Colour Blindness

[Mike J]

I went for an eye test last week, it was very thorough (if a bit too thorough).

I got to look at the funky colour blindness book - I would have thought after 37 years I would know if I was colour blind or not  . 

I did finish the book though, very pretty pictures!!

[hellymedic]

It is possible to develop reduced colour vision later in life (I did, after optic neuritis, which occurred when I was 38)
I can now do all the Ishihara tests with my right eye and none with my left....

[PeteB99]

Various neurological ailments can cause it, MS being one. It's also possible to aquire it by exposure to various pollutants and poisons. Also many people don't know they have a colour vision defect until they're tested

I've never got past the second plate on Ishihara

I'm of the opinion that most colours are imaginary anyway

[alan]

The discovery of my colour blindness literally altered the course of my life.
The condition was discovered,when I was 18, by an R.A.F. medic during my final medical after I had signed the OSA & was in possession of a rail warrant to report to RAF Cosford for basic training before starting technical training as an airframe technician.
I had no plans to do anything else in the RAF & civvy street was already history.
Given that I had signed on for twelve years with an eight year option I couldn't stomach the offered alternatives of telegraphist or cook so I had to buy myself out.

[PeteB99]

Yes - I was tested when I went for a cadetship in the merchant navy.

Luckily I hadn't signed up for anything at that stage

[little miss mac]

That must have been awful, Alan.
Mr Mac is colourblind but the worst that has happened to him was to almost buy a pair of pink jeans. He was diagnosed aged about five, so no RAF applications for him.

Colourblindness is passed through the mother so we know Minimac shouldn't have it.

[Wowbagger]

I get fed up with being corrected by my family when I describe something as being a particular colour. Dark blue and black are exactly the same to me, but I often remember colours wrongly. For example, I often remember objects which are pale blue as being pink and I'll describe it as such, but when I see it again, I can see that it's blue. When the ridicule has died down and we have established that it is indeed blue, I think of that colour as a "bluey kind of pink". 

[TimO]

I don't think I'm colour blind, since I've never had any problems with any of those tests over the years, but I have noticed occasionally in the past that looking at cream colours, they can look slightly different with the two eyes.  With one eye covered it'll look ever slightly orange, and with the other eye covered it'll be a bit green.  Generally I don't notice it, so I suspect it's just part of the natural variation in colour that everyone probably has.

[hellymedic]

I don't think I'm colour blind, since I've never had any problems with any of those tests over the years, but I have noticed occasionally in the past that looking at cream colours, they can look slightly different with the two eyes.  With one eye covered it'll look ever slightly orange, and with the other eye covered it'll be a bit green.  Generally I don't notice it, so I suspect it's just part of the natural variation in colour that everyone probably has.

I think we all get that and which eye sees things as 'orange' and which sees 'green varies with time.

Your eyelids are a translucent red from their circulating blood. If you close one eye for a while, then open it, things will look green for a while afterwards. Conversely, if you look though a green filter for a while. when you remove it, the world will turn PINK.

[PeteB99]

That must have been awful, Alan.
Mr Mac is colourblind but the worst that has happened to him was to almost buy a pair of pink jeans. He was diagnosed aged about five, so no RAF applications for him.

Colourblindness is passed through the mother so we know Minimac shouldn't have it.

Don't want to worry you but ....

If Minimac is of the female persuasion she will have got one of her X chromosomes from Mr Mac which will probably have the recessive colour blindness gene on it - if so she may pass it on to her children. If Minimac is male he will have his X chromosome from you and will be ok as long as you aren't a carrier- you wouldn't necessarily know that unless you know your family history.

Sorry

[alan]

The majority of those with colour blindness are male

[little miss mac]

That must have been awful, Alan.
Mr Mac is colourblind but the worst that has happened to him was to almost buy a pair of pink jeans. He was diagnosed aged about five, so no RAF applications for him.

Colourblindness is passed through the mother so we know Minimac shouldn't have it.

Don't want to worry you but ....

If Minimac is of the female persuasion she will have got one of her X chromosomes from Mr Mac which will probably have the recessive colour blindness gene on it - if so she may pass it on to her children. If Minimac is male he will have his X chromosome from you and will be ok as long as you aren't a carrier- you wouldn't necessarily know that unless you know your family history.

Sorry

Spot on. Minimac is a bloke and we have no history of it on my side so he should be ok. Mr Mac and I were also discussing last night that if we have a girl she might pass it on to her kids - all the females on Mr Mac's side seem to be carriers.

[rogerzilla]

My father can't see green at all, but I have normal colour vision.  Mrs Z and I often disagree over colours though - things I see as black, she sees as very dark navy blue and things I see as beige she sometimes sees as grey.  I don't know if it's related to eye colour, or maybe my corneas just have more of a yellow tint because I'm slightly older.

[rogerzilla]

The discovery of my colour blindness literally altered the course of my life.
The condition was discovered,when I was 18, by an R.A.F. medic during my final medical after I had signed the OSA & was in possession of a rail warrant to report to RAF Cosford for basic training before starting technical training as an airframe technician.
I had no plans to do anything else in the RAF & civvy street was already history.
Given that I had signed on for twelve years with an eight year option I couldn't stomach the offered alternatives of telegraphist or cook so I had to buy myself out.

Wasn't there a niche for colour-blind spotters in planes before infra-red photography?  They could more easily pick out green camouflage from real foliage.

[PeteB99]

Wasn't there a niche for colour-blind spotters in planes before infra-red photography?  They could more easily pick out green camouflage from real foliage.

For some reason the military always used to deny that rumour despite it being a fairly well known fact.

Photo analysis groups tended to include at least one colourblind person and the army used to employ colourblind soldiers as artillery spotters (my uncle was one of them).

The genes survival into modern humans would indicate that there are advantages to a group to have people with a different 'view'

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

My dad's colour blind - we don't let him go clothes shopping on his own. He's red/green blind, and also struggles with colours close together in patterns, like in tartans, and has no idea about what matches, tones or clashes. My ex is even worse, sees all sorts of colours wrongly. I was looking for a specific pink top in a shop once and he kept trying to point me towards the blue ones, swearing they were the ones I wanted. It caused a problem when we went on holiday and he picked up an almost identical suitcase to his - his was black with green trim, I think, and he picked up the same case but with lilac trim, and didn't notice till he tried to unlock it in the hotel.

[hellymedic]

My father is also red/green colour-blind.
He has three daughters and three sons.
These have 20 offsprung (10 of each) between them, rather few of whom are colour-blind.
My sister (a carrier) has 6 daughters...

[onb]

Im colour blind as are my 2 brothers ,Im allegedly red /greem but get various colours mixed up especially pastal shades ,I have brought home lime green jumpers thinking they were oatmeal colour and lilac shirts believing they are blue .It took me a while but I realised it was less embarrasing to ask in the end.

[Ian H]

When I was very young, less than 9, something strange would happen to red buses at night under orange (would it have been sodium in the 50s?) street lighting. They turned very definitely green. Now I'm not at all colour-blind.

My partner and I do argue over whether turquoise is nearer to green or to blue (but only when we've nothing better to do).

[Paul]

Im allegedly red /greem but get various colours mixed up especially pastal shades ,I have brought home lime green jumpers thinking they were oatmeal colour and lilac shirts believing they are blue .It took me a while but I realised it was less embarrasing to ask in the end.

Me too.

Luckily, I had no inclination to be an electrician . However, I was dissuaded from a career in carpentry (the cabinet-making end, not the window frame making bit), because of the need to be able to mix/match veneers, etc.

I also struggle with the colour of traffic lights (GLJ, anyone?) but, so long as they don't change the order, everyone'll be just fine.

[alan]

Traffic lights
if the car in front goes,so do I
If the car in front stops,so do I
If I am the car in front 

[onb]

Traffic lights
if the car in front goes,so do I
If the car in front stops,so do I
If I am the car in front 

Traffic lights are top middle and bottom for me the green simply appears white and I can cope over here,driving in the States was ver ver scary though.