AboutRalph Salier-Hellendag Expertise Science Fair Judge for many years and experience with robotics, biology, chemistry, industrial processes, metalurgy and metal forming.
Experience Science Fair Judge for many years and have helped several students get to state level competition. Most recently 2 of my students received state level awards and one went on to the nationals in Washington DC.
Education/Credentials BA Archaeology - Anthropology
MA Business Anthropology
Expert: Ralph Salier-Hellendag Date: 7/3/2008 Subject: Do human visual and colour receptor work differently? do human have the same visual experience
Question QUESTION: Hi, I got another question on human vision
-Does Human have the same colour vision receptor? Do they work differently in each human?
-Is it possible that we may perceive the same colour?
-How about size? Texture? Distance? Human look? Do we has totally different perception as each other? Mean we have different perception of this world??
-Is it possible that we may perceive them similarly? For e.g. when I point to a circle…does he saw a circle? Or something else?
-And Human seem to show attract in certain beautiful thing, for example, most man are attract to the certain beautiful girl. Why will some human seem to like the the same thing?
-Is it possible for human to share the same visual experience? Do we have the same visual receptor?
Is it possible to prove that?
ANSWER: Hi Rambo,
Humans have color perception because of the types of receptors in the retina of the eye. Not all animals have both color and black and white receptors. Some have receptors that can see in the ultraviolet and others in the infrared spectrum. We can only see in the "visible" light spectrum. Some humans due to genetics, injury or illness may have altered color perception. If you have diabetes for instance, your color vision is altered by the illness.
Our perception of the world around us weather it is textural or depth perception can be different based on both education and cultural issues and patterns. So yes, we can look different to others while others may look "different to us". When it comes to specific shapes such as your circle, most humans will perceive it as a circle unless their vision is distorted by illness or some other visual problem.
And finally, based on cultural and educational factors, people from the same culture may "See" things in a similar way but due to differences in each human, we each see things just a bit differently from each other. It may be a different shade of color or shape or perception of "sameness".
So just like with taste, each person is different and will see things in a slightly different way. And since no two people are exactly alike (not even identical twins) we see things differently.
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QUESTION: Is it possible to prove that?
If human has normal eyesight, will we have the same perception over distance? And size?
How about detail of the object? Will every human eye able to perceive the same high definition vision if we see the same thing? Does human share the same optical eyesight?
Even if we have myopia, it still be corrected through glasses, will human be able to see same detail among each other, if we have normal eyesight?
And how can we find out whether we see the same thing as each other? And how to find out whether we respond similarly to the same colour?
ANSWER: Hi Rambo,
Normal eye sight is called 20/20 this means that an object of s specific size can be seen clearly and sharply. What people see, given the same "test" is the same at 20/20. But this "standard" can be manipulated but the tester based on the person being tested. The "high defefinition" of our perception is going to be very similar from person to person based on the same standard. With corrected vision, the same standard can be used but how identical vision is, is as stated before a very individual perception.
Responses will be similar based on education, culture etc.. to similar stimuli from person to person. As an example, if a sign says STOP, we generally understand this to mean stop driving through the intersection and check for traffic before proceeding. But this is in part education and culture. Other cultures the same sign may say Alto or Arret or Jumabo. the shape, color and similarity of the sign and message help to convey the same message.
As for the sameness of color, many computers have a color correction capability in their monitors. This allows for visually impared people to see color in a similar way but we all see color in slightly different ways because of the nature of our color perception and how it is interpreted by our brain. Will people see exactly the same color, perhaps but I see colors in a slightly different way from my wife and my daughter who sees color differently from my wife. All in the same family we see color differently. There is a system of color which uses the Moncel Color system. This way we can standardize what we call color.
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QUESTION: may I know how you know your family member and you see colour differently from you?
beside colourblind, is there any other way to proof that people may see colour differently? is there any evidence?
Answer Hi Rambo,
My wife is a graphic artist and when she does a color correction to a photograph I have taken, the color is different from what I percived it to be when I took the photograph. In the same way, if my daughter takes a photograph, my wife will color correct it the same way but I would do it differently as I see the colors with more blue and my daugheter sees it with more red and my wife with more yellows. This may be a difference in genetic make up, color perception, illnesses we have had, or other factors. The differences are very small but since I am atuned to this from my wife's work, I am aware of these subtle differences in color perception.
