Why Can the Human Eye See More Shades of Green
Like most people, you’ve probably always assumed that the human eye sees all colors the same way. After all, when you scan a room, you see many colors all at once, right? So why can the human eye see more shades of green? How does this happen, and why does it happen?
How Can Human Eyes See More Shades of Green?
We look around and see many colors, but what is happening in the eye to make that happen? The cones in our eyes sort out or process the wavelengths it’s seeing. Each primary color resembles or matches up to a specific wavelength. The color blue is at the bottom of the wavelength range, while red is at the top. Right in the middle is, you guessed it, green. The center of our visual range or visual spectrum is where our perception is best. So, green is the color we see the easiest. Now you can see why the color green is such an essential part of our daily lives.
Why the Human Eye Evolved to Better Perceive Green
You may not have considered the idea that our eyes have evolved over time, but it’s true! Color perception is highly determined by evolution. When you imagine the surroundings of your ancestors long ago, you can envision the large regions full of luscious green forests.
Long before our recent ancestors, it is believed that our primate ancestors that could see the color green better had the advantage over other mammals when it came to the need to identify and recognize food sources. However, some nocturnal mammals can’t (and don’t need to) see color at all due to the cones in their eyes not receiving light and being able to react to colors. This is the reason scientists believe our eyes had to evolve.
Think about when you go to the grocery store and pick out produce. You know when you see the color green on the bananas that they are not quite ripe. Or when you look at a green pepper, you know it’s not going to be as sweet as the red or yellow ones. Our ancestors developed this instinct, and we continue to utilize it today.
How the Color Blind Perceive Green?
Color blindness occurs when the eye’s light-sensitive cone cells are not as sensitive as normal. Because of this, they can’t interpret light into neural signals which travel to the brain, typically resulting in seeing all kinds of colors.
The most common color blindness is called red-green color blindness. This happens when the red and green-sensitive cone cells have sensitivities that meet and overlap each other more than usual. When this occurs, the ability to see red and green as different, separate colors is hindered. Instead, the colors appear very similar to the person. Mixing up colors is very easy in this case which causes confusion and can be frustrating.
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