eli5: Why is it impossible to imagine new colors?
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Who said it is impossible?
I can imagine new colours I just do not have materials or words to properly explain/show them.
When I have seizures I sometimes see colours that I have not found on even the most advanced colour wheel.
Your question contains an unfounded assumption.
Actually it is possible to imagine colors that you cannot see when you know how eyes work.
So here’s a super generalized explanation, Colors are a frequency of light that is caught by some detectors in your eyes that sends a signal that is interpreted by your brain.
There are 3 types of detectors in your eye all focused on a specific range of color, they are more or less stimulated depending on what you are looking. But the ranges are overlapping, your red sensors can still percieve a bit of blue but since the blue sensor does it better, your brain disregard that data.
But your imagination is not limited to your sensory limitation and you can technically imagine colors that you will never see.
The best example would be : think of a Blueish yellow that is not green. It is possible because it’s like imagining how a color would look like if I shut down one of my sensors. Some other examples, harder to conceive would be to imagine what infrared or ultraviolet looks like since they fall outside what we can see.
That is actually how colorblind people see. Because one or more of their sensors are faulty.
You people can imagine colors?
Describe yellow to someone born blind. If you’re able to do that then you’re most of the way there.
We can’t even accuratelly define the colours we can see as it is never mind the ones we can’t.
Because impossible just means you haven’t taken enough DMT. The real problem is describing the colors you saw … Language is references… And n-dimensional-hyperbolic Orange… Really doesnt describe it very well to anyone who hasnt already seen it.
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