[UMATURLIN]

> If my answer seemed cynical ...

It didn't seem cynical to me.

> From the darkest parts of Earth, the naked human eye can see about 5,000 stars; from a brightly lit city street, only about 100.

That's an overestimate. It's said that in the middle of New York you can't see any. On a clear night well away from cities it's more like 1,000 to 1,500. May be more from mountain tops. I did try counting stars from my back yard once, got round about 150.