Think for a moment about how many things in life rely on color. From getting dressed in the morning (making sure your clothes match) to driving to work (and reading traffic signals), color is all around us! Compensating for an inability to see colors can be easy in some ways and not so easy in others. As far as traffic lights go, a person can learn the order of the three lights — red at the top, yellow in the middle, and green at the bottom — and watch for which one is lit. Even if you can’t see the … Continue reading →

Most people with color blindness can see some color. People who can see no color at all are actually pretty rare! In a normal eye, there are color-sensitive cells in the retina — the layer of nerves at the back of the eye that convert light into signals sent to the brain. These color-sensitive cells are called cones, and they come in three types: sensitive to red, blue, or green light. In a normal eye, you see color when the cone cells sense any or all of these types of light; cone cells work best in bright light and not … Continue reading →