Blind Woman Shares How People Explained Colors To Her When She Was Little, Other People Try Explaining Them Too
Most of us take color for granted. It’s one of the most important features we use to describe how things look, but you’ll probably go blank if you try to describe what makes something green. If you’ve ever had that classic debate about whether “my red is your red”, you’ve probably realized that when you try to describe something from your own visual perception, any comparison you make is… also from your visual perception.
That sounds slightly confusing already, so let’s talk about how we can describe colors, or at least try to. Recently, someone started a Twitter thread asking how to explain colors to a blind person who has absolutely no visual reference. Some of the resources that rolled in, like a blog post from someone who was born with no light perception and gained it surgically later in life, and a children’s book describing color through raised print and similes, are fascinating and poetic.
Someone found a post about how a blind person had colors described to her
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Image credits: The Cut
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Image credits: The Cut
The post reminded Twitter users of other pieces of writing they had seen
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One commenter makes a great point, though: that our emotional associations with color are subjective, as is color symbolism from one culture to another. For years, designers have had to be careful with the colors that they use to market products internationally, because while a fiery color like red may put people in high spirits in the West, someone from a Middle Eastern culture that considers red a warning sign would probably think of it with apprehension.
Commenters appreciate the writing but doubt it’s possible to describe colors objectively
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The abstract nature of the descriptions struck a chord with some commenters who tried their hand at writing their own. Some of them are pretty relatable—if you live somewhere far north, you’re probably having a lot of grey days right now—while some people went wild with the format and ventured into absurdity and parody.
Here are how some commenters would describe colors, for better or worse
So beautiful. I close my eyes after reading the description of these colors and sort of recreate the sensation. Quite nice.
Imagine I put you under a heat lamp and smack with you a smelly fish.
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The description of black is wrong. Blind people don't see black - it's not like closing your eyes. Actually someone explained to me the other day, it's kind of like if you close one eye you see black out of that eye, but if you keep it closed and keep looking around eventually you stop noticing the black. That's what blind people see - nothing at all - only out of both eyes.
Actually, it's kinda rare to be completely, absolutely, 100% blind. A lot can sense light & shade but not distinct shapes. Some can see a faint blur of color. People who are 100% blind have absolutely no sensory input from their eyes. The best description I've read says it's like trying to see through the sole of your foot; there's just no visual information.
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Sit outside on a hot day. When a breeze come by, spritz your face with a mist of water. The combination of the breeze and the mist of water is Aqua Blue.
I'm not sure I agree with their definition of brown. It can be mud and poo of course, but it's also the smell of cinnamon, the taste of chocolate, and the aroma of strong black tea in the fall morning. Depends on your mood :-)
Your morning cup of coffee, though called black, is actually a very deep brown that turns different shades of beige as you pour white cream to it.
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I wonder what someone with synesthesia would tell a blind person about colors.
Now those would, indeed, be some very interesting descriptions of colors. I’d be fascinated to read them.
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Smell is really under-represented here, and yet I feel like it's the most important one.
Grey and black are described very negatively. They are colors of quiet, softness, solitude, not death. A weighted blanket, a night time stroll, a foggy mystery. Goodness...
That's what black and grey are to you (and me coincidentally) but others may have a different interpretation.
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There is a beautiful scene based on this topic in the incredible movie Mask, starring Eric Stoltz, Cher and Sam Elliot.
Yes, where he explains colors to his blind girlfriend (sorry for the spoiler, though the movie is 30-odd years old). I loved the pure sweetness of that scene.
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When pianist Ray Charles, who was born blind, was asked by Producer Norman Jewisson to listen to the composition for the sound track (which he later played), he shouted with delight:''That's maximum green'', his own way of saying ''really cool''.
My mom's friend lives in Nashville. She wasn't born blind so she knows what an elephant looks like or a bee or whatever, but she can't remember colours. Which is sad. I would think that you can't forget that, but she proofed that one can.
I'm not blind, but I've always made connections between colors and sensations. Yellow is like eating something so sweet and sour that you feel a pain in your ear. Blue is like breathing very slowly, green is like smelling leaves and dirt, sepia is going back in time, red is closing your eyes very tight.
For me yellow has always meant happiness warmth and sunny love. Unless it's lemony/green yellow, I don't like that
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In the movie "Mask," the main character did the same thing with a blind girl giving her different feelings and textures to describe colors ... that was 1985 ...
Some are so beautifully done. But brown. Touch soil, rich with nutrients for plants to grow, slightly moist. Earthy odor.
Anyone seen the movie Mask? This method of describing colors to a blind person was used in that movie.
While they have sight, My dad and two son's are color blind. Having inherited and passed this gene on it's interesting that my color vision may be extra acute. It's still a theory about an extra color cone for females passing on the gene. We've been experimenting, realizing that it's a sensory......or something?? perception. I do very love this. Because we can all "feel" color, however we perceive it. That's kind of a lovely thing.
My brother is completely color blind and he'll mess with you whenever someone mentioned a color. He'd say "descrbe red to me"....very frustrating......
The descriptions are beautiful, but ultimately meaningless. There are red leaves, blue fire, and green ice as well. Color is a thing that can't be expressed in words without the context of themselves. It would be like trying to imagine what UV light looks like on its own without shifting it into our visible spectrum. What color is an xray or a microwave? We have no basis by which to describe it even though it's part of the same electromagnetic spectrum as our visible colors. If you want to see genuine reactions, what it's really like to experience a color someone has never before experienced, look up honest videos of people trying one of the various types of colorblind glasses. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDERamAQ41I
Take someone out to the wilderness where there are no cars or people or anything and sit quietly at 2am; that's black. Red is a cinnamon candy Yellow is the sun shining on your face for just a little while. Grass and leaves are definitely Green. Pink is a kiss on the cheek. Fuscia is stretched out bubblegum Orange is an orange Blue is the Ocean but on the East Coast. White is the snow
I’ve lived on both coasts of the US, and you’re right about the two oceans. The Pacific is a true blue, while the Atlantic has more of a greenish tint to it, and they can both have a churning white/gray/black tone to them during a storm. They say it’s actually the clear water reflecting the color of the sky above it. I get the blue and the white/gray/black; I’m just not sure where the green would come from.
Load More Replies... So beautiful. I close my eyes after reading the description of these colors and sort of recreate the sensation. Quite nice.
Imagine I put you under a heat lamp and smack with you a smelly fish.
Load More Replies... The description of black is wrong. Blind people don't see black - it's not like closing your eyes. Actually someone explained to me the other day, it's kind of like if you close one eye you see black out of that eye, but if you keep it closed and keep looking around eventually you stop noticing the black. That's what blind people see - nothing at all - only out of both eyes.
Actually, it's kinda rare to be completely, absolutely, 100% blind. A lot can sense light & shade but not distinct shapes. Some can see a faint blur of color. People who are 100% blind have absolutely no sensory input from their eyes. The best description I've read says it's like trying to see through the sole of your foot; there's just no visual information.
Load More Replies... Sit outside on a hot day. When a breeze come by, spritz your face with a mist of water. The combination of the breeze and the mist of water is Aqua Blue.
I'm not sure I agree with their definition of brown. It can be mud and poo of course, but it's also the smell of cinnamon, the taste of chocolate, and the aroma of strong black tea in the fall morning. Depends on your mood :-)
Your morning cup of coffee, though called black, is actually a very deep brown that turns different shades of beige as you pour white cream to it.
Load More Replies... I wonder what someone with synesthesia would tell a blind person about colors.
Now those would, indeed, be some very interesting descriptions of colors. I’d be fascinated to read them.
Load More Replies... Smell is really under-represented here, and yet I feel like it's the most important one.
Grey and black are described very negatively. They are colors of quiet, softness, solitude, not death. A weighted blanket, a night time stroll, a foggy mystery. Goodness...
That's what black and grey are to you (and me coincidentally) but others may have a different interpretation.
Load More Replies... There is a beautiful scene based on this topic in the incredible movie Mask, starring Eric Stoltz, Cher and Sam Elliot.
Yes, where he explains colors to his blind girlfriend (sorry for the spoiler, though the movie is 30-odd years old). I loved the pure sweetness of that scene.
Load More Replies... When pianist Ray Charles, who was born blind, was asked by Producer Norman Jewisson to listen to the composition for the sound track (which he later played), he shouted with delight:''That's maximum green'', his own way of saying ''really cool''.
My mom's friend lives in Nashville. She wasn't born blind so she knows what an elephant looks like or a bee or whatever, but she can't remember colours. Which is sad. I would think that you can't forget that, but she proofed that one can.
I'm not blind, but I've always made connections between colors and sensations. Yellow is like eating something so sweet and sour that you feel a pain in your ear. Blue is like breathing very slowly, green is like smelling leaves and dirt, sepia is going back in time, red is closing your eyes very tight.
For me yellow has always meant happiness warmth and sunny love. Unless it's lemony/green yellow, I don't like that
Load More Replies... In the movie "Mask," the main character did the same thing with a blind girl giving her different feelings and textures to describe colors ... that was 1985 ...
Some are so beautifully done. But brown. Touch soil, rich with nutrients for plants to grow, slightly moist. Earthy odor.
Anyone seen the movie Mask? This method of describing colors to a blind person was used in that movie.
While they have sight, My dad and two son's are color blind. Having inherited and passed this gene on it's interesting that my color vision may be extra acute. It's still a theory about an extra color cone for females passing on the gene. We've been experimenting, realizing that it's a sensory......or something?? perception. I do very love this. Because we can all "feel" color, however we perceive it. That's kind of a lovely thing.
My brother is completely color blind and he'll mess with you whenever someone mentioned a color. He'd say "descrbe red to me"....very frustrating......
The descriptions are beautiful, but ultimately meaningless. There are red leaves, blue fire, and green ice as well. Color is a thing that can't be expressed in words without the context of themselves. It would be like trying to imagine what UV light looks like on its own without shifting it into our visible spectrum. What color is an xray or a microwave? We have no basis by which to describe it even though it's part of the same electromagnetic spectrum as our visible colors. If you want to see genuine reactions, what it's really like to experience a color someone has never before experienced, look up honest videos of people trying one of the various types of colorblind glasses. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDERamAQ41I
Take someone out to the wilderness where there are no cars or people or anything and sit quietly at 2am; that's black. Red is a cinnamon candy Yellow is the sun shining on your face for just a little while. Grass and leaves are definitely Green. Pink is a kiss on the cheek. Fuscia is stretched out bubblegum Orange is an orange Blue is the Ocean but on the East Coast. White is the snow
I’ve lived on both coasts of the US, and you’re right about the two oceans. The Pacific is a true blue, while the Atlantic has more of a greenish tint to it, and they can both have a churning white/gray/black tone to them during a storm. They say it’s actually the clear water reflecting the color of the sky above it. I get the blue and the white/gray/black; I’m just not sure where the green would come from.
Load More Replies...
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