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Do we all see different colors?

Do Different People See Colors Differently?

  • could one person see the sky as "blue" but actually be seeing it as green? or could another person see the clouds as "white" but really seeing it as blue? We give different colors different names but are they the same for everyone? if they are then how can we prove it?

  • Answer:

    That's an excellent question; by which, I mean that nobody really knows the answer. It's possible to test whether a person's eyes respond to different colors -- for instance, to test for color blindness -- but there's no way to know if what a person actually "sees" is the same color as anyone else. We just all agree to call a certain set of wavelengths "green," for instance. In fact, we can't know if what your brain perceives as "color" is really a color. Maybe your brain sees different colors as different kinds of vibration, for instance; and "vibration" is a different quality altogether, which you've learned is called "vibration" but you perceive some other way. Even more bizarre is something called "synesthesia." There are people who have "crossed circuits," as it were, in the part of their brains that processes sensory input. They "hear" colors or "smell" sounds. You may not realize it, but you actually see (at least partially) with your ears. The labyrinthine complex is the part of your inner ear that gives you a sense of balance. Your brain gives much more "weight" to this sensory input than your vision. So much so that when you get dizzy, say from spinning around, the room looks like it's still spinning even though your eyes tell you that it's not. You may want to read "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat" by Oliver Sacks, to get some mind-blowing case studies on how strange the world can be for some people with sensory and/or perceptual disorders.

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Ya, I was wondering that too. My sister was wearing a dress one day and somehow we got into this argument about what color it was. I know, kind of stupid, but it was kind of interesting too. She said it was coral, but I didn't see any orange in it, it just looked like a light pink. Anyway, I think we all see the same colors, we just have different ideas about how much of each color makes it up. With primary and secondary colors, there aren't really any questions. It's when you get into teal and burgundy, etc., that it's hard to decide. Wow, I thought about that way to much, but I hope you get what I'm saying.

Nawgii

People see colors differently...that's a fact. But how differently, we don't yet know. For example, maybe it's just different shades of blue, not something as drastic as seeing blue as purple. There is currently no way to determine how colors are seen aside from minor brain scan tests...but these have not proven very effective in solving the mystery so far. Our eyes may be structured similarly, but the actual dist. and measurements of our eyes are different, therefore implying different color wavelengths entering our eyes, causing us to see things differently.

Brommy A

I was thinking about that just the other day! Even though there is no way to prove it now, maybe in the future with more scientifical advances it can one day be discovered. Nice thinking! ♥

kafx3

some people are color blind

velvagagnon

White and black, I would assume to be standardized throughout everyone. I myself have also been curious to whether people see colors differently. One thing to keep in mind would be that all "blended" colors then would have to be relative to the two colors they always are. Say purple. Even if someone's red is your yellow, and their blue is your red, making what they see your "orange" it would still be what they know as "purple". I suppose even white and black could be transversed as long as your scale of light and dark shades was also switched. Meaning if white and black were switched then baby blue and navy blue would be the same for two different people if that happened. I'm not exactly sure if any of this made sense though. :D

Peter_Hatch

A rose is a rose. Just as we know that dogs see in black and white, the cones in a person's eyes decide what color is perceived. First, with black and white, it is the collection or lack thereof that makes what we see. Light, being part of a spectra, what you see is that part of the spectra that is reflected away from the object. Just as none of us can see inferred, we see the same thing. Now, the only difference is slight shifts from the cones of the eye. Blue is blue, green is green. Since green needs yellow, blue cannot be seen by the human eye as green. Now the exception is someone who is color blind, but that is a defect in not having certain cones in the eyes.

Songbyrd JPA ✡

I've wondered that same question in the past. Or maybe not that people see different colors but that the intensity or brightness is percieved differently. And maybe that is why people have certain colors that they favor more than others?

lightbender4

It was the same question that has no answer until today. Man does not know how our brain process colors or if our brains perception to colors are the same.

asimovll

that is one question that nobody can never actually answer, very philosophical

The Gopher

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