Does everyone see the same shade and intensity of colors?

Question

Has anyone thought about this as much as I have? Aside from colorblind people, is there any way to tell if everyone sees the exact same color (shade, intensity, etc.)? For example, if I saw something in red, would someone else see it in the same red, or maybe red-orange, or a pinker red?

Answer 1

Theoretically, the answer is no; all people do not see the same shade and intensity of color. Color vision occurs as a result of specialized photo-receptors in our eye. The number of these receptors can differ from person to person, and as a result, some people may be more sensitive to certain colors than others. A simple way to test this would be to take freshly isolated retinas from various individuals (ie: laboratory animals) such that the photoreceptors (rods and cones) are still intact and expose the retinas to lights of different wavelengths (ie: colors) and intensities while simultaneously recording the neuronal output generated in response to the lights. I haven't done such an experiment myself, but it is very logical to assume that no two individuals would respond the same way to the lights, since perception of the light stimulus depends on the frequency and duration of the activation of the receptor neuron as well as the number of receptor neurons activated and their distribution in the retina.

Answer 2

I've thought about that a lot. Maybe teachers point out let's say an object that she calls red and one student sees the object being blue, but they don't know any different, therefore they call the blue object red. Great question. I've wondered about that A LONG TIME...can't tell you if everyone sees the same shade and intensity of colors though. I guess we'll know when it's time to know.

Answer 3

Best proof of this is to ask someone who recently had cataract surgery! Many things affect the eyesight, so how can we all see things the same? You can tell if someone sees a color as you do by holding up two shades and ask which one is red-orange..which blue-red? Or have them match the color with another like one.

Answer 4

I'm color blind, yet I can see all the colors but probably the same as you. As long as they are in the normal range I have no problem telling between red and green. But I see odd colors such as maroon more as a purple, the colors are just too similar to me. I also think that there must be a full range of people who are more or less color blind to certain degrees because of their ability to distinguish color. Combine that with the fact that colors are learned, then every one must not see the same colors but yet they can agree that colors are the same colors just as I could identify and we could agree that a certain color is a certain color.

Answer 5

There's no real way to know yet. We don't know enough about the biology of the brain to know how color intensity maps, and there's no way to describe an experience of color intensity in a way that can be expressed to others. (For example, if I say that red object is "as bright as a strawberry," that doesn't tell you how intense it looks to me, because it doesn't tell you know intense a strawberry looks to me. Same goes for characterizing intensity as "nine, ten, etc.")

Some philosphers of mind use the experience of color (and other "qualia") as the basis an argument that the mind can never be reduced to physical qualities alone.

Answer 6

I agree with the others on how we each probably do not see things the exact same way b/c of our genetic make up.. and I have also wondered about this.. even including all of the other senses such as smell, hearing and touch.. and taste you may have even had a lab in school where you would taste some sort of paper dipped in chemical and some ppl would experience the bitter taste and others could not.

Answer 7

no we all see colors a bit differently based on the rods and cones in our eyes. thats why some people are color blind, they are missing or have damaged one or the other (dont remember which covers color). then too there are so many different shades and names for the same color, its almost impossible to agree on the exact same match/label even if our eyes register it exactly. try having 2 people describe the same sound or smell!

Answer 8

We will never know. We perceive color because our brain gives objects "color" to distinguish between different wavelenghs in visible light. Since this perception of color is a personal thing, we will never know if the color that you perceive as red is the exact same color as I would perceive as red.

Answer 9

No. Everybody's perception is different. Its based on emotion. You can see red but I may see green. Emotion translates things like hot and cold to your nerves just like your eyes translate color. Color is what us humans see as reflections and string vibrations of tiny molecules that make up matter. You were always taught that what you see is red but in reality it could be seen as different to everyone and you will never know.

Answer 10

The answer is no, every person's color "decoder" relates to it's personal DNA wich is basically (see, taste,feel...etc) the same. Tip: man can see aprox. 9 million colour shades and women aprox 12 milion colour shades.