What's your favourite colour(s)?

One thing that I have always found fascinating is that 'colour' is just a construct of the brain. Humans have 3 types of 'cones' in the eye, and they detect red, green or blue. This means that 'primary colours' are only applicable to humans and would be different to other animals.

Colour blindness is usually due to only having two type of cones. (Warning: I'm not a scientist, and this if all from memory!)

But what really blows my mind is that a small proportion of the population, usually women, have FOUR types of cones! This means to them that there are four primary colours!! The concept is called 'tetracromacy'. Humans are usually 'tricromats'. I would love to have this. I love colours and lights. It is something that we can't imagine.

Unfortunately, this extra colour wavelength lies between the other three. But some animals have their cones detecting within the infra-red or ultra-violet regions.  That would be so amazing to have.

(this is a BBC site)

www.sciencefocus.com/.../tetrachromacy

One thing that I have always found fascinating is that 'colour' is just a construct of the brain. Humans have 3 types of 'cones' in the eye, and they detect red, green or blue. This means that 'primary colours' are only applicable to humans and would be different to other animals.

Colour blindness is usually due to only having two type of cones. (Warning: I'm not a scientist, and this if all from memory!)

But what really blows my mind is that a small proportion of the population, usually women, have FOUR types of cones! This means to them that there are four primary colours!! The concept is called 'tetracromacy'. Humans are usually 'tricromats'. I would love to have this. I love colours and lights. It is something that we can't imagine.

Unfortunately, this extra colour wavelength lies between the other three. But some animals have their cones detecting within the infra-red or ultra-violet regions.  That would be so amazing to have.

(this is a BBC site)

www.sciencefocus.com/.../tetrachromacy

I can see shades of colour that most people don't seem able to distinguish between, I drove everybody mad when chosing the paint for the living room and hall. Colour has dimensions it's rarely flat, that's what many people don't seem able to see. When I was hairdressing I was really good at highlights and lowlights, picking exactly the right mix of colours to weave into the hair to bring out the best in the clients skin tones.