A closer look
Dimming cabin lights during takeoff and landing is strictly a safety protocol to allow your eyes to adjust to darkness in case of a catastrophic crash. It has absolutely nothing to do with creating a relaxing, romantic ambiance for your evening flight out of Newark. If the plane completely loses power and you need to evacuate through a smoke-filled cabin into the pitch-black night, those precious seconds saved by not being temporarily blinded could actually save your life. The airlines frame these procedures as comfort measures, casually hiding the morbid reality that every minor cabin adjustment is geared toward optimizing your chances of surviving a flaming wreckage. They also make you raise the window blinds so emergency responders can peer inside to see if there is anyone left to rescue. It is incredibly dark to realize that the flight attendant's polite request to stow your laptop is actually just a desperate attempt to keep flying shrapnel out of your face during an emergency!
