What if everything was bright? What if there was no such thing as shadow, or dark? Let's look at what would happen. First off, how would the intensity of the light affect things? If everything was glaringly bright, then we would be blinded by the overwhelming light. However, if everything was too dark, then we also wouldn't see anything. Let's assume that the light level was about what we get on a normal moderately cloudy day. What would happen?
The human eye works by finding the edges of objects, then sampling a small area of texture from inside the object, and mentally "filling in" the object's borders with that texture or color. In the below computer generated pictures, an algorithm is used to simulate lighting. In the picture on the left, normal lighting is shown: A light fixture illuminates a room. On the right is what the room might start to look like if lighting was sent uniformly everywhere.
As you can see, the outlines are still defined, but more as a change in color or texture than as a crisp line. Another factor seen in these images is that of Ambient Occlusion. This can be seen in the image on the left, in the top right corner near the light fixture: It is a darkening of narrow solid angles that disappears when lighting is uniform.
How would such a lighting even exist? One scenario that could happen is if the air somehow emitted light of its own: Every object surrounded by air would be completely uniformly surrounded by light. If the objects themselves emitted light, then the borders between textures would fade even more, and complex texture would fade into flat color.
In conclusion, a world without light differences is a world without contrast and shadows. Although at first, it seems interesting, when analyzed, it is revealed that all you would see are loosely defined blotches of plain texture.
Photo Credit: Gtanski via Wikipedia. Public Domain.
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