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Colour interpretation

Sometimes I think about the process of how we all see colour. For instance when I look at a white wall,I see the colour I refer to as white. Another person though might see the same wall and see the colour I know as green. I'm not talking about colour blindness, it's about our concept of colour. For instance if you were to borrow my eyes and look at the same wall, would you see the colour my version of white, or would you see a different colour than me, but one that you refer to as white anyway?

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Pixiering

'a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.' Check out the mantis shrimps vision on The Oatmeal. That little guy sees colors we will never be able to see

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Laughman · 46-50, M

@Pixiering Mantis shrimps? The oatmeal?? What is all that? You lost me.

Pixiering

@Laughman http://theoatmeal.com/comics/mantis_shrimp

Laughman · 46-50, M

Well I'm glad the shrimp can see a gazillion colours:) they must get a lot of headaches.But the real question is: is your white the same as mine?

Pixiering

@Laughman dont know..does the wet paint smell the same to you as it does to me?

Laughman · 46-50, M

@Pixiering most probably not, I have a terrible sense of smell:) I won what experiment has been done to prove my question of the day?

Pixiering

@Laughman I dont think there is a definitive yes or no to your question. Its impossible to say.

Laughman · 46-50, M

@Pixiering really? I'm sure there is a scientific explanation for all this.

Pixiering

@Laughman I hope there is but I don't think so. .....now I'm gonna have to find out.

Laughman · 46-50, M

@Pixiering it's like you have been assigned homework... sorry.

Pixiering

@LaughmanI would say recent experiments lead us down a road to the idea that we don't all see the same colors," Neitz said.

Another color vision scientist, Joseph Carroll of the Medical College of Wisconsin, took it one step further: "I think we can say for certain that people don't see the same colors,"

Hmmm..now I want to know what your white is.

Laughman · 46-50, M

@Pixiering it sort of messes with my head. And if you did swap eyes, would the colours you see be boring or worse make you queezy?

Pixiering

@Laughman can we just switch brains now because this has mine twisted.

Laughman · 46-50, M

@Pixiering see isn't this exciting?? It's better than"how is the weather??"... It's sunny and hot btw.

Pixiering

@Laughman it was here today too...but is YOUR hot MY hot? Now..how would you describe your white to the blind?

Laughman · 46-50, M

I think my hot is hotter than your hot...I'm in Australia:) I find it hard to describe colours. White I would say is pure, smooth, bright. Normally when describing colours you use another colour as reference..or it's a bluish grey.

Pixiering

@Laughman def hotter. Puts a new perspective on 'Whats your favorite color?' I have to consider a lot of things for a simple question.

Laughman · 46-50, M

@Pixiering I like deep blues, however your version of my blue could most likely be yellowish red :/

Pixiering

@Laughman Thats why my favorite color is now clear..glitter is a strong 2nd

Laughman · 46-50, M

That's cheating...clear isn't a colour. It's like saying I like the colour of air :/

Pixiering

@Laughman burgundy..my favorite color is burgundy✌

Laughman · 46-50, M

@Pixiering so your favourite colour is what I call mustard yellow...nice :)

Pixiering

@Laughman of your mustard yellow is my burgundy than yes. I suppose it is.

Laughman · 46-50, M

I would call my version of burgandy a brownish red. I like the colour I call deep blue as I find it cooling and fresh yet bold..like the colour of the deep blue sea.

Pixiering

@Laughman yet your describing colors by using other colors☺ if my burgundy isn't your burgundy than your brownish red isnt my brownish red. (But I would describe it the same)

Laughman · 46-50, M

@Pixiering exactly.. however that only applies if we swap eyeballs. If we keep our own eyes then the colour we see from our own vision is what we individually identify as Burgundy. It's amazing how hard it is to describe a colour, especially if you can use colour words. The only way to do it is to reference something..ie the leaves on this tree is what we call the colour green.Well it's what I see as my version of green anyway.

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