I have a theory, now, that the reason some people don't object to the glossy screen on modern displays, including Apple's, is because they have the mental ability to block or filter out reflections, much like the shift in appearance with some optical illusions. I don't have a any scientific evidence for this, but I did notice the other day that I can block out or bring in the reflections myself at will. Perhaps that's why I don't mind, and fact prefer, glossy screens. Apocryphal evidence also supports the theory.
At Macworld yesterday I was chatting with Rob Griffiths who mentioned that a friend of his just doesn't "see" the reflections. He wonders what the problem is that others complain about. On the other hand, Rob himself sees every tiny light bulb reflected in the display, and it drives him crazy.
As soon as he started chatting about it, I realized that the reflections of the overhead fluorescents snapped into view for me. Then I made them go away, without affecting my view of the content on the screen.
"Aha, I thought. It's the same process that allows some people to switch the view of optical illusions that can be seen both ways." For example, in the cube below, is it a cube floating in space with a chunk out of the corner? Or is it a cube resting in the corner of a three sided backdrop? With practice, you can force the illusion to change back and forth.
I haven't explored this any further or spoken with any scientists who specialize in human vision. For now, it just a theory that some people, like me, can enjoy what a glossy screen does in low light yet not object when there are reflections. Can you make the glossy screen reflections go away and reappear at will? Let me know, and I'll see if I can find an expert who can shed some, um, light on all this.