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I suppose what I was getting at is this: How do you explain what color is to a natively-blind person in a non-mathematical, non-physics based approach? In oth
by hentrep 12y ago
I suppose what I was getting at is this: How do you explain what color is to a natively-blind person in a non-mathematical, non-physics based approach? In other words, the way most of the world learns about color (qualitatively). You can't use words like "shade" or "hue", because the very definition of those words are themselves tied to color.
For example, attempt to describe a baseball. Descriptions invoking roundness and texture can be easily understood because the individual retains his/her sense of feel. But saying "it's white in color... white is actually the presence of all colors..." obviously doesn't work.
I'd be curious to hear an example of how you would explain color to someone who has been blind for life.
- dandelany 12y agoI've thought about this before, and concluded that the best analogy to draw would likely be that of sound pitch or timbre. When a sound is close to you, it seems louder. When it's far away, it seems quieter. But sounds have other qualities which are perceived the same regardless of distance - pitch being the most recognizable. And a sound's pitch changes how you perceive it unconsciously - that is, there is a "qualia" to hearing a low sound vs. a high sound that cannot really be explained. Similarly, visible objects which are close appear larger and those far away appear smaller. But visible objects have other qualities which are perceived the same regardless of distance - namely color. And an object's color also has a certain "qualia" that unconsciously affects how you feel about it. This has the added advantage of making it easy to explain Doppler shift vs. redshift :)
- LeoPanthera 12y agoAssuming they can still hear, I would probably try to explain the colour of light to be analogous to the pitch of sound.
- aliakbarkhan 12y agoTry looking into qualia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qualia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qualia
- jimmaswell 12y agoThis was touched on in The Giver, interestingly. The main character becomes able to see color after never having been able to.
- Rapzid 12y agoPerhaps it's as good a place as any to make a scientific explanation but... I can see, hear, and understand the science behind light and sound. But as I sit here and think about it there is no link in my mind between the science of light and the EXPERIENCE of perceiving a color :|