2024-01-06 02:52:02
Magenta, salmon, fuchsia and coral are bright and captivating colors that are part of our color palette. Each of them has its own visual identity, evoking different associations and sensations. Thus, for example, magenta is a bright tone that lies between purple and red, it exudes energy and sophistication; salmon is a soft and warm tone that conveys warmth and a cozy feeling; Fuchsia is an intense and bold color, a fusion between pink and purple that awakens vitality and enthusiasm; finally, coral is a versatile color that is associated with vitality and dynamism.
Now, are we all capable of distinguishing these four colors? Or, on the contrary, would it be possible that they were not seen in the same way by three people chosen at random?
Seven million cones
No one doubts that colors are fundamental elements that give life and meaning to our environment, constituting an essential part of our perception. Additionally, they influence our emotions, behaviors and experiences. And, from the glow of dawn to the soft sunset, the colors surround us and offer us an incomparable visual richness.
Colors also allow us to express ourselves and communicate non-verbally. In art, the color choice influences the narrative of the painting and with them we are able to transmit styles, moods and personalities.
Without focusing now on the field of physiology, our vision of colors begins with the sensors located in the retina – the photoreceptors – that transform light information into electrical signals that are sent to the brain.
Human beings are equipped with three different photoreceptors, called cones, to see colors: S, M and L (short, medium and long). The S cone is the one that best perceives the short spectrum (blues and violets), the L cone distinguishes long lengths (oranges and reds) and, finally, the M cones are designed to capture the colors related to the green spectrum. The information is finally combined to create the color palette.
If we put figures to this universe of colors, it is estimated that there are approximately seven million cones in our retina, which allow us to distinguish up to ten million different colors.
If we go down a step in histological complexity, the key to seeing the immense blue of the sky or the green of our garden lies in molecules called opsins, which are located in the cones.
Much more than an infinitesimal fraction of light
Colorblind people have a pathological weakness in the photoreceptors for green, so that they lose sensitivity to tones related to this color. At the other extreme are people who have four photoreceptors instead of three, they are known as tetrachromats and this means that they are more sensitive to color on the scale between red and green. It is estimated that 50% of women have four cones, instead of three. That is why they are mostly the ones that describe magenta, salmon, fuchsia or coral objects.
Maybe, just maybe, when our ancestors were hunter-gatherers, each sex developed different chromatic abilities to carry out their activities. Women, more dedicated to collecting tasks, developed a better recognition of static objects, since it was very important to discern poisonous plants from those that were not. For their part, they, those in charge of hunting, specialized in detecting fast-moving objects.
Another important aspect, which shows why we do not all detect the same colors, is that the cones are not alone in the retina, they share a habitat with the rods, which allow us to see the environment when light is scarce. These photoreceptors are specialized in the visual spectrum between S and M, which corresponds to the shades of light blue or cyan. In other words, we perceive colors differently depending on the intensity of light in the environment.
To all this, we should add that the lens changes with age, becoming more opaque to blue light, and that the ocular macula can hinder vision of colder tones. Last but not least, we should add the cultural heritage to the equation of color perception, which intervenes in the chromatic categorization of our environment.
#dont #colors