Do we all see in our mind the same colour that everyone else does?

Question

Do we all see the same blue when we look at blue or do some of us see a different colour. My blue could be your red etc.

Answer 1

I think the only answer to this question is that we don't know. Colour is not something that exists in reality, light waves or photons only come with a frequency attached to them. After entering the eye, the light waves hit the cones (and rods, however these aren't sensitive to frequency) and cause electrical stimulation to enter the brain. Different frequencies cause different electrical stimulus and this electrical stimulus has no colour, it is purely the movement of electrons. It is the mind that 'converts' this electrical stimulus to colour, something which I find an amazing talent. Within a single person's brain this conversion is consistent, whenever I look at the sky it's not blue one day and green the next. However, since I cannot put myself physically within another person's brain I have no way to determine if what your mind conjures up when looking at something emitting light with a frequency we label as blue is the same as what my mind conjures up.

Answer 2

The way we see colour is dependent upon the stimulation of red, green or blue cone cells in your eye. Depending upon how many are stimulated decides what colours we see. So if you were to look at a traffic light which is red, the right cone cells would be stimulated and you would see red. If someone else was to do the same, because they also have the same type of cone cells they also see red, and not what you'd call blue.

Because cone cells can only be either red, blue or green, and not all three at once, it should be possible to see which are stimulated by the presence of various colours. The mixed quantities of what the cone cells relay back to the brain, via the optic nerve, should be roughly the same as what someone else sees when faced with the same colour, so therefore the colours seen by both parties should be the same.

Answer 3

no not necessarily. However 9 times out of 10 you kind of do. Have you ever had a long boring conversation about the colour of something? Well usually you are both describing the same thing.

Answer 4

Well colour blind people obviously see different. But yeah i think we all see different colours because the blue sky to me is reallyy light and bright but to someone else it could look reall pale and dark if you get me? I think we see different shades of colour...

OK I'm now cracking on :)

Answer 5

We are all see the same colours. That's for sure. Colour sensors in our eyes are the same. It has identical chemical composure and structure, so the possibility of two people see colours different is absurd.
Don't you think it is the best answer? :-)

Answer 6

apart from someone who has colour blindness, i think we all may see the same colour although we may just describe it differently,
in the same way that one person might say about a big built person, that they are fat, and another might say that they are well built or stocky.
both are the same but the descriptions are different,

Answer 7

I am colourblind. I don't know what you see. I also don't know what i see (if you understand) i can't describe the colours i see because i don't know what colours they are, and sometimes where they end or begin, if things are too close.

Answer 8

Yes

Answer 9

Hi I would thinks that we would see similar colour however you may be suffering with colour blindness there are simple tests to check, contact your local GP. dochsa.co.uk

Answer 10

The perception of color is individual to each person. I don't know anyone who "sees" colors the same way I do and vice versa.