You said yes, there are more efficient ways to write this code. Were you referring to more efficiency that can be found in assigning the proximity sensor value to the LED brightness value? Or were you saying that there are more efficient ways to write the long series of IF statements that I will need to write at the bottom of the sketch so that the proximity of my hand controls the brightness of the LED strip..
I caught your drift and deleted the distance int.. not necessary.
Now I am wondering if there is a more efficient way to write the code for the next part. The series of IF statements will eventually give me what I want, but is there an easier way to write an exponential code that responds to proxcont and changes the brightness of the LED strip accordingly without the seemingly endless series of IF statements...