are things really the color in which we see them?

Question

i am wondering if things are really the way we see them. our eyes may see a rose as red but who is to say that that is really how it looks, maybe our eyes make them to be that way, maybe our eyes can't really see everything that is out there. who is to say any different..everyone in this planet has the same kind of eyes and sees the same...what do u think of this..and yes im perfectly sane :)

please if u dont have nive comments...save it. thnx :D

Answer 1

Color is actually made up. We are seeing waves of light and our brain is interpreting them into what we perceive as colors. Also, we see the waves of light that are being reflected off of things. So if we see something as being blue that means that the other waves of "color" have been absorbed. Quite interesting really, and a very good question. Keep it up, I have had few good questions recently and was about to give up for the night.

Answer 2

There is no good answer for this. Our sight is translated by our brain to colors, so it's hard to say that it's objective. You know how they say you should have black and white patterns around infants? It's because they still can't see colors well and it takes their brain time to learn the colors.
For one thing, some people will not see the same colors as you. There are different degrees of color-blindness, and they will see colors differently. Some animals will see colors differently too. Some insects will see wave -lengths that us humans wont' see. Dogs have a different kind of eye-sight than us. They're not color blind, but there are some wave-lengths and colors they won't see.
On the other hand, some cultures will treat colors differently. It's not necessarily that they don't see the colors differently, it's because they don't differentiate in their mind between colors. For instance, you can tell the difference between the colors baby-pink, salmon and peach, but to someone in a less technologically developed culture, they will all look like light-red.

Answer 3

TO CLEAR UP ALL THINGS:

Yes, two different person may see the same thing in different color, there might be physiological reasons such as color blindness for that, or that might depends on the angle at which the person is standing.

Does that make the observed have "two colors"? No. The wavelengths of light that the thing reflects is the same no matter who looks at it nor how it is percieved. In the purely scientific sense, if wavelenght X correspond to red, no matter whether or not Smith sees it a yellow, the observed object remains red.

The only remaining question now is, well, what tells you that the scientists assigned red to the wrong wavelenght. Answer: whatever the wavelenght is in reality, it remains one and only one thing no matter who perceives it how.

Answer 4

That's a good question. The answer is no. As you probably know, light consists of many different colours, of which we can see only very few. When light falls on an opaque object, it absorbs certain colours,and reflects the rest. The colour we see is the colour of that reflected light. So, a rose appears red because it has the property to absorb all other colours except red, which it reflects. This reflected red light reaches our eyes and we perceive the rose as red. So if you view a rose in a room lighted with green light, there will be no red colour for the rose to reflect, and therefore it will reflect nothing, and appear black.

Answer 5

I've thought about that before... It's hard to put into words, huh?

...My art teacher told me something that I found interesting, too... Our eyes don't actually 'see' objects at all... They only pick up the light that is reflected from the objects...

So, in actuality, if the apple looks red, it's actually every color BUT red, since red is the only light that wasn't absorbed and basically got 'rejected' by the apple...

Answer 6

Good question. The only difference among red, green, and blue is that they are different wavelengths of light. Our eyes and brains are adapted to distinguish different wavelengths, and they do that by assigning color, a perceptual attribute, to the various wavelengths. So color is purely a subjective phenomenon. Your version of red may not be exactly the same as my version of red, yet we both assign that color to a particular wavelength of light.

Answer 7

because of the light range that our eyes detect things have color the way we see them insects however can see into the ultraviolet spectrum so can see colors we cant even imagine, dogs are entirely color blind, there is speculation that some people see colors entirely different than others do but because we are taught what colors look like and their names we don't have a problem with it...as Einstein's said everything is relative....color blind people do not have cones, eyes are made up of two different kinds of cells rods and cones rods pick up light cones pick up color.....in the end it is irrelevant whether things are what they look like or not because again it is all relative to the person

Answer 8

I wonder the same thing like if red is red to someone else or do they maybe see green instead, maybe it could depend on the color of your eyes, really interesting

Answer 9

Wow, what a beautiful mind, I like the way you think

Yes color is a energy frequency signature, and also a perception, since everything equals energy, because everything which exists is energy, then even our thought processes are as valid and as real as our universe.

Thought is Energy just as real, and just as tangible as the same energy which exists with in a sun, a diamond, or a rock.

Through individual learning then we all associate the color of our own perceptions with the name of the color which has been introduced into our minds in the learning process.

for example child 1, and child 2 look at a picture of the sun and child 1 perceives it to be yellow, and the teacher teaches the child that the colors name is yellow. and child 2 perceives it to be red, and the teacher teaches the child that the colors name is yellow, then with respect to the learning of both child 1, and child 2 as they grow older and develop they both recognize the Suns color as yellow, even though child two actually visualizes the red spectrum in the minds eye.

since all color frequency's function with independent signatures then with respect to child 2 all color variables shifts would demonstrate altered states of perception with in child 2 minds eye however the individual child would grow up live there life and die only perceiving the world with respect to his or hers own design, and would never be the wiser to the differences in which other individuals perceive there colors with in there minds eye.

You possess the ability to discern light frequency's with your eyes, the manor in which you do so may be unique unto yourself, and totally different in which I myself, or any other person perceives those same frequency's.

Color it's self is only a reactionary affect of energy's in motion and the interaction with other energy particles. and under precise conditions, 'in other words with in our visible light spectrum' we then are capable of perceiving it with direct respect to the design of our eye, which translates an electro chemical signal to our brains.

However you are correct there is much more which exists which we are not capable of perceiving, however through thought are capable of making that which is invisible to us visible, and that which is visible to us invisible.

Answer 10

I've wondered this many times!!! I also wonder if, for instance, what I call red, you may see as what I call purple. Know what I mean? When we are born our parents start pointing at stuff & saying "That's blue." Well, what they see as blue, I could see as thier green, but they've always called it blue so I think that's what it is..... gosh, I need to shut up b/c this is just wayyyyy to confusing to explain...