How does colour blindness work?

Question

Can you not see a certain colour or not actually differentiate between them?

Answer 1

Depends, if you are Diachromatic, you will have problems distinguishing certain combinations, such as Red/Green colorblindness, or Blue/Yellow. To be Achromatic, means you would seen no color.

The rods and cones in the back of your eye are responsible for the ability to see color. The genes for colorblindess are X-linked, that is why men tend to be colorblind; X(c) Y would be the combination, the little (c) denotes colorblindness.

A female would have to inherit X(c) X(c) in order to be colorblind. The combination of X(c) X would denote a carrier of the gene.

Male not color blind: X Y
Male Colorblind: X(c) Y
Female Carrier: X(c) X
Female Colorblind: X(c) X(c)
X(c) = colorblind gene.

The degree to which one will be colorblind; Diachromatic versus Achromatic will depend on the how many cones are there and work, since its the cones that allow us to see color.
Rods are more for Black and White.

Answer 2

It's more of a cannot differentiate between them. I once asked a guy about this and he said if you had a random red and green next to each other, they would look like different shades of the same color.

Answer 3

Color blindness occurs mostly in men. There is a problem w/ the rods and cones in the retina of the eye, and reds and greens are indistinguishable from each other. It is a birth defect, and inherited, though not all carriers will exhibit color blindness themselves.