But our brains are also good at adapting for lower dynamic range images. We have no trouble recognizing a smudge of white with the same luminosity as a white wall as a sun glint, despite the real sun glint being thousand times more luminous.

I had trouble noticing that an HDR video is playing as SDR (due to player or browser limitations). Yes, something feels a bit off, but it's not that pronounced until you play the same video in HDR. Then the contrast (hehe) makes you see the difference clearly.