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> red means bad and green means good. This association is cross-cultural, probably universal, and probably as old as the hills This is strongly and patently no

> red means bad and green means good. This association is cross-cultural, probably universal, and probably as old as the hills This is strongly and patently not true. Here in Japan the available taxi is in Red while the taken one is in Green, and there are many more similar examples. Admitedly it's mixed, because traffic lights are still red to stop and blue to cross. Wait blue? There was no distinction in Japan between green and blue back in the day and that still remains. Colors are very much culture-dependent, and saying otherwise is ingenuous at least and misleading at best.

IshKebab 7y ago
It's true in the places where they decided to use green for adding lines and red for removing them. That said I don't think it matters. The benefit of not making removing lines look like a bad thing is definitely outweighed by the cost of not making it obvious which colour means which. Was olive for lines added? I can never remember...
EForEndeavour 7y ago
You have a point that colour perception is culturally modulated, but I'd argue that the original point still stands in the modern world (which is what's relevant to the discussion of syntax highlighting): the majority of people who look at code will sooner associate red with bad than with good, and this association has become self-sustaining (much like the widespread adoption of qwerty-like keyboards). Your example of Japanese taxi signs using red to signal availability is an interesting but rare exception to the general rule across the industrialized world that red={warning, danger, no, stop, delete}, and green={safe, good, yes, go, maximize}. For this example, there are many counterexamples. After all, Japan uses red=stop, green-blue=go on all traffic lights, railways, shipping, and aviation, in accordance with international conventions. Yes, colours are very much culture-dependent, but red=bad and green=good (or green-blue for cultures that don't distinguish these two colours) has been intentionally adopted across cultures for generations -- dating back to shipping and train signals, if not much earlier to verdant countrysides versus blood, fire, etc.
- AlexTWithBeard 7y ago
  Humans have been trained by the evolution to spot red fruit on green background. This way red is "loud" and green is "quiet". It makes perfect sense then to announce free taxies in a loud voice then.
  - shrimp_emoji 7y ago
    But you can turn this around if you consider "loud" = "ERROR; DANGER; STOP (found fruit?); NO" and "quiet" = "yes; safe; good; continue (no fruit; keep looking?)".
- HeavenFox 7y ago
  In Chinese stock market, Red means the stock is up and green means it’s down. If you have an iPhone, try setting the language to Chinese and open the Stocks app. Red has always been considered an auspicious color in Chinese culture. It’s the theme color of weddings and Chinese New Year.
  - EForEndeavour 7y ago
    And what colour means stop/error in China's traffic lights, rail networks, shipping lanes, and aircraft?
    - HeavenFox 7y ago
      That is not exactly relevant. In China it is understood that red color is used to indicate STOP because it has the greatest wavelength and is therefore more visible in inclement weather. In addition, color code for traffic light is fixed by international convention and it’s not like China can choose whatever it wants. My point is, culture has nothing to do with the choice of stop light color in China
      - EForEndeavour 7y ago
        > My point is, culture has nothing to do with the choice of stop light color in China That's exactly my point as well. The article mentioned that the association between red and "bad" stuff (stop, error, etc.) is cross-cultural. Someone replied vehemently denying that, but the fact is that red={stop, error, bad, ...} is a long-standing international convention that does supersede regional cultural effects.

IshKebab 7y ago

It's true in the places where they decided to use green for adding lines and red for removing them. That said I don't think it matters. The benefit of not making removing lines look like a bad thing is definitely outweighed by the cost of not making it obvious which colour means which. Was olive for lines added? I can never remember...

EForEndeavour 7y ago

You have a point that colour perception is culturally modulated, but I'd argue that the original point still stands in the modern world (which is what's relevant to the discussion of syntax highlighting): the majority of people who look at code will sooner associate red with bad than with good, and this association has become self-sustaining (much like the widespread adoption of qwerty-like keyboards). Your example of Japanese taxi signs using red to signal availability is an interesting but rare exception to the general rule across the industrialized world that red={warning, danger, no, stop, delete}, and green={safe, good, yes, go, maximize}. For this example, there are many counterexamples. After all, Japan uses red=stop, green-blue=go on all traffic lights, railways, shipping, and aviation, in accordance with international conventions. Yes, colours are very much culture-dependent, but red=bad and green=good (or green-blue for cultures that don't distinguish these two colours) has been intentionally adopted across cultures for generations -- dating back to shipping and train signals, if not much earlier to verdant countrysides versus blood, fire, etc.

AlexTWithBeard 7y ago
Humans have been trained by the evolution to spot red fruit on green background. This way red is "loud" and green is "quiet". It makes perfect sense then to announce free taxies in a loud voice then.
- shrimp_emoji 7y ago
  But you can turn this around if you consider "loud" = "ERROR; DANGER; STOP (found fruit?); NO" and "quiet" = "yes; safe; good; continue (no fruit; keep looking?)".
HeavenFox 7y ago
In Chinese stock market, Red means the stock is up and green means it’s down. If you have an iPhone, try setting the language to Chinese and open the Stocks app. Red has always been considered an auspicious color in Chinese culture. It’s the theme color of weddings and Chinese New Year.
- EForEndeavour 7y ago
  And what colour means stop/error in China's traffic lights, rail networks, shipping lanes, and aircraft?
  - HeavenFox 7y ago
    That is not exactly relevant. In China it is understood that red color is used to indicate STOP because it has the greatest wavelength and is therefore more visible in inclement weather. In addition, color code for traffic light is fixed by international convention and it’s not like China can choose whatever it wants. My point is, culture has nothing to do with the choice of stop light color in China
    - EForEndeavour 7y ago
      > My point is, culture has nothing to do with the choice of stop light color in China That's exactly my point as well. The article mentioned that the association between red and "bad" stuff (stop, error, etc.) is cross-cultural. Someone replied vehemently denying that, but the fact is that red={stop, error, bad, ...} is a long-standing international convention that does supersede regional cultural effects.