Scientists Confirm: That One Flickering Light Is Specifically Targeting You
A three-year MIT study concludes what highly sensitive people have long suspected.
Researchers at MIT have concluded a three-year study confirming what highly sensitive people have long suspected: fluorescent lights that flicker imperceptibly to others are, in fact, engaged in a coordinated campaign of psychological warfare against specific individuals.
"The data is unambiguous," said Dr. Helen Torres, lead researcher on the project. "These lights know exactly what they're doing."
The study, published this week in the Journal of Inexplicable Sensory Phenomena, tracked over 2,000 participants across 47 office buildings. Researchers found that certain fluorescent bulbs exhibited what they termed "selective aggression"—flickering at frequencies detectable only by individuals scoring high on sensitivity assessments.
"What's remarkable is the precision," Dr. Torres explained during a press conference. "The same light that appears perfectly stable to 80% of office workers will produce a barely perceptible strobe effect for the remaining 20%. And somehow, those 20% always end up seated directly beneath it."
When asked how the lights were selecting their targets, Dr. Torres admitted the mechanism remains unclear. "Our current hypothesis involves some form of electromagnetic sensitivity detection, but frankly, the lights aren't cooperating with our inquiries."
Building maintenance workers interviewed for the study expressed skepticism. "I've checked that light a hundred times," said Marcus Webb, facilities manager at a Boston accounting firm. "There's nothing wrong with it. It's not flickering."
"Yes it is," responded every HSP in the building, simultaneously.
The study also found that attempts to remedy the situation—changing bulbs, adjusting ballasts, or simply asking to move desks—were largely ineffective.
"The lights seem to follow them," Dr. Torres noted. "Participant 847 moved desks four times over the study period. Within 72 hours, each new location developed the same issue. We have no explanation for this."
The National Lighting Association released a statement denying any coordinated effort by fluorescent bulbs to target sensitive individuals, calling the study's conclusions "alarmist" and "not representative of the lighting community as a whole."
At press time, the light above this reporter's desk had begun flickering in a rhythm that could only be described as "smug."