Do people experience colours in completely different ways?

Since birth, all of us have been taught things which have been integrated into our brains. One aspect of this is colour. Colour is what we have all come to understand as a fundamental means of describing how we perceive different objects within our environment. It allows us, as humans, to describe things in their simplest form and to construct mental images based upon what is being described to us. Furthermore, the only way in which humans can perceive colour is through vision.

However, how do we know that we are all actually perceiving the same colour?

As previously stated, colour can only be perceived visually; it cannot be tasted, touched, smelled, or heard. Thus, if colour has only ever been experienced through visual representation, how can we know with certainty that we are all seeing the same thing?

One philosophical theory that strongly coincides with my thesis is the inverted spectrum theory, which questions whether two people can experience the exact same world differently, even if they behave and speak about it in perfect unison. This raises the possibility that we could all be seeing different colours whilst identifying them according to what we have been taught since birth. For example, my perception of ‘red’ is what I have always understood to be red. However, my ‘red’ from your perspective could in fact be your ‘green’.

Science states that colour is visible light that forms a small portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, with wavelengths ranging from approximately 380 to 700 nanometres (nm). This light is detected by cone cells within the retina and is subsequently processed by the brain, allowing us to perceive colour. Moreover, the colour that our brain presents to us is one which, from our formative years to the present day, we have learnt to associate with a particular name.

However, what science cannot prove is whether the colour presented before us from your perspective is the same colour that I would perceive if I were able to see through your eyes.

The colours we know and understand today are merely different wavelengths from the electromagnetic spectrum which humans have assigned names to. Thus, despite the possibility that we may view colours differently, we would all still understand a particular wavelength to correspond with a specific name, as that is what we have collectively been taught.

A particular study I want to address is the creation of the colour ‘Olo’. Initially, the human eye would perceive this as a turquoise green. Yet, Olo is not found in nature; it is a colour fabricated by scientists who used laser technology to directly stimulate cone cells within the retina. It was reported that participants perceived a colour existing outside our standard visual spectrum, one which cannot be accurately displayed on screens or through ordinary light. This provides evidence that colour perception is not simply the external world itself, but rather a mental construction based upon sensory information. Consequently, if the brain is capable of perceiving entirely new colours, it supports the theory that we may already perceive familiar colours in uniquely altered ways.

Thus, if there is currently no scientific evidence either proving or disproving my thesis, it may only ever be proven true or false through the development of a secondary means of perceiving colour, perhaps in the form of a sixth sense.

An animal which fascinates me in accordance with this theory is the Mantis Shrimp. The Mantis Shrimp possesses up to sixteen different types of photoreceptor cells, whereas the average human possesses only three. Due to this substantial difference, Mantis Shrimp are capable of perceiving ultraviolet and polarised light, allowing them to observe aspects of the world that remain completely inaccessible to humans.

In relation to humans, we are substantially limited in how we can perceive the world and what visibly surrounds us. The world, from the perspective of the human eye alone, still contains mysteries that may only ever be uncovered through advanced technology or future human evolution.

Additionally, this further supports the possibility that humans, many millions of years from now, may evolve to an extent where we can better understand the world around us and perhaps develop senses in which vision is no longer our sole means of perceiving colour.

To conclude, there exists a significant possibility that although humans collectively identify colours objectively through shared language, we may nevertheless perceive them differently on an individual level. At present, there exists no scientific evidence capable of definitively supporting or disproving this thesis, as colours themselves have only ever been experienced through human visual perception.

Written by Charles Pavitt