Chapter 3. Sensation and Perception: I Can’t Recognize Our Team!
3.1
You’re excited to watch the football game, but you turn on the television and can’t tell which team is yours. Both teams look like they are wearing the same uniforms!
3.2
This scenario actually happened on November 12, 2015 when the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets played each other. Both teams wore “Color Rush” uniforms, which are one solid color except for colored accents. The Jets wore mostly green uniforms, and the Bills wore mostly red. For most people watching the game, this was not an issue.
However, for people with red-green color blindness, this was a significant problem. Watch this brief video to see what was perceived by people with red-green color blindness.
The filtered video of a football match. The players of both teams wear the jerseys of the same green color.
3.3
Before explaining more about color blindness, let’s identify the parts of the eye that allow you to see the football game.
Match each part of the eye with its function in the processing of visual information. Create matches by selecting the circle next to an option in the left column. Then click on the circle next to the option in the right column where you want to make the match.
3.4
Move items by dragging them to the correct location or by selecting an item and then selecting the location where it should move.
3.5
Imagine that you have red-green colorblindness and cannot see the differences between the teams. As you saw in the video, you cannot make out which players are on which team: Everyone looks like they are wearing gray. A person who is not color-blind can easily identify the players on opposing teams because they wear contrasting colors. But for you, watching the game is extraordinarily frustrating.
True color blindness is extraordinarily rare. Most individuals with what we call “color blindness” have a deficient or missing type of cone (blue, green, or red). The most common type of color blindness involves deficiencies of red or green cones. So, let’s try to figure out when you’re watching that game, why you cannot perceive the differences between the Bills in red and the Jets in green.
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3.6
Click the 'Start Timer' button and stare at this mostly red image below. It will disappear from the screen after 30 seconds. Keep looking at the blank screen. Notice what you see.
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3.7
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3.8
What number do you see now?
The number is “42” again, but the image above represents how an individual with color blindness would see this plate. As you can see, it is extremely difficult to see the “2” in “42” with this image. Depending on the type of cone that is damaged or deficient, different colors cannot be perceived. The person who looks at the previous image and perceives it as shown above has deficiencies in all types of cones: red, green, and blue.
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Here are some thoughts about color for you to ponder: Now that you’ve experienced what it is like to have color deficiencies, imagine what your life would be like without the ability to perceive multiple shades of color. Pairing up a nice outfit for a school function is something most of us take for granted, but many people with color deficiencies wear mostly khaki or have to ask for help matching their outfits! Looking out into a sea of cars when you do not remember where your car is parked is daunting enough, but imagine if most of the cars look similar because you have a color deficiency. Consider red and green traffic lights. Imagine looking at art. Notice the vibrancy of the colors around you. Now imagine those colors as murky, gray or simply indistinguishable.
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Now that you have imagined what it is like to be color-blind, let’s hear from some individuals who actually experience color deficiencies on a daily basis and how it impacts their lives. Try to pay attention to the different ways that color deficiency has impacted each of these individuals.
WENDY BRUNDIGE: When I pull up to a traffic light, sometimes I don't know what color it is, and if it seems safe, I just kind of roll the dice and go. And I understand that that's not how other people drive.
JACK REGAN: If I make a steak, I'll bring it in, thinking it's totally done, and it'll be really rare. I just can't see that it's red. It's probably unhealthy.
RACHEL CRANE: So, I'm out with a couple of CNN producers who also happen to be color blind, and these glasses are supposed to help with that.
WENDY BRUNDIGE: OK, I think these kind of work.
RACHEL CRANE: Let me explain colorblindness, because it doesn't mean that you see the world in black and white, it means that some colors may seem a little duller, and others may just blend together. And it's not as rare as you might think. It effects between 8% and 12% of men, and up to 1% of women in the US.
WENDY BRUNDIGE: I definitely see more shades. Like, that tree that looks kind of yellow, looks actually more orange.
RACHEL CRANE: That one back there?
WENDY BRUNDIGE: Yeah, that one back there. And this, I can tell it's a little bit darker than that one.
RACHEL CRANE: The glasses are made by a company called EnChroma. According to their online test, Jack's eyes absorb too much green light. He's always struggled with the difference between blue and purple.
Those look any different to you?
JACK REGAN: Things look I think a little more vivid, like I turned the saturation up on the TV almost.
RACHEL CRANE: Wendy's eyes, on the other hand, don't absorb enough green light. Before, could you see like the difference between the trunks and the trees-- the leaves?
WENDY BRUNDIGE: No. Now I can.
RACHEL CRANE: And now you can see that?
WENDY BRUNDIGE: Yeah. That's amazing.
RACHEL CRANE: They're both forms of what's known as red green color blindness. The thing is though, it's kind of a misnomer. Seeing too much or too little green changes the way you see other colors. Purple and blue, for example, can start to blend together. What color are those flowers behind us now?
JACK REGAN: Those look purple.
RACHEL CRANE: They're purple?
JACK REGAN: Yeah.
RACHEL CRANE: Now take them off. What color do they look like?
JACK REGAN: They look blue.
RACHEL CRANE: The glasses work by shielding your eyes from the part of the spectrum where red and green overlap the most.
Granted, this is a blue-purple, but it's definitely purple.
JACK REGAN: I think it's a little more purple with them on, I wouldn't say it's a big change.
WENDY BRUNDIGE: Holy crap. The world looks significantly different to me.
RACHEL CRANE: Do you like it better?
WENDY BRUNDIGE: Yes.
RACHEL CRANE: Wait, can I try them on too? Because apparently they work on non color blind people too, that it makes everything just look trippier, as they say. I'm not kidding. Oh whoa, you're right, it totally does!
WENDY BRUNDIGE: It totally looks different.
RACHEL CRANE: It totally does. Yes! Whoa!
Bottom line, they worked pretty well for Wendy, not as great for Jack. But I can tell you, from personal experience, I saw the world in a whole new light.
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You’ve now experienced how an individual with color deficiencies perceives the world differently. The perception of color is complicated and based on multiple factors. In fact, the term “color blindness” is an inaccurate name. True color blindness (the total loss of color vision and seeing the world in black and white and shades of gray) is actually quite rare. Instead, most people with color deficiencies cannot distinguish between certain shades, hues, and different levels of saturation.
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