The human eye can perceive millions of colors physically. But we still perceive colors differently.
Color blindness
Some people cannot see the color difference. This is the so-called color blindness due to a defect or absence of cells in the retina that are sensitive to high levels of light.
The basis of color blindness is that a person does not see the difference between a series of colors. Usually this condition is transmitted genetically. In the male part of the population, it is much more common.
Most patients are unable to distinguish between shades of red and green. In some cases, cyan and yellow are added to the list.
The distribution and density index of sensitive cells also differ in people who do not suffer from pathology of the visual apparatus, which makes them see the same color in slightly different ways.
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In addition to our individual biological structure of the eye, color perception is related to how our brain interprets information. Perception takes place mainly in our brain, and therefore it is subjectively based on personal experience.
What is synesthesia?
Take, for example, people with synesthesia who can perceive colors in letters and numbers. Synesthesia is often described as a combination of feelings in which a person is able to see sounds or perceive colors by ear. But the colors that are perceived by ear also differ from case to case.
Even if squares A and B are the same color, the human brain interprets them differently. Another example is Alderson's classic wrap-around illusion. It features two marked squares of the same color, but the human brain also perceives them differently.
Color as a significant category
From the moment we are born, we learn to classify objects, colors, emotions and just about anything that makes sense using language. And while our eyes can perceive thousands of colors, the way we use color in our daily lives means that we must distribute this enormous variety into identifiable, meaningful categories.
For example, artists and fashion experts use specialized terminology to refer to and recognize hues that, in essence, can be described by a non-specialist in the field.
Recognition of the color spectrum in different cultures
Speakers of different languages and people from different cultural groups also recognize the color spectrum in different ways. In some languages, such as tribute, which is common in Papua New Guinea, and bassa, which is characteristic of Liberia and Sierra Leone, two terms are used to denote color: "dark" and "light". "Dark" is translated as "cold", and light - as "warm". Colors such as black, blue and green are classified as cool, while lighter colors such as white, red, orange and yellow are perceived as warm.
The Warlpiri people of northern Australia don't even have the word "color". In such a cultural group, what we will call color will be described by a rich vocabulary regarding texture, physical sensation, and functional goals.
Five key shades
Interestingly enough, most of the world's languages name only five basic shades. Cultures such as Himba, which spread to the plains of Namibia, and Berinmo, who live in Papua New Guinea, use only five terms to denote color. Just like the words “dark,” “light,” and “red,” these languages have the word “yellow,” but they use a generic term for colors such as blue and green. These languages do not have separate terms for "green" and "blue," but use the same term to describe both colors.
To answer the question of how the Himba people perceive colors, University of London psychologist Jules Davidoff visited Namibia. He knew that people belonging to the Himba tribe do not distinguish between green and blue and use a language that does not use the word blue. When the Himba were shown a circle containing eleven green and one blue sectors, they could not choose a sector different from the rest. And those people who still noticed the difference were able to do so only after several attempts.
Lack of blue in other languages
For example, in the ancient Greek language there was no word "blue" at all. The word kuaneos, meaning blue, appears in the later stages of the development of the Greek language when describing Zeus or Hector's hair.
The great poet Homer uses a palette of only five colors in his works. And the philosopher Empedocles expresses the belief that colors should be divided into four categories - white, black, red and yellow.
The absence of blue color can also be noticed when reading the New Testament or Torah. Ancient Japanese used the same hieroglyph to describe the colors blue and green. And even in modern Japanese, you can find the description of the newly blossoming leaves as "bright blue."
The only ancient people who singled out blue as a separate category were the Egyptians. Egypt is an ancient state in which blue dye was produced.
Russian, Greek, Turkish and many other languages also have two separate terms for blue. One of them applies exclusively to dark shades, and the other to lighter shades.
A person's perception of colors can also change over the course of his life. Greek speakers who used the two primary color terms to describe light and dark blue were more likely to see the two colors as similar. The same thing has been observed for a long time in the UK, where the two colors are described in English by the same basic term - "blue".
Different languages interpret objects differently
In fact, different languages can influence our perception of objects in all areas of life. In a laboratory at Lancaster University, scientists are researching how the use and effects of different languages change the way we perceive everyday objects. This can be explained by the fact that, while learning a new language, a person gets the opportunity to interpret the world in different ways, including his own vision and perception of a particular color.
Maya Muzashvili