Daniel Middleton
Jamie Vilos
Information Literacy 101
13 May, 2014
The Misconceptions of Color Blindness
As a child growing up, I always knew I did not see colors the same way other kids did. It was not until I was older, and had an eye injury, that it was realized that I was color blind. When I would tell my peers that I was color blind I always got questions like, “What color is my shirt?” and “What color is the sky?’ These questions soon became annoying, and I stopped telling people I was color blind because I do see colors. I have problems distinguishing between the colors blue and purple, red and green, red and orange, green and brown, and so on. It is the hues that are a problem for me
Color blindness is defined as “An inability to distinguish certain colors resulting from an inherited defect in the light receptor cells in the retina of the eye.”(Graetzer, Hans G. PhD, 2013). The causes are “Genetic defect resulting in photoreceptor deficiency.”(Graetzer, Hans G. PhD, 2013). This basically means that you have little parts in your eye that do not work right. The parts of yo...
examines the effects of the colorblindness approach to achieving a post-racial society. Wingfield, a professor of sociology at Washington University in St. Louis and the author of numerous books and articles concerning racism in America, focuses her research around the effects of the colorblindness ideology on individual cultures and social issues. This article appears in The Atlantic, a left-leaning news source, along with a collection of Wingfield’s other articles, mostly covering issues concerning racism and segregation in America.
The Color-Blind Principle is written by Bernard Boxill discusses how color-blind and color-conscious are two very different things. This work also discusses the problems of discrimination based on something you are not responsible for such as being born black or white. Boxill uses the example of a university denying the rights of students’ admissions because their hair is parted to the right, then later states, “Suppose again for example, that a person is denied admission to law school because he parts his hair on the right side. Though he, far more easily than the black person can avoid being unfairly discriminated against, he does not thereby more easily avoid being the object, indeed, in a deeper sense, the victim, of unfair discrimination.” (463) I disagree with Boxill’s affirmative action idea because the idea of affirmative action is passing the discrimination from one race to the other.
In the Radiolab episode “Colors,” Adam Cole hosts Jay Neitz, a neurologist and color vision researcher at the University of Washington, to discuss colorblindness in primates and humans. Neitz hypothesizes that the test they used to cure colorblindness in squirrel monkeys could also cure the same disorder in humans. Colorblindness is a genetic disorder that causes the cones in the eye to perceive colors differently. In the back of the eye lies the retina that holds three photoreceptor cells called cones. Each cone is sensitive to either red, green, or blue and when functional, allows the brain to process the different wavelengths of color. Humans and some primates have two genes on the X Chromosome that encodes visual pigments, one holds green
When pondering on life as not only a blind child but also a deaf child, one might say perception of the world and life is impossible. In the movie The Miracle Worker, Helen Keller was blind, deaf and mute since she had been a baby. Helen was incapable of communicating to anyone. The question, “do you think she had an accurate idea of color,” to me, is defined through her inability to know the difference between colors and physical appearance on objects certain colors, for instance the sun being yellow. Because Helen was blind and deaf, she could not actually see the color pink or yellow I can see. Helen had never actually seen color; therefore an accurate idea of a color is nearly impossible.
Processing capacity is a very broad and flexible category according to many researchers. In fact, the quote above mentioned suggests that we often fail to notice things that happen just in front of us (unexpected events that are often salient) either because we were completely absorbed by something else or because we had so many things to do at the same time that we couldn’t pay attention to it. We have all at least once failed to see a friend who was waving at us while eating in the cafeteria or walking in a crowded street. The primary question that we should ask ourselves is: how many things can we attend at the same time? The truth is that we didn’t perceive this friend because of a phenomenon called “inattentional blindness”. The problem is that the richness of our visual experience leads us to believe that our visual representation will include and preserve the same amount of detail (Levin et al 2000). In this paper we’ll see the different theories of inattentional blindness, and the classical theories demonstrating this paradigm.
People that have problems with vision due to albinism can’t fix their vision completely with glasses or contact lenses. The problems start in the eyes with poor development. Albinism reduced the pigment of the colored part of the eyes (iris) and the light sensitive tissue at the back of the eye (retina). They will not see things sharp and will have fast eye movement that can’t be controlled (nystagmus) and very sensitive to bright lights (photophobia). They could also have...
Humans in general, take many things for granted: life, money, security, but what about color? Usually nobody ever stops to think, “what if there was no color?” Color is seen by almost everyone so no one necessarily has to wonder what it would be like if color wasn’t there. However, philosophy professor James Landesman has provided a theory in which people learn color may really not exist. Although this seems like a shocking and even ludicrous proposal, his essay Why Nothing Has Color: Color Skepticism brings up many points that can lead anyone to doubt the existence of something so trivial.
Each one of us lives in our own unique world of perception. As individuals, we may experience life in an entirely different way through our senses and life experiences. Therefore, perception can be tricky since it is very personal to each one of us. According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, perception has three meanings; (1) “the way you think about or understand someone or something,” (2) “the ability to understand or notice something easily,” and, (3) “the way that you notice or understand something using one of your senses” (2014, para. 1). C.S. Lewis said, “What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing. It also depends on what sort of person you are” (n.d., para. 11). In other words,
In society people typically avoid discussing race because everyone wants to reduce their odds of exhibiting prejudice or engaging in discrimination. The racial ideology of colorblindness prescribes that the best way to end discrimination is to consider individuals as complete equals. You cannot eliminate privilege now can you completely disassemble biases; but by increased awareness you can create an environment where equality is the norm. There are different types of color blindness; which includes educational, organizational, legal, societal, and there are alternative approaches. Educational color blindness refers to children of young ages being heavily influenced by the opinions of their role models.
People with ocular albinism, which only the eye lacks melanin pigment, while everything else appears normal. People who have this have a variety of the eye disorders because of the lack of pigment impairs normal eye development. These effected are extremely sensitive to bright light. Treatment for ocular albinism includes the use of visual aids and surgery for strabismus.
I never needed to have that conversation growing up. I never really saw in color. Many people in my family have a darker complexion. I’m a complete mutt with close relatives from Puerto Rico to Manitoba, from France to the area of Bohemia.
Those with albino eyes can also be sensitive to light due to the pigmentation of their iris, causing them to be unable to see when levels of light are high. Albinism: Causes and Complications The main cause of albinism is the lack of melanin in the body due to the insufficient protein produced to trigger its production. Melanocytes are the cells responsible for the production of melanin, but gene mutation and other hormonal imbalances can cause these cells to malfunction. In turn, albinism causes paler color because of the lack of melanin in the
Albinism The word "albinism" refers to a group of inherited conditions. People with albinism have little or no pigment in their eyes, skin, or hair. They have inherited genes that do not produce the usual amounts of a pigment called melanin. One person in 17,000 has some type of albinism.
Color Blindness means that you have trouble seeing the colors green, blue, or red or a mix of these colors. It is an abnormal condition characterized by the inability to clearly distinguish different colors of the spectrum. It is very rare that a person doesn’t see any color at all. Color Blindness is also called color vision problem. The difficulties can range from mild to severe. Color blindness is a misleading term because people that have it aren’t really totally blind. They tend to see colors in a limited range of hue. The scientific name for total color blindness is Monochromasy. Having color blindness would change a normal person’s life. It makes it harder to read and learn, and you may not be able to have certain careers. Although having color vision problems can affect your life greatly, you can still learn to make up for your problems seeing color. There are many other types of color vision problem. Deuteranomaly is a type that is considered green weak. Dichromasy is another type, which can be divided into Protanopia and Deuteranopia. People with this see no difference between red, orange, yellow, and green. Protanopia has much reduced color vision of the colors red, orange, and yellow. Deuteranopia is the same thing as Protanopia except without the abnormal dimming which makes it different. Last would be Tritanopia and Tritanomoly. Both of these types of color blindness are blue-green –color blindness with not many differences between them. In Tritanopia the s-cones are completely missing from the eye, and in Tritanomoly the s- cones have some kind of mutation.
The images formed on the two retinas are so unlike that they cannot be blended in the brain. Thus, a double image is perceived. The condition is known as diplopia, or double vision. Prismatic lenses are prescribed to correct this defect.Imperfections in the cones of the retina, resulting from heredity or disease, cause defective color vision. This is known as color blindness, or Daltonism. In total color blindness, everything appears in shades of gray.