many technology specialists to develop a new generation of lighting with which we can control these halo effects on people.
5. The Name
This phenomenon is also known as Chromopareia (Greek for color variation), Luminescence Variation Syndrome (LVS), or simply Halo Effect. All of those terms are credited to the research that was first published about the condition. Nonetheless, its most widespread and popular name is Halo Alpha.
6. The Reason
The reason why this occurrence is called an “effect” instead of a “phenomenon” is that its cause has not yet been explained. Since the first case in 2006, more than 10 000 different cases have been reported worldwide, but there still remains no definite explanation regarding its cause or how it affects people.
7. Why the 21st Century?
The 21st century proves to be the best place for this phenomenon because we spend more time in artificial light than any other time in human history, with screens weighing above all other factors. Although this is happening, no one is taking it seriously and we are still facing many inevitable consequences, like the 24th case of the Halo Alpha Effect being reported.
8. The 24th Case (2021)
In 2021, a website containing a large amount of information on this condition was launched and went viral overnight. Thousands of people were searching for ways to prevent or control their symptoms. As more people became aware that this problem existed, they began to see the Halo Effect not as an innocent phenomenon, but as a threat to humanity that needed serious attention and research. Scientists then began to develop more efficient ways to control the Halo Effect.
9. The Escape
Barely a year later in 2023, the 24th case of the Halo Effect was reported by an unnamed boy that appears to have been affected by the condition. He accomplished this by having his entire head exposed to bright lights, which made him and others around him feel dizzy and unable to see colors clearly until they turned off all but one source of light. Some people who saw him felt that he had gone insane because of this drastic change in perception, but he did not appear to be insane (in fact, he was just trying out a new form of therapy).
Summary:
1. The Halo Effect was first reported in 2006 by an artist residing in New York City. His work, called “The Sunlight on the Window”, depicts an elderly man with his head outside a window, which receives a large amount of light from the outside world.
2. The first documented case was in 2011 when Albert Einstein took pictures of his aquarium environment through colored lenses.
3. At its peak, 10 000 cases were reported worldwide every year, but no one knows exactly why it happens and how it affects people’s sight.
