The Hunterian lectures on colour-vision and colour-blindnessEdridge-Green, F. W. (Frederick William)
Science
The Hunterian lectures on colour-vision and colour-blindness
Edridge-Green, F. W. (Frederick William)
Color blindness
There are several other degrees of colour perception, and it may
be well to say a word or two about them, though I class all above
the trichromic with the normal-sighted for practical purposes, as
they are not dangerously colour-blind, and can always, in ordinary
circumstances, distinguish signal lights correctly. In the next
stage of evolution four colours are seen in the spectrum, and the
fourth colour appears at the fourth point of greatest physiological
difference, namely, at the orange-yellow of the hexachromic or
six-colour people. These persons I have designated “tetrachromic,”
because they see four distinct colours in the spectrum, that is, red,
yellow, green, and violet. They do not see blue as a definite colour,
and are continually classing blues with greens; they usually prefer
to call blue, purplish green. In the next stage of evolution there
appeared those who see five colours in the spectrum--red, yellow,
green, blue, and violet, blue being now recognised as a definite
colour. These are the pentachromic group. These people pass all the
tests in general use with ease. They, however, have a definitely
diminished colour-perception compared with the normal, or those who see
six colours in the spectrum. They mark out in the spectrum only fifteen
monochromatic patches instead of eighteen. They cannot see orange as a
definite colour; for instance, they can never tell whether a strontium
light, which is red, or a calcium light, which is orange, is being
shown them.
In the next stage of evolution orange is recognised as a definite
colour, and thus we get the hexachromic or normal group, and, as
we should theoretically expect, the yellow of the pentachromic is
now split up into two colours--orange and yellow. The last stage of
evolution which we appear to have reached are those who see seven
colours in the spectrum, and the additional one is called indigo. These
constitute the heptachromic group, and this seventh colour appears at
the exact point at which it should appear, according to my theory,
namely, between the blue and violet. Persons belonging to this class
have a marvellous colour-perception and memory for colours. They will
indicate a certain shade of colour in the spectrum, and then next day
will be able to put the pointer at precisely the same point, a feat
which is quite impossible to the ordinary normal-sighted person. They
see a greater number of monochromatic patches in the spectrum than the
hexachromic, but the curve has the same form. The marking out of the
heptachromic does not appear correct to those who see six colours; for
instance, the blue appears to invade the green, and the indigo does
not appear a definite colour at all. If, however, we bisect the blue
of the seven-colour man, and then bisect his indigo, on joining the
centres we get the blue of the six-colour man, showing most definitely
that the blue has been split up into two fresh colours. It will be
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account