This distinction means that these colors are read by the eye as “pure” – or not mixed with any other colors.
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Revealing that humans see things differently in winter compared with summer scientist are now sheding light on human’s ability to process colours. We consider these to be base hues that do not contain mixtures from other colors (though green is, technically, a mix of blue and yellow, to a degree).
“This is the first time natural changes in the environment have been shown to affect our perception of colour”.
“The unique yellow shifts to longer wavelengths in the winter, i.e. towards a more “reddish” yellow”. That’s because most people agree on what “real” yellow looks like, despite individual differences between eyes.
The scientists at the University of York decided to discover an explanation for why this is so.
The study involved the testing performed on 67 men and women in the months of January and June. Could they be related to the biology of our eyes or is it much more likely that they are related to the colors in the environment around us? They did so by charting how our perception of “unique yellow” changes through the year.
The lead author of the study Lauren Welbourne explained that the research offers insight into the complexity of the visual system being an example of how humans adapt to their surroundings constantly. So our vision compensates for the change and this affects the way in which we perceive yellow.
Welbourne quipped that this process is not unlike “changing the color balance” on your computer or TV.
They were then asked to use a machine called a colorimeter to adjust a dial backwards and forwards until they felt they had reached the point where it had reached unique yellow – with no hint of a green or red.
“I take lots of measurements of the setting in both seasons, and find a shift in the average setting between seasons, ” Lauren said.
Now, the results of this study do not necessarily contribute to a larger understanding of treating vision problems but the scientists say that this study could help shed light on more dynamics of the mechanics of vision.
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“Although there’s no disorder that this can fix, the more we learn about how vision and colour in particular is processed, the better we can understand exactly how we see the world”. She pointed out that this process is useful because humans can adjust to the huge seasonal changes which occur in the environmental color and still be able to see and distinguish color accurately.
