color question?

Question

we have all learned that we see red, green, blue, etc. and relate it to the color we see. my question is how do we know that we are all seeing the same color. we have been trained to call the color by its name, but what if the red i saw was the same color as someones blue, but Ive been trained to call it red all my life. does that make sense? you cant describe a color other than what you have learned to describe it as. how do we know we are seeing the same thing?

Answer 1

We don't.

I've always thought about this too.
And there's no way to guarantee that my colours are the same as yours.

My sky could be green to you and my sun could be red.
It just depends on who we are and how we view colour.

And of course, there must be some similartities if we have associate certain names to certain colours.
Like red must be red to a lot of people. Blue must be blue. Ect.

Answer 2

Another way to describe light it to describe it by where it fits in the EM spectrum. So if you both were to look at a light with a wavelength of 440 nm and you described the same color as one another, then you are seeing the same thing.

Answer 3

ha ha

I have thought the EXACT SAME THING.. and posed the same question, which really no one can explain or refute..

you and I both agree the sky is blue and the grass is green - but there is no way of determining that our PERCEPTION and INTERPRETATION of these colours are the same - so theoretically, were we to swap brains we may be subjected to a psychedelic technicolour trip .

cheers!

Answer 4

Some perceptions can be skewed however, something as plain as red or blue is not as like to be misconceptualized. one persons short, might be another's tall and vice versa. many other irregularities might apply.

Answer 5

Good point. I see green, but someone from Mexico sees verde.

Answer 6

That's what I keep telling them when I get stoped. I could swear it was green.

Answer 7

Whoa. I've never thought about this. And now I'm gonna wreck my mind thinking about it!