What's it like to be Color Blind?

Research shows that color blindness is more prevalent among males than females because the most common form of color vision deficiency is encoded on the X sex chromosome. However, only 8 % of men suffer from color blindness and according to www.colblindor.com, 99% of all color blind people are not really color blind but color deficient. The term color blind is often misleading. I wanted to see what it was like to be color blind or color deficient so I searched for websites that allowed the viewer to see through the eyes of an individual who can not distinguish between certain colors. I found a video on youtube that tells a story of a man who is color blind yet works in the graphic design field. He states that although he views photographs everyday for work, color never enters his mind. Instead of thinking about color, he thinks in terms of texture and shape. He says although he feels on a different page than everyone one else, he considers his color blindness as a minor disability that does not interfere with his day to day life. Throughout the video there are snippets that allow you to see as he sees, in shades of yellowish green with grey overtones.

Having gained a bit more knowledge about color blindness, I realize that suffering from color blindness could impact an individuals life more than I thought it could. For example, in cooking we heavily rely on our vision and color to determine the ripeness of fruit and vegetables and to tell when meat is ready. These simple everyday tasks come easy and are taken for granted by those who don't suffer a perceptual deficit.

                                                           
                                        
  
Sources used http://www.colblindor.com/2009/01/06/50-facts-about-color-blindness/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfA79fB_S0A

-Sarah Rohler