I Can’t Recognize Our Team!

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Your Situation

Dr. Julie B. Hanauer, Suffolk County Community College

Color blindness/Color deficiency

Although used interchangeably, complete color blindness is very rare, while color deficiency usually stems from a deficit of missing cones, most commonly red or green photoreceptors.

Cornea

The muscle responsible for changing the size of the pupil.

Iris

Those with this attachment style feel upset when their primary caregiver leaves them with a stranger but are easily soothed upon the return of the primary caregiver. These children seem confident that their needs will be met and feel safe to explore their environment, using their caregiver as a secure base for exploration.

Retina

The layer of the eye containing photoreceptor cells, which transduce light energy into neural activity.

Blind spot

A hole in the visual field caused by the optic disc (the location where the optic nerve exits the retina).

Optic nerve

The bundle of axons from ganglion cells leading to the visual cortex.

Rods

Photoreceptors that enable us to see in dim lighting; not sensitive to color, but useful for night vision.

Cones

Photoreceptors that enable us to sense color and minute details.

Afterimage

An image that appears to linger in the visual field after its stimulus, or source, is removed.

Hue

The color of an object, determined by the wavelength of light it reflects.

Saturation

Color purity.

Color blind version of the photo of the football match. Both teams wear uniforms of the same color.

Carlos M. Saavedra/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images

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!

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Carlos M. Saavedra/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images

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.

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The filtered video of a football match. The players of both teams wear the jerseys of the same green color.

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What You Need to Know

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.

Cornea

Iris

Retina

Blind Spot

Optic Nerve

Rods

Cones

The layer of the eye that contains photoreceptor cells where light energy is transduced into neural activity

Specialized light receptors in the retina responsible for sight at low light

The muscle that changes the size of the pupil

The bundle of axons from ganglion cells that carry neural messages to the visual cortex

The clear outer layer shields the eye from damage and focuses the incoming light waves

The place where the optic nerve exits the retina where there are no rods or cones present

Specialized light receptors in the retina responsible for color vision and the ability to sense details

Use arrows to choose items. Press space to grab or place one.

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Move items by dragging them to the correct location or by selecting an item and then selecting the location where it should move.

Carlos M. Saavedra /Sports Illustrated/Getty Images

Correct!

Incorrect!

Light waves bouncing off an object enter your eye through the cornea, pupil and lens.

Iris dilates and contracts pupil to control amount of light entering eye.

Cornea and lens focus light waves toward the retina, bending the light and projecting an inverted image.

Light strikes the retina, exciting photoreceptors.

Rods and cones fire, activating bipolar cells found in retina. This excites ganglion cells, which form the optic nerve carrying messages to the brain.

Choose an item and place it in an empty area

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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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The theory states that the eye contains separate receptors for blue, red, and green.

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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.

The bright blue square with four red circles located at its angles and a huge red cross placed at its center.

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After staring at the mostly red image for 30 seconds and looking at a blank screen, you probably saw a greenish afterimage. Which theory does this phenomenon support?

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Skills You Can Use

Ishihara color blindness test plate 9. Hidden number is 45.

Science and Society Picture Library/Getty Images

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To get an idea of what it is like to actually be color deficient, let’s test your color vision. What number do you see in this image?

Ishihara color blindness test plate 17. Hidden number is 42.

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Let’s take another color vision test. What number do you see in this image?

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Color blind version of the Ishihara Test plate 17. Hidden number is 42.

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.

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.

How would life with a color deficiency be different for you?

Answers will vary and should reflect the fact that each individual’s experience of color is different. Empathy towards people with color deficiencies should be stressed, as well as all the ways that people can appreciate different colors.

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Think It Through!

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.

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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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Based on the video you just watched along with what you’ve read in the textbook, who is more likely to be diagnosed with color blindness: men or women?

Although some of the individuals in the film say that color blindness hasn’t truly affected them, there are some careers that would be difficult for people with color deficiencies. For which careers would it be hard to be color-blind?

Answers will vary but many careers could be impacted by lack of color perception, from the fashion industry to florists. Elementary school teachers need to tell the difference between colors in order to teach those colors. If a police officer cannot differentiate between shades of red, orange, yellow, or different shades of green, describing individuals accurately in a police report will be difficult. In fact, many police academies will not accept an individual with any type of color deficiency.

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In Your Own Words

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.

Now that you see how color vision is impacted by the loss or dysfunction of red, green, or blue cones, in what ways have you probably taken your color vision for granted? If you are color-blind, how do your friends and classmates take color vision for granted?

Answers will vary and will be based on the individual’s life experiences. The answer should include original examples of how life would be (or is) impacted if a person had a color deficiency. Answers should discuss how color impacts daily life and how imagining life without color is actually a difficult task. Or, answers could discuss how the world is set up for people who can see color and the difficulties navigating this world for individuals who are color-blind. Color affects, motivates, inspires and guides us. It brightens our world in ways most of us take for granted.

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Your Scientific World