>>>I think that may be a gender thing, for I'm forever turning lights off after her, and hearing complaints that I like it too "subdued".
>>
>>Nope, goes for several Jewish males I know. Every time lights on dimmers are straight up to maximum and every light in the room is on. The only rooms I like a lot of bright light in are the kitchen and the bathroom.
>
>Well this is where my theory falls to the ground.

I also don't thing that the amount of light in the room has any social preference - by gender, nation or anything. I guess it'd have more to do with eyesight. I generally hated seeing every corner of my shabby room when I was a teenager, and then also kept the habit of getting as little light as possible throughout my college years, but nowadays it's my wife who turns off the lights as soon as I don't need them. Probably because she can read her keyboard by the monitor light, while I need some extra light ;). IOW, the first thing which went off was the ability to notice the details in the shadows when there are bright surfaces in your _screen.

But I still don't turn on too many lights - I don't want every corner of the room lit (except for picture taking, when I'm not too lazy to go around and turn on the lights, and turn them off when done), but I want lots of light where I want it.