How does one describe color to a person who is blind?(self.Blind)
submitted by JCub99
I’ve heard this question, “describe yellow to a person who can’t see” but never heard a great answer. I understand color is arbitrary to those who cannot see, but have you been given good descriptions of colors that let you understand them?
Envrin9 points3y ago
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Simple,don't. Can only speak for myself, but I really don't care.
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Not being rude or anything, but when someone tries explaining what that day's sunrise looks like for example, I just smile and nod to be polite, but really don't care. It's not going to impact my life any. I know they're just trying to be nice, so I respectfully play along, but yeah... my advice is don't worry about it.
Unknown_9901 points3y ago
Ok remind me to never describe to you the sunset lol. It is sort of a cliche & cheesy thing anyways. Theyre SO overrated...
JCub99 [OP]1 points3y ago
Do you think most visually impaired would agree?
Envrin3 points3y ago
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I don't know, I don't have any blind friends, hence why I said I can only speak for myself. Got 5 up votes on that post though, so I guess someone out there agrees with me.
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Again, can only speak for myself, but being blind is really mentally taxing. We have to constantly remember every last detail of our environments, everything we do is harder and takes longer than a sighted person, etc. For myself at least, I just really don't have the mental fortitude to put foreward to visualize what a sunrise looks like.
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Maybe there's some blind folks out there who enjoy having things like that explained to them, but for some reason I bet they're few and far between. At best it's a waste of time, and at worst it reminds us we're blind, and is somewhat equivalent to rubbing it in. Vast majority of the time I just go through my days without even thinking about being blind, and just get on with life. Something has to happen for me to think to myself, "oh yeah, that's right, I'm blind".
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Sorry if I came off as harsh at all in this post,as not intentional. I'm honestly a really nice guy. :)
Unknown_9902 points3y ago
Im visually impaired and i can see the sunset just fine :/. I dont think visualy impaired is the same thing as totally blind. Visualy impaired people are ussually helped w ith contacts or glasses, we are not yet blind..
andn some cases might have a long way to go🤔. My eyes are -17 but apprentltthey can go to -40 and still be able to see. Blind people cannot see anything, its total black , maybe with dark and light shadows , and glasses would never help them. I am.visually impaired but i can still tell everything that im looking at and in full vibrant colour, with my glasses off it is just blurry. .
bjayernaeiy2 points3y ago
There are varying levels of blindness, not all people who are blind are totally blind.
Unknown_9901 points3y ago
Um alright but i never heard of a visual impairment meaning..... oh nvm.
Since when is there spectrum of 'blind' now? never heard of that. There is a spectrum of visual impairments tho, Blindness is ussually in a whole other category...
I honestlt never heard anyone use 'visual impairments' to mean blind, becuasee it ussually doesnt meant thattttttt....
and btw if they arent totally blind then they SAY partaily blind! Or half blind🤔 For blind in one eye.
Throwawayaccount0976 points3y ago
You cannot describe the colors themselves, but you can describe the effects colors have, and with what we associate them, socially, energetically, and emotionally.
Socially we use colors to describe intense feelings. “Red hot anger”, “feeling blue”, and “green with envy” are common, but a blind person may not know that the color yellow can be stimulating, suppress the appetite, be a “genderless” color, and be associated with high energy. Or that the lower frequency colors like brown, black, or gray might be associated with slowness or depression. Hellen Keller commonly used colors in her writings this way.
It could be helpful to break down other characteristics of colors, like vibrancy/intensity and what those mean in certain contexts. With man made things, pastel colors can often indicate age/wear, like a plastic toy faded by the sun, where very vibrant colors can mean “brand new”. But with natural, organic things like animals and plants, the opposite is true. Young, new things are softer colors (think insect eggs, baby animals, young leaf buds) where bright colors signify age and sexual maturity (think butterflies, ripe vegetables, and brightly colored birds). And then brown, black and dark green are often associated with death and rot.
I also like to think of colors as “high energy” or “low energy”.
WarHamster40k2 points3y ago
Imagine someone handing you a pair of donuts and asking "which of these sounds sourer when you look at it?". Given how many different shades of yellow there are (or any color, for that matter), it's easier if you focus on the unique properties of the object instead of focusing on a descriptor that may not be useful to everyone.
Color is open to wide degrees of interpretation among sighted people anyway (remember the dress?), so just say "this looks like bright/dark/whatever \_\_\_\_\_ to me", if the question comes up. If more details become necessary, narrow it down as you go based on what needs clarifying.
msimmons0240 points3y ago
Color is just another form of identification. It’s another layer to different textures or sounds. Things can be smooth or rough, or things can be black or white.
Unknown_9900 points3y ago
OMG! what a nogin' scratcher...
if there was a way to FEEL colour, that might be helpfull🤔...let alone explain.
Maybe oneday future technology will get there.
CloudyBeep2 points3y ago
There are apps that allow you to hear colour. One fully colour-blind artist wore an implant for many years that allowed him to hear colours.
Unknown_9902 points3y ago
I figured... but wasnt sure..
Um why the heck was my reply even downvoted??
CloudyBeep1 points3y ago
Maybe it was downvoted because some blind people don't think that color should be a part of their lives.
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