@Phoenix32890,
Re Andromeda Strain, I remember reading the book long before the movie. Had to be a kid.
I remember getting confused at the fact that the lead scientist, a middle age woman, would get dazed when staring at a blinking red light.
I didn't know about petite mal seizures.
However,
I had heard something about "red light districts" and had some sort of flawed concept of what a prostitute was.
So, when the woman got zoned out by the red blinking light, I thought she was lost in the thoughts of how ashamed she was about being a former prostitute.
Then, I wondered in awe how this woman managed to get out of that and become a scientist.
I really think that should have been part of the stroy.