Thread: Is red really red ?

I always had this doubt. I decided to share it with you.

You know that this is RED.

But you differentiate the colors just by the knowledge given by your parents and teachers. Your mother told you pointing a color that it is RED. But no proof that both of you are seeing the same color. If it is scientifically proven that both of you have the same wavelength coming to your eyes, there is a possibility that your neurons may be responding differently.

So what you see is may not be the world seen by others.

This is only a basic case. You can extend this thinking to other levels and understand how fool we are to get biased under other person's views.

I am sure that you understood what I am trying to say.

This has always been fascinating to me.
However after looking up several studies about perception, it is pretty well concluded because we are pretty well hardwired with the same rods and cones that make up of our eyes and we all follow the same visible spectrum that colors are what they are.

Also I tried playing out the card that well just because someone points to a color that they could possibly be pointing to another color. But there are too many affirmations in our daily lives that reiterate a common color.
I think there can be a small amount of difference as with all of our traits.
There may also be lapses in perception that our minds see an entire different color due to our conditioned processing. (temporary)

There's a condition you may be interested in, called Synaesthesia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synaesthesia

While it covers other senses, some people also perceive different colors on different things--black words may appear green, or blue, or whatever.

Originally posted by Joseph_Stalin
There's a condition you may be interested in, called Synaesthesia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synaesthesia

While it covers other senses, some people also perceive different colors on different things--black words may appear green, or blue, or whatever.

Intersting site Joseph_Stalin.

There are some factors like color blind and people that see only black and white.
And what you describe, synesthesia. Which is would seem remarkable.

I have a link of my own I saved in regards to that.
http://www.sciammind.com/search/index.cfm?...sthesia&x=4&y=5

Nothing biased about it. Speech is not conceptual thought. Since we communicate via speech every concept has a word or description connected to it in order for communication to be possible in society.

Haha! I always have thought that ever since I have seen stop lights.

I always wonder about this and the more I do the more confused I get. Seems possible to me.

Red is red. People might see it differently, but it's still red. White light deflects off red obects in such a way that only a certain wavelength reaches your eye.

Therefor accoring to science it IS red.

I do not see a reason why people's Eyes would see things differently. As example, if you would do an eye-transplant not that much would change.

The brain... well that's something different.... People have show to show the same emotions at the same colors, so the brain does Process 'red' in the same way allways.

Therefor, it does not matter at all =) But it's still intresting.

I often think about this. We just covered the eye in biology and learned that all human eyes see the same colours, unless you are colourblind. My teacher said all people have the same rods and cones in their eyes unless they are colourblind.

If you were born colourblind you would grow up seeing the alternate colours and learn them. I think it is quite possible that alot of people are colourblind and don't realise since they don't know any other.

Originally posted by korothism
I always had this doubt. I decided to share it with you.

You know that this is RED.

But you differentiate the colors just by the knowledge given by your parents and teachers. Your mother told you pointing a color that it is RED. But no proof that both of you are seeing the same color. If it is scientifically proven that both of you have the same wavelength coming to your eyes, there is a possibility that your neurons may be responding differently.

So what you see is may not be the world seen by others.

This is only a basic case. You can extend this thinking to other levels and understand how fool we are to get biased under other person's views.

I am sure that you understood what I am trying to say.

But we have a great many hints that we are all seeing the same thing. Lady in a RED Dress. Cops like pulling over RED cars. Fireengines, at least used to be RED, before the new glowing colors came out. We all call RED a hot color, while all agreeing that BLUE is cool. And then we all have no problem at all listing up the other hot and cool colors in their correct columns. Nobody wants a GREEN car unless at price discount. And then Used Car Dealers have a facination with YELLOW.

Just in these repeated contexts, it seems we are all perceiving about the same things.

Originally posted by Leo Volont


But we have a great many hints that we are all seeing the same thing. Lady in a RED Dress. Cops like pulling over RED cars. Fireengines, at least used to be RED, before the new glowing colors came out. We all call RED a hot color, while all agreeing that BLUE is cool. And then we all have no problem at all listing up the other hot and cool colors in their correct columns. Nobody wants a GREEN car unless at price discount. And then Used Car Dealers have a facination with YELLOW.

Just in these repeated contexts, it seems we are all perceiving about the same things.

I totally agree. That is what I was trying to say earlier.
This has always been fascinating to me.
However after looking up several studies about perception, it is pretty well concluded because we are pretty well hardwired with the same rods and cones that make up of our eyes and we all follow the same visible spectrum that colors are what they are.

Also I tried playing out the card that well just because someone points to a color that they could possibly be pointing to another color. But there are too many affirmations in our daily lives that reiterate a common color.
I think there can be a small amount of difference as with all of our traits.
There may also be lapses in perception that our minds see an entire different color due to our conditioned processing. (temporary)

did you know that in japan they call a green traffic light, 'blue' as well as christmas trees and apparantly they didnt even have a word for the color green until later. I wonder why that is?

Originally posted by SolSkye
did you know that in japan they call a green traffic light, 'blue' as well as christmas trees and apparantly they didnt even have a word for the color green until later. I wonder why that is?

Intriguing

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Now I got my answer. But I still think that there will be a small difference. The difference may not be in the chrominance. But in luminance or saturation.

Hey... What about other animals ? They see differently..Right ?

I was looking through my past posts and feel this thread didn't get the attention it deserved....*wave of magic necromancer rod* RIIIIISE! Oh, ye thread of days long past, I breath life into thee!!! *Grrrrr* It LIVES...it LIIIIIVES!!!

Not sure if you are still alive but to answer your question, Yes, some animals are colorblind as to see movement easier (ie. Cats, Dogs), some see by tasting temperature and pheromonal differences in the air (ie. snakes, and other reptiles), and my personal favorite of being able to visually process sound waves using echo location (ie. Dolphins, Bats).

Just try and imagine having those kind of conversations... you let out a loud echo which paints a beautiful landscape and sunrise in the mind of another being. Cool stuff.

Originally posted by Leo Volont


But we have a great many hints that we are all seeing the same thing. Lady in a RED Dress. Cops like pulling over RED cars. Fireengines, at least used to be RED, before the new glowing colors came out. We all call RED a hot color, while all agreeing that BLUE is cool. And then we all have no problem at all listing up the other hot and cool colors in their correct columns. Nobody wants a GREEN car unless at price discount. And then Used Car Dealers have a facination with YELLOW.

Just in these repeated contexts, it seems we are all perceiving about the same things.

No that still doesn't solve it, because if I see yellow where you see blue, it is all in context. There are more people with blue cars than yellow cars. So I would be accustomed to seeing yellow cars, just as you are accustomed to seeing blue cars. But if I saw blue car that to you was yellow, it would stand out to both of us. We know it as the same name- yellow, but it may appear slightly different to people.

Now with that said, I want to say that I believe we all see pretty much the same thing. Some people might see things a shade darker than others or a shade lighter, but in general we all see the same thing I believe. I have thought about this for years also. I guess there's really no way to prove on way or the other, but we are all humans, and we all have the same hardware. it's just a matter of perception from there.

Just like some people have allergic reactions to foods while others do not. We are not all the same, so our eyes may percieve colors differently.

My two eyes don't see colors exactly the same way. They both see red as red, but slightly different variations of it. I don't think people ever have completely the same perception of a light wave, but because of the rods and cones similarities people have (as Howie pointed out), I don't think any person sees red the way another person sees yellow. If that does happen, there is no way we can know because they will both call it the same thing.

interesting i often wondre of this myself

I always wondered this since I was 8. I tried to tell my family this, but being the close minded people they are, they made fun out of it

I'd say the colours people see can vary, after all colour blind people have problems, maybe "normal" sighted people could see in different shades with out noticing it.

This has always fascinated me. I have a friend who is slightly colorblind, and a light orange looks like green to him. I wonder if people do see different colors? For example, if someone points out red, and you see green, you would still think that was red, and you'd see it whenever you saw something red, beleiving it was red. There'd be no way to tell the difference.

If we could do some simultaneous out of body travel and switch bodies, we could probably learn some things about this. IF....

I am sure someone has cut out an eye to study before. Even if it wasn't from a human. So while its a nice thing to wonder about it to get you thinking, theres probably nothing to the idea.

Very interesting idea. One of those annoying questions though, because we will never know the answer...

Hrm, well people have had eye transplants before, not the entire, but the top layer (cornea?)

RED IS BLUE.

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But really, "zzzzzzz".

What can be said:
-There is a certain (range of) wavelengths of light that are percieved by everyone (but colorblinds and blinds) as "RED".
-That (range of) wavelength gives people the same emotion (red doesn't make you feel cold. Bees are yellow to warn other animals: all animals get the same 'feeling' from the yellow color. Same goes with red in such cases.)
-Red is RED.

Because we say it is.

I read through this topic and may have somthing too say that isn't senseless hopefully. I have a stripey top which I am sure is white and black/dark brown. However, my girlfriend swears to me that the top is white and green. As far as I know, neither of us have anything such as colour blindess, but there is no way i'd say the color of the top is green, but she swears on it. We have encountered other objects too were we can't agree on its colour. Rather strange.

This is an interesting thread. I think there is some difference between what people see as a colour, although it probably isn't too noticeable. I've noticed that one of my eyes sees things a slightly more yellow shade than the other (although not enough to make me see red as orange or whatever), so its not unfeasible to me that people could percieve colours differently.

However, the scientific definition of colour still stands as its based on measured data, the wavelengths of the light.