Yesterday, I saw colour for the first time...

[BugLebowski]

NWTony said:

Wow, must have come as real bolt from the purple.

[pja]

OP a really interesting read!

I was tested in primary school & told I was colour blind, I was also told at the time I couldn’t be a train driver, pilot, truck driver & a whole host of other jobs! ( I’ve held my class 1 since 1997 so what did they know eh)

Wife, kids, Family, mates, colleagues, school bully’s Have all found my colour blindness a source of amusement to this day, did I mention family?
I’ve never really let it bother me ( the colour blindness or the piss taking!)
So as much as I’d like to try them I can’t imagine they’d be something I’d use often

They may be of more use to my young nephew who found out he was colour blind a couple of years ago & is struggling a lot more than I ever remember

One thing that puzzles me a little is how did you recognise the new colours once you put the glasses on?
Ie People talk of Lilac,mauve, magenta, taupe etc, which are all a fkin mystery to me!

[Sway]

pja said:

OP a really interesting read!

I was tested in primary school & told I was colour blind, I was also told at the time I couldn’t be a train driver, pilot, truck driver & a whole host of other jobs! ( I’ve held my class 1 since 1997 so what did they know eh)

Wife, kids, Family, mates, colleagues, school bully’s Have all found my colour blindness a source of amusement to this day, did I mention family?
I’ve never really let it bother me ( the colour blindness or the piss taking!)
So as much as I’d like to try them I can’t imagine they’d be something I’d use often

They may be of more use to my young nephew who found out he was colour blind a couple of years ago & is struggling a lot more than I ever remember

One thing that puzzles me a little is how did you recognise the new colours once you put the glasses on?
Ie People talk of Lilac,mauve, magenta, taupe etc, which are all a fkin mystery to me!

That was my hope - that people might find it interesting.

Your last point is something I should have mentioned - I'm genuinely like a toddler being taught colours for the first time, very much "conscious incompetence".

So, take a relatively easy one - purple. I don't know what purple looks like, never seen it. What I can now see, consciously, is "that looks like blue, but with a reddish tint - so that must mean it's purple?".

Relying a lot on my artist better half, kids and friends to help train my brain.

One thing I'm also noticing, is colours I could distinguish that are now about a trillion times more vibrant (orange being the main example) are actually looking more vibrant even when I'm not wearing them. My brain has started to learn what it 'should' see.

That doesn't work for these complex (for want of a better word) colors such as teal (oh's favourite colour, so fairly common in my house - always looked grey to me, and thankfully I don't dislike it now!), mauve, beige, lilac, etc.

A trip to the garden centre revealed many of those colours - not ashamed to say it was another source of "very dusty eyes" seeing some really delicately coloured flowers that previously had been OK but nothing special. The delicacy, nuance, etc. I found massively moving.

What I would say, is don't write them off! I thought they'd be a novelty and interesting, but nothing too much more than that - it really is so much more than I could ever have imagined. As I've said before though, I'm a hugely aesthetic and visual person, so your mileage may vary!

[C&C]

Really interesting and positive thread, and I'm so happy for you to have discovered massively improved colour perception.

Maybe you need to revisit the Montblanc Homer Blue that you didn't like, and a whole host of other ink colours?

This thread has made my day - brilliant!

[prand]

I just came back from a ski trip and took my 8yr old down son a red run thinking the sign was green. Oops! He did fine though, good lad.

[vladcjelli]

Returned the pair of type a glasses we bought from pilestone.

Didn’t make a noticeable difference to him. Do you think it’s worth trying a pair of type b?

[Sway]

vladcjelli said:

Returned the pair of type a glasses we bought from pilestone.

Didn’t make a noticeable difference to him. Do you think it’s worth trying a pair of type b?

I'd say the potential benefits (as per my experience) make it worth a shot - as you know, there's no risk (other than disappointment).

The Type B's do have some limitations though - the tint means it takes longer for your brain to 'reset' the white balance, you can only use them in pretty bright environments - and they do look like you're channeling your inner Bono!

Wish I could get away with the Type A's, but there's simply no chance (although I'm perhaps foolishly hopeful as my brain relearn what it "should" see, there may be a chance down the road - I'm already seeing what I think is a slight but noticeable difference even when I'm not wearing them).

[Rosedene]

Wait till you see autumn in all its glory!

[stinkyspanner]

I've known I'm colourblind for 40 odd years, generally one just gets on with it although it has prevented me doing a couple of things over the years. My Mrs keeps wanting to get me some of these glasses and I must admit to being tempted to try them but I just can't shake off the feeling that I'd be disappointed in all that I've missed over the years. Ive been to some fantastic countries and seen what I would consider to be some amazing sights, would I feel that I missed out in REALLY seeing them? In future would I always think that everything I see is somehow a bit lacking if I don't have them on which obviously isn't practical?
Maybe I'm just being a 'glass half empty' but I can't help feeling that after the initial wow factor it could be that I wish Id never seen what I'm missing out on

[Taita]

stinkyspanner said:

I've known I'm colourblind for 40 odd years, generally one just gets on with it although it has prevented me doing a couple of things over the years. My Mrs keeps wanting to get me some of these glasses and I must admit to being tempted to try them but I just can't shake off the feeling that I'd be disappointed in all that I've missed over the years. Ive been to some fantastic countries and seen what I would consider to be some amazing sights, would I feel that I missed out in REALLY seeing them? In future would I always think that everything I see is somehow a bit lacking if I don't have them on which obviously isn't practical?
Maybe I'm just being a 'glass half empty' but I can't help feeling that after the initial wow factor it could be that I wish Id never seen what I'm missing out on

Give it a crack, nothing ventured nothing gained.

Can always send them back

[Sway]

stinkyspanner said:

I've known I'm colourblind for 40 odd years, generally one just gets on with it although it has prevented me doing a couple of things over the years. My Mrs keeps wanting to get me some of these glasses and I must admit to being tempted to try them but I just can't shake off the feeling that I'd be disappointed in all that I've missed over the years. Ive been to some fantastic countries and seen what I would consider to be some amazing sights, would I feel that I missed out in REALLY seeing them? In future would I always think that everything I see is somehow a bit lacking if I don't have them on which obviously isn't practical?
Maybe I'm just being a 'glass half empty' but I can't help feeling that after the initial wow factor it could be that I wish Id never seen what I'm missing out on

So a year on - and I think it's safe to say you wouldn't be disappointed. I've definitely noticed improved colour vision in general (certainly in colour intensity and how much it stands out) even when not wearing them.

I've not looked back and thought I've missed out - but I do look forward!

[Sway]

Rosedene said:

Wait till you see autumn in all its glory!

This, was a very good prediction!

Berries and things were just incredible.

Browns - I can definitely see so much more in terms of variety, etc., however it's the colour I'm having most difficulty 'learning' what I'm seeing...

[judas]

As an aside to this, trying to explain your colour blindness to people is next to impossible but you can now show them what you see using the CVSimulator app - available on Android and iPhone.

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=asad...
Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/chromatic-vision-sim...

We're currently going through the protracted process of trying to decide on how to decorate the front room. The colour my wife favoured is, to me, grey - not the subtle blue-ish green-ish grey-ish shade anyone with normal colour vision sees. I downloaded the app and showed my wife what it looks like to me (I have strong deuteranopia, which means I'm deficient in green colour sense). To say she was shocked is an understatement. We're now looking at colours that don't change drastically between normal and deutranopic vision

[jeremyc]

judas said:

I have strong deuteranopia, which means I'm deficient in green colour sense.

And all this time you thought Ace-T's hair was grey, whereas we all know it's bright green.

Hope you are both keeping well.

[tribbles]

judas said:

As an aside to this, trying to explain your colour blindness to people is next to impossible but you can now show them what you see using the CVSimulator app - available on Android and iPhone.

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=asad...
Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/chromatic-vision-sim...

I did a talk on writing user interfaces at work to teach our developers how to cater for things like colourblindness (and other vision defects), and I used that app as an example.

I also showed some of our other user interfaces as perceived by various forms of colourblindness, but using a program called GIMP (Gnu Image Manipulation Programme, before anyone asks!). It has ways to display screenshots using filters.

Some of them had imperceptible differences if you are a deutan, but absolutely obvious of your vision was okay.

[judas]

jeremyc said:

And all this time you thought Ace-T's hair was grey, whereas we all know it's bright green.

Hope you are both keeping well.

It's my hair that's now grey! Or is that green?

We're both very well thanks. Hope you are too and surviving the zombie covid apocalypso

[Ace-T]

The apps are very much worth downloading. When I was shown pics of random things that showed the differences of what Judas can see and what I see, I could intellectually sympathise and support him. However the apps show in real time how he sees our own stuff in our house. This made an emotional connection that I simply wasn't expecting and it shocked me to the point of being quite upset. (Not just because I can't have the colour I want )

Sway, it may help if you show your colleagues it to explain why you wear the glasses. I am sure they will be quite shocked and probably quite embarrassed.

jeremyc said:

And all this time you thought Ace-T's hair was grey, whereas we all know it's bright green.

Hope you are both keeping well.

Jeremy, I don't even know what colour my hair is nowadays! We are doing ok thank you. Job went last year but have a great support network that helped me find another one, so grateful about that. Hope you and yours are ok too.

This was a timely appearance on the BBC, a chap gets bought some colour blind correction glasses by his friends. His reaction is quite lovely.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-us-canada-5565...

[Swampy1982]

Ahhh, one if my favourite threads is back, always reminds me to be grateful for the little things like being able to see colour.

Thanks for sharing the story, and the update a year on too.

[EFH189]

BugLebowski said:

NWTony said:

Wow, must have come as real bolt from the purple.

This comment deserves a roflcopter! Tickled me fuscia.

So I was just linked to this thread. I heard about these glasses back in the day but never took my interest any further.

I have just done the test, here’s my result (I am 48 years old - that’s a lifetime of not seeing colours properly….)



I will 100% get a pair and report back. Thanks to @Sway for pointing me over here.

[Sway]

You're welcome!

You'll be getting the same lenses as me...

There's some good ideas in this thread for things to actively seek out. The one downside is that due to the tint, they're not great when it's dim/heavily overcast.