The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1911-11-17
COLOR BLIND OFTEN
Do NOT KNOW FACT
Those So Afflicted See World
Entirely Differently
From Others.

How little we know the inner expe-
fiences of our fellows is shown by the
comparative regency with which the
facts of color blindness have been
brought to our knowledge. Many per-
son with reflective color vision has liv-
ed his life not knowing that others
saw the world differently from him.
self. In fact, no one seems to have
been aware of inability to see color un-
til Tuberville in 1854 called attention
to 1t. The matter was again referred
to by Dalton in 1894 and then was
scarcely mentioned for the next fifty
years.
It seems strange that men should
have lived side by side for centuries,
gathered fruits when they were ripe.
reveled in the glories Of autumn foil
age, taken hope from the rainbow.
painted canvasses in color, looked up
on color splashed sunset skies and
fallen in love with blue eyes and gol-
den hair and yet never have suspected
that there we're some among their fell
lows to whom all this glory OF color
was as absent as the sun from the mid
night sky and that for them nature
wore perpetually robe as gray and
somber as lint covered roof beneath
winter clouds. Yet to the color blind
the whole world appears but in shades
of gray which may range Though all
degrees of intensity from the purest
white light to the deepest black.
Not Conscious Of Color Blindness.
And 1t may seem even stranger that
the color blind are as oblivious to the
difference between themselves and
others as are those with good vision.
Many color blind person doubtless
goes through life without his defect be-
ing discovered. and it is not at all un-
common that one first becomes aware
of the defect by accident. Last winter
q young man, college student, was
brought into the laboratory here, who
Arst became aware of his trouble when
he differed from the other members
of his boarding club about the color
of AIRED gate. Yet this man, who upon
preliminary examination evidenced a
considerable defect had always select
ed his own ties and was planning to do
his major college work in chemistry
with no suspicion that he might en-
counter difficulties there to which his
fellows might not be subject. Another
young man first found out his defect
when he called red switch light
green. and remember student OF
my college days, who, although he
could guess when cherries were ripe
by their size, had absolutely no power
to discriminate a red from a green pa
per when the two were made of the
same brightness. Yet this man did no
become aware of his difficulty unit
he heard the matter Of color blindness
discussed in college class.
Reported studies of color blindnes.
indicate that about 4 per cent. of mer
are defective in this way. and 1t hal
been generally supposed that wome1
have better vision in this respect thar
men, the reason usually given for the
difference being that women get more
practice in matching colors than mer
do. There are two bits Of evidence
however. that stand in opposition to
the supposed superiority OF women IL
color vision. The first is an experiment
tai study recently made by Professor
Hays on the students in Mt. Holyok<
college. He examined 457 women ant
found among them 104 who showed
marked color deficiency. Further exam
ination Of twenty-three out of this 1O4
Showed six almost, II not wholly color
blind. and the other seventeen with
marked deficiency in ability to dis
criminate color. Such results indicate
that exhaustive examination would
probably overturn any supposed infer
iority of men in this respect
Seems to be Inherited.
A second fact also seems to indicat,
that the usually accepted theory is un
founded. This is the fact that mos
color blindness seems not to be thu