Thread: Is it possible to see new colors in a dream?

You might be able to see a colour you haven't seen before, but most people have seen them all. Okay let's say there's a certain type of red you haven't seen, the problem is that you can't really distinguish that particular red and know you haven't seen it before. It might aswell be your brain tricking you into believing it whilst in the dream.

Maybe if you were blind from birth and could suddenly see. You'd spend most of your days until you started having dreams in which you could see, in a white and black room. Maybe you could dream of the colour red. I doubt it though, the brain doesn't have anything to create it from.

Some people would say: "I hadn't had sex before I dreamt about it, and when I compared the dream and real life once I lost my virginity, it felt almost the same!" or "I've flown in my dreams, you can't know how that feels". The thing about those things is that the brain does have something to work with. Going on roller coasters and just jumping from high heights down into the water are two very good "tools" for your brain to use when making the experience of flying.

I'm rambling and haven't really put my thoughts together. Interesting question though

I think that it is possible. Hasn't happened to me though. I just see girls with eye colors that I have never seen before and it looks perfectly real. That is pretty cool. I think that since our brain normally sees inside the spectrum, it normally makes things inside it. But since it is all in your head it should be possible. Maybe try to make it yourself in the dream. Or go find it.

I think it would be possible too. I talked to some friends about an experience I had during chat. I saw a sort of misty hue which I couldn't explain. It was like fog but luminous and it was unlike any color I've seen. I don't even think it was a color, but it was a visual quality. To this day I can't explain or even begin to describe what it was.

A few days ago I listened to some podcasts and in one of them I learned something interesting. We only have 3 color receptors right? Dogs have two, butterflies have a few more. This is why we can only see within the range of red to violet in a rainbow. But!! These animals called mantis shrimps have 16!! which means they can see all the different tones of blues and reds and everything in between, as well as those beyond the rainbow we see, such as infrared and ultraviolet.

Anyway, in the podcast, they covered this interesting story. Colorblindess and the ability to see color is sex-linked right. They said it comes from the X chromosome. That's why men are more susceptible to colorblindess, since they only have one X chromosome. In normal people, only one X is needed to have the color vision, which means that women (who have an extra X chromosome laying dormant) may have a mutation in which the other X becomes active. There are only a few women in the world with this mutation, but it was really cool. This woman in the podcast didn't see the sky as blue — she'd see different hues of pink and red, and she could also tell between the most subtle differences between two colors which would appear the same to us.

Anyway I'm babbling too much, what I'm saying is that anything could be possible. Check out the podcast! It's really worth it. Colors - Radiolab

EDIT: I forgot to mention that the mutation would give the woman an extra set of cones which can make her see more than usual.

Also, I haven't really done any research on it, I'm just saying what I learned from the podcast. If you have more info, feel free to correct me!

Guess that depends on what you define as colour and if our dreams are only based on what we've experienced. Will give it a try.

Yes I have seen a color that doesn't exist, it's called oh right...

Well just kidding, I haven't seen a color in a dream that I never have seen before, although I have seen patterns and shapes that I haven't seen before, and people who take psychadelic drugs report the same thing. But new colors, well let's just say that even if it is a new color, it seems very hard to describe, almost as hard as defining infinity o. O

Check out tetrachromacy, might be interesting for you if you like colours

also, its the same reason a computer image would never mimic human vision is because our brain also picks up small strains of UV and IR rays from what I've dug up on the net so it may be possible to "see" a colour 'you have not sen before'