10+ Amazing facts about human eyesight

Human vision is something really impressive and full of interesting curiosities. Why, after all, is it often said that people, in antiquity, did not see blue tones, even though the Egyptians used this color to color their tombs and ornaments? How can some people see ultraviolet radiation and still others distinguish around 100 million shades? And is there really a “creative vision”?

O awesome.club researched the issue and came to some interesting conclusions. Watch out! After reading this post, you will be able to see the world with different eyes. 🇧🇷

In fact, they saw normally. They just didn’t know how to communicate the existence of so many tones. 10,000 years ago people saw colors the same way we do, but they used generic names and terms. All light tones were equivalent to white, and dark ones to black. Pink color was bright and clear hence it was mistaken for white or yellow. Purple and blue equaled dark or black. Later, the names became more sophisticated: red, green and blue-green (purple and blue were categorized as blue-green).

Egyptologist Richard H. Wilkinson noted that each color had a specific meaning.

For example, artists always portrayed men with reddish brown skin, women with light brown skin, and gods with golden skin, because they believed that the skin of gods and pharaohs was covered in gold. The exception was Osiris, who was given black or green skin, the symbol of new life and resurrection. According to legend, Osiris was murdered by the god Set and resurrected by the goddess Isis, to rule the afterlife.

Blue and light blue colors were the most popular among the Egyptians; symbolized truth, birth and life. The sky and the water of the fertile Nile River were blue, and fertility amulets and tattoos for women in the shape of the god Bes were also blue. But the meaning of each color was strongly linked to the context of the image.

This is most notable in the language of the ancient Greeks: when describing objects, they grouped them according to their qualities. For example, the sky was called “bronze” because it is dazzling like the blade of a sword. The sea is a reddish hue, like wine, because both symbolize grace and vitality. But is it true that the Greeks did not know how to distinguish the color blue?

The correct answer is the option A.

German archaeologists Vinzenz Brunkmann and Ulrike Koch-Brinkmann demonstrated that ancient statues and public buildings were made colorful. The pigments were mineral, but the base of the painting was organic, and over time they were destroyed by bacteria and the colors faded. For this reason, our imagination about the minimalism of colors in antiquity is a little far from reality. And, of course, the Greeks perfectly distinguished the shades of blue.

Based on research carried out in 2007, scientists prepared an exhibition with statues and ancient buildings in their original colors. It’s hard to believe that hundreds of years ago, the ancient Greeks used all this variety of colors, bronze adornments and the pupils of statues made of dark stone.

Even Aristotle, the ancient Greek philosopher and educator of Alexander the Great, in his works, spoke about the 7 basic colors: black, white, red, yellow, green, blue and violet. He associated the colors with the 7 notes, celestial bodies and days of the week.

Currently, we have several main color categories in our language, which indirectly indicate the degree of development of society. But there are also those who easily determine the slightest difference between color nuances and use 10 times more definitions. Here’s an example: go to a paint supply store and ask for a gallon of green paint. But what green?

For example, different types of green such as “kiwi green”, “lime green” and “leaf green” are variations of shades of green. And paint sellers and painters almost always have this interpretation when speaking, in a generic way, the adjective ‘green’. But for most people, it’s just shades of light green or dark green. To test your eyes’ sensitivity to color, take a quiz.

At one point in research, it was also found that children aged between 4 and 8 months were faster at recognizing the green circle on a blue background than the blue circle on a blue background. These discoveries push scientists into a new mystery: Is the ability to recognize colors innate or acquired?

Less than 20 bars: you have around 2 types of cone cells (responsible for picking up colors) as well as 1/4 of the world’s population. This means that your ability to distinguish colors is slightly lower than most people. To see the full spectrum, special lenses or apps designed for all types of color blindness can help.

From 20 to 36 bars: most likely it has 3 types of cone cells. Like most people, you can distinguish between a wide range of tones.

More than 37 bars: it seems that you are part of the small group of people called tetrachromats, who have 4 types of cone cells. Such people recognize 100 million nuances, such as bees, some birds and the American artist Concetta Antico, the first tetrachromatic painter in the world and responsible for these images:

The presence of 4 types of cone cells is a rare mutation, and is found among women who have men with color blindness among their ancestors. But there is still another aspect to be considered in color recognition: the brain determines the color according to the state of mind, emotions and memories!

Some people have noticed that we often use different names for the same color, due to perception difficulties. Remember the dress phenomenon that went viral on social media? Some said it was white and gold, while others saw it as blue and black.

In the language used on an island of Papua New Guinea, Yele, there is a different way of determining colors. Instead of names, the name of something is used which, under any circumstances, still has the invariable color. For example: the word “night” means “black” and “cockatoo” means white.

But methods like this don’t always avoid the illusions that our own brain deliberately creates. Look at the image below and guess what color the circles behind the stripes are:

The fact is: they are all the same color! This is a Munker-White optical illusion. Through the stripes, we get the impression that the circles are of 4 different tones. Now, with the tip we gave, look at the image below and answer what color the hearts are:

Answer: they are all the same color, yellow.

Yes, the neurological phenomenon called synesthesia is like a trick of some people’s minds. Synesthetists imagine that the letter “D”, for example, is blue, and the name “Alberto” can cause a bitter taste in the mouth.

Among the famous with this characteristic are Lady Gaga, Pharrell Williams and Van Gogh. If you think you’re synesthetic, clear the doubt and contribute to research that will help science learn even more about this impressive neurological condition.

Their brains perceive what they see differently: they focus on the center of the image and perceive the entirety of it, without paying attention to significant details like people’s faces or flashy details. The entire image is in focus. The longer the eyes fix on an object, the more expressive each detail becomes in the brain.

This way of perceiving information can be very advantageous for a detective. In most people, the brain sees the image in reverse: first, it memorizes characteristic and significant details, and then, it tries to complete and form an integral image.

Let’s say each of your eyes sees a separate image. As a result, the brain of an ordinary person constantly chooses which one will be the main one. The person sees the image of the right eye, therefore, the image of the left eye. However, in some people, the brain processes 2 images at a time, obtaining a better structured image.

This characteristic is present in highly creative people, open to communication and with a high degree of curiosity. Thanks to it, they recognize around us symbols and images that are invisible to ordinary people. One can develop this type of vision by observing, for example, a carpet or a cloud.

The answer is: not. The greater the background intensity, the brighter the object must be for us to see it. It has been proven that, in the real world, with clear weather at night, the naked eye can see a candle flame at a distance of no more than 2,576 meters.

Some people see ultraviolet radiation: it happens when they are without any lens that “filters” UV radiation. For them, all people are covered with freckles, liquids are different colors, and birds, flowers and some mushrooms seem brighter.

Humans recognize infrared radiation due to receptors in the skin, which is perceived as heat radiation. The following is noted: blood flow is accelerated, blood vessels expand, sweating intensifies.