SOME of us live in a more colorful world than others, according to recent research.
Scientists have concluded that some people in the world can perceive more colors than the rest of humanity, a Wall Street Journal essay reported on Saturday.
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Most people (and even primates and some marsupials) typically possess only three types of cones in the eye, which is known as “trichromacy.”
These cones help our eyes pick up three frequencies of light: long-wavelength reds, medium-wavelength greens, and short-wavelength blues.
However, some people out there have four types of cones in the eyes, which allows them the ability to see “extra” colors in a phenomenon known as “tetrachromacy.”
This is due to a genetic mutation that is only passed through the X chromosome (of which women have two).
The condition has been studied heavily by Dr. Gabriele Jordan, who in 2007 identified the world’s first “strong” tetrachromat, according to the Wall Street Journal.
“Every test we put in front of her, she got right—no errors—and her responses were instant, without hesitation. She was making color discriminations with ease. We ran the trial again, then again, even a fourth time: still, zero mistakes. She was very unlike every subject I had seen before. It was compelling. After she had left, I was so excited that I jumped up and down,” Dr. Jordan told the Wall Street Journal.
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“She occupies a perceptual dimension that is denied the rest of us,” Jordan added.
Since then, Dr. Jordan has dedicated much of her research to studying tetrachromacy, publishing numerous journal articles on the topic as recently as 2019.
Her findings have uncovered that the rare condition is typically associated with women who have a father or son with a slight color anomaly.
Her research also shows the fourth type of cone tetrachromats are endowed with “is most sensitive in the yellow-green region of the visible spectrum,” per a Newcastle University webpage.
This fourth cone can allow tetrachromats to view subtler shades that many of us have never perceived.
Painter Concetta Antico, for example, told the Journal: “Where you see grays, I see a rich and beautiful mosaic of lilacs, lavenders, violets, emeralds. Take what you call white. You might see lead whites, ivories, chalks, silvers, warm whites, cold whites, but I see so many more subtle shades, most without a name.”
Antico tested positive for possessing the fourth cone after learning about the little-known condition from a customer.
Still, the theory that some humans could have the ability to see more colors than others has been around since at least 1948 when Dutch physicist Hessel de Vries conducted a color test on two daughters of a colorblind father.
While the physicist never got to know if his theory panned true, the world can now definitively state that tetrachromacy is real.
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In other news, the creators of a chilling new horror game say that the title is so disturbing they’ve been forced to censor it on PlayStation.
Apple has announced updates to AirTags following claims that the coin-sized tracking devices are being used to stalk people.
And TikTok has announced new rules, banning users who deadname or misgender others.
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