Color perception arbitrary?

[Tea Earl Grey Hot]

I've never understood why our brains/eyes translates different wave lengths into the color we see versus translating them as other colors. Was there some evolutionary advantage to seeing the colors we see the way we see them? Why is it better for instance that we look up into the night sky and see the color black? Why not white? Or why is it better that when we look at the sun we see a blinding white rather than a blinding black?

[Something completely different]

I am red green blind, when a green thing would be on a red background or a red thing on a green background I wouldn`t be able to see them.
It is also the case for some tunes of brown which leads me to perceiving most forests completly differently than you do and actualy makes it impossible for me to see people wearing camoflage clothes in a field.

Anyway, I had a neighbour with a brown cat, and I could never see it when it was out on a field.

If I was a monkey who couldn`t see the brown sabercat in the field -I would end up as a meal. And the monkey who can see the cat gets to have sex and offspring that also sees the sabercat.

[Tea Earl Grey Hot]

If I was a monkey who couldn`t see the brown sabercat in the field -I would end up as a meal. And the monkey who can see the cat gets to have sex and offspring that also sees the sabercat.

That's not what I'm getting it. I'm talking about why it is our brains translate some wavelength x as blue and some wavelength y as red rather than have x=red and y=blue.

Your example is one of a having a more limited color perception so of course that puts you at a disadvantage. My example assumes the ability to process the same number of colors as we do now.

Why is it better that we not see the world this way?

[Something completely different]

ahhhh ok.

maybe............ fuck.
I dont know.

google doesn`t help either.

[festive1]

I can't answer your question, but here's a color gradation test I think is interesting: http://www.xrite.com/online-color-test-challenge
I'm on my phone, but I think when I took it I only missed two.
Perhaps it has something to do with detecting ripe crops, since our noses kind of suck (in comparison with the larger animal world)?

[Rahul]

I've never understood why our brains/eyes translates different wave lengths into the color we see versus translating them as other colors. Was there some evolutionary advantage to seeing the colors we see the way we see them? Why is it better for instance that we look up into the night sky and see the color black? Why not white? Or why is it better that when we look at the sun we see a blinding white rather than a blinding black?

I know this isn't the type of answer you are looking for, but the reason why our ancestors developed color vision is because we needed to be able to visually tell if fruit was ripe.

There used to be a lot of Great Ape species all living at the same time. But then those damn monkeys developed the ability to eat unripe fruit without getting sick and most of the Great Ape species died out.

Little tail having fuckers.

But no, I got no idea.

---

I can't answer your question, but here's a color gradation test I think is interesting: http://www.xrite.com/online-color-test-challenge

I tried to drag and drop the colors but it wouldn't work for me. So I just hit the score test button.

It said I had perfect color vision. That thing is wonked.

[Chas]

Google 'qualia' then try again.

[frankiej]

I can't answer your question, but here's a color gradation test I think is interesting: http://www.xrite.com/online-color-test-challenge

Those tests are bad for people like myself who is rather severely colour-blind. I can't even start one of them, it is just impossible for me to do. Stupid people and their stupid normal colour seeing eyes.

[NoraBrimstone]

I dunno, but colour causes too many arguments in this place. Despite neither of us being colourblind, my sister and I apparently see some colours differently which has led to some pretty ridiculous arguments about what colour some things are.

The biggest one being about the green (definitely GREEN) wrapping paper I used for her gifts at Christmas, which she insisted was blue. It was fucking GREEN!
And my RED umbrella is NOT fucking pink.

[Rahul]

I dunno, but colour causes too many arguments in this place. Despite neither of us being colourblind, my sister and I apparently see some colours differently which has led to some pretty ridiculous arguments about what colour some things are.

The biggest one being about the green (definitely GREEN) wrapping paper I used for her gifts at Christmas, which she insisted was blue. It was fucking GREEN!
And my RED umbrella is NOT fucking pink.

I read some article about a year ago that a certain percentage of women can see more colors in the red-brown spectrum than everyone else. No men can say the same about this ability.

So if you have a female friend that has what seems an over abundance of brownish boots, purses, coats, or whatnot, they may be one.

I've become convinced my wife is one of these women.