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We sense color by light frequency, but our actual perception of it (what color we think something is) is far more complex. Here's a classic illusion. The straw

We sense color by light frequency, but our actual perception of it (what color we think something is) is far more complex. Here's a classic illusion. The strawberries in this photo are not red. https://petapixel.com/2017/03/01/photo-no-red-pixels-fascinating-optical-illusion/ https://petapixel.com/2017/03/01/photo-no-red-pixels-fascina... This has to do with "color constancy" - we learn to see the same object in different lighting conditions as being the same color, even thought the light frequencies reflected may be different. We basically see what we predict we'll see. Evolution really acts on populations, not individuals, and often it's more about the environment changing than the population. Basically isolated populations of a species interbreed and (as a population) accumulate genetic changes as long as they are mostly benign. Then, once in a while ("punctuated equilibrium") something in the environment changes - food supply, pathogen, weather, etc, and some of these long-term accumulated changes (maybe collectively) suddenly become important and result in one population surviving/thriving better than another.

matkoniecz 3y ago
"is based on light frequencies" is still true, right "is based directly on light frequencies with no other transformation" would be wrong
- HarHarVeryFunny 3y ago
  Yes - it's the light frequencies that let us differentiate colors, but we're not always going to perceive the same color each time our frequency detectors (cones) detect the same frequencies, since color perception is more about the whole scene and what we're experienced before. Another simple experiment that proves this is when you put on color tinted sunglasses or ski goggles - initially everything will seem color tinted, then after a while colors go back to normal. It's not just color - the whole idea that our eye works kind of like a camera and what we see is what is is really there is wrong. There have also been experiments done with prism-based inverting goggles that make everything look upside down... It turns out that after you've worn them for a while then everything flips the right way back up again and looks normal to you, even though the googles didn't change.

matkoniecz 3y ago

"is based on light frequencies" is still true, right "is based directly on light frequencies with no other transformation" would be wrong

HarHarVeryFunny 3y ago
Yes - it's the light frequencies that let us differentiate colors, but we're not always going to perceive the same color each time our frequency detectors (cones) detect the same frequencies, since color perception is more about the whole scene and what we're experienced before. Another simple experiment that proves this is when you put on color tinted sunglasses or ski goggles - initially everything will seem color tinted, then after a while colors go back to normal. It's not just color - the whole idea that our eye works kind of like a camera and what we see is what is is really there is wrong. There have also been experiments done with prism-based inverting goggles that make everything look upside down... It turns out that after you've worn them for a while then everything flips the right way back up again and looks normal to you, even though the googles didn't change.