Is it possible that everyone sees colors differently?

Question

I mean COMPLETELY different.
All of us agree that blue is BLUE, and red is RED, etc.... We have no problem among ourselves in relating with colors and identifying them.

But wouldn't it be weird if you could actually see from somebody else's eyes, and discover what you considered as blue is actually viewed as red.

Nobody really knows. This is possible. I never knew that I was color blind until I was 17 years old, but I have a very mild case. Pale colors of pink or mint-green appear to be white to me. Some green lights at intersections appear to be white lights to me, at night, unless I have an actual street light in view to compare it with.

Even if science proves that we see colors exactly the same, and identical. It still can be possible that our brains translates those colors differently, or incorrectly.

Maybe there is an actual disorder, or genetic malfunction that exists, but has never been detected, because of no apparent symptoms or problems.

Answer 1

I think the names which we assigned to colors are some contract .... it's not important that we see the same thing when all of us say some thing is red.. the important thing is that we all agree in that name ... but it is some thing more than possible that we see diffrent things .... I suggest you make an exprience you self..... when you wanna go to bed choose a red object near your bed ..... and look at it carefully .... then anfer you wake up in the morning look at it again.... do you see exactly the same color?
it shows seeing colors depends on your situation. then it proves that it's much possible that diffrent peple in diffrent situations see diffrent things .... but I repeat that the names of colors are nothing more than some contract between people.

Answer 2

Well, you started out with a hypothesis but your own experience doesn't support it. Let me explain.

If you see something as blue and I see the same color as red, it would indeed be great since scientists will have a field day trying to understand the difference in our eyes.

But what you wrote subsequently is different. Seeing something more intensely or not is a question of sensitivity. For example, if our color receptors are weak, if the lens is not fully transparent, if the intraocular fluid's consistency is different, if the optic nerve is slightly weak...see how many factors can affect the way we see colors?

Seeing color is genetic and if you realise that our genetic pool is not all that individualised.

I would be really interested if you come across a case where a person sees blue when I or you see red.

Answer 3

I am very severely color-blind. I have often wondered what people with "normal vision" see. It is so hard, however, to imagine, what the world looks like through another's eyes. There, so far, is absolutely no way to tell if we see colors the same, or differently. Who is one to say that I see less colors than someone else, or that I'm not one of the very few people who see colors "normally"?

The eyes and vision all together are one of the greatest mysteries to me. Perhaps "blue" to you, really is "purple" to me. Which makes it even more complicated, since I am color-blind, and can't tell the difference between blue and red.

But, perhaps it is a good thing that we can't see in another's eyes. That would make life so much more confusing!

Answer 4

I have asked myself that exact same question before. What I view as blue, someone else might see as orange. Based on no factual evidence whatsoever, I'd lean towards guessing that humans generally see things the same color. The only reason I came to this conclusion is because of teeth whitening. I do think that other species could see things in a different color altogether.

Answer 5

When I was a child I saw green and red the same as I do now. And when I was a teenager.. and in my twenties.. You could say that I was a different person at all these stages of my life.. and yet I saw colours the same as I do now. So why would I assume that other people see them differently? Unless they have faulty vision? It is safe to assume that we all see colours the same. However it is a logical leap to assume that we all see them differently. This is Occam's Razor'.. always to go with the simplest explanation. Of course we all have different associations with colours, different preferences, and they evoke different feelings.. but that is not the same as saying that we see them qualitatively differently. For example.. when I see red I'm pretty certain I'm not seeing what someone else sees as my green.

Answer 6

I know many people who suggested it not being possible that everyone sees colors differently

Answer 7

I never thought of it but nope..it mightn't be possible that everyone sees colors differently

Answer 8

I didn't think that it might be possible that everyone sees colors differently

Answer 9

no that everyone sees colors differently

Answer 10

i think everyone sees colors differently with me i see colors as bland. I also see no need to turn plain old red into other shades of red and then give that new shade a new name because red is red whether its light red or dark red it's still red.