[Ryoko]

Originally posted by fornicatarachnid
I've got another one for you .......

How do we know that we all see colours the same? For example what I see as blue might be green to somebody else and visa versa. Who decided that red is red ? How do you describe a colour to sombody ?

we don't all see colors the same. so how would a person know what color is what? well, there are names, but only the color blind don't see colors anything like they should. think of it this way: if i saw the color i think is red, and you think its blue, and what i think is blue, you think is red. only, i would use the same name for the same color. understand so far? well, if yellow and blue make green, i would mistake green for orange, and i would use a name different than the color, and you would know. therefore, everyone (except the colorblind) sees colors relatively close to the same way others see them.

no, wait... now that i think about it (and ran some red/blue swapping proggies), there is no way to tell if you see colors relatively the same way as other people.

[DallasStar]

every color reflects light at a different frequency, so there is a DEFINITE difference. As long as the colors are DISTINGUISHABLE, there is no need to worry about "how others see it" because it is assumed that whether or not the colors look the same to the other person, he/she can still distinguish which is which and tell another person about the color. (did that make sense? )

[e-Seeker]

Originally posted by dallasstar
every color reflects light at a different frequency, so there is a DEFINITE difference. As long as the colors are DISTINGUISHABLE, there is no need to worry about "how others see it" because it is assumed that whether or not the colors look the same to the other person, he/she can still distinguish which is which and tell another person about the color. (did that make sense? )

, yes, it def. made sense!

[fornicatarachnid]

Originally posted by Ryoko


no, wait... now that i think about it (and ran some red/blue swapping proggies), there is no way to tell if you see colors relatively the same way as other people.

see! I was right all along !!

[Ryoko]

Originally posted by dallasstar
every color reflects light at a different frequency, so there is a DEFINITE difference. As long as the colors are DISTINGUISHABLE, there is no need to worry about "how others see it" because it is assumed that whether or not the colors look the same to the other person, he/she can still distinguish which is which and tell another person about the color. (did that make sense? )

that is not what is in question. we all know that

what is in question is this: does everyone else see 470nm the same as i do? (laser red) and that can't really be answered.

[fornicatarachnid]

I've been doing a bit of research on the net into this and I came across this piece on a webpage .... http://www.firelily.com/opinions/color.html

How does the brain distinguish between two identical neural responses from red cones to interpret one as red and the other as, perhaps, yellow? In the case of a low-intensity red light, only the red cones will respond. In the case of a yellow light, both red cones and green cones will respond. Both cone types respond only by saying, "I was stimulated this much." What the brain brings to the equation is knowledge of the sensitivity curves for each cone type, and knowledge of the overlaps between the curves. It uses this information to interpolate the results, translating reports from red and green cones into a perception of a different color of light at the correct intensity. This knowledge is built in to the brain; it cannot be learned or unlearned.