New Color Blindness Test – Looking for Red-Green Colorblind Test Persons

Tests 3 Comments
RGB Anomaloscope
RGB Anomaloscope

The anomaloscope is the most precise instrument when it comes to analyzing red-green color blindness. It was developed about 100 years ago and is still in use all over the world.

An anomaloscope is based on two different light sources which have to be brought to a match. You can match them by adjusting either the brightness of a certain yellow color or the proportion of mixture between a green and a red light. According to the matches you can make the eye specialist can give you detailed information about the severity and subtype of your red-green color blindness.

The RGB anomaloscope uses exactly the same approach but as an online tool. But because computer displays are solely build up from the three main colors red, green, and blue, the results can’t be just transformed to this online color blindness test. And that’s why I need you.

I’m looking for red-green colorblind persons who would like to help me to develop the RGB anomaloscope color blindness test. The test is now online available as RGB Anomaloscope Color Blindness Test.

What do you have to do? Simply use the anomaloscope, that’s all. If possible you can take the test under different light conditions and using different computers. This increases the chance to get an accurate color blindness test in the end. And—of course—you have to be red-green colorblind yourself.

RGB Anomaloscope Diagram
Color Blindness Test
Results Diagram

On the left side you can see my test results. Every dot represents a color match. As I’m strongly red-blind the matching area spans the whole possible spectrum.

If you would like to join and help me to develop this new online color blindness test just contact me. Please write me also about the subtype and severity of your red-green color blindness—as good as you know. You can check this at Which Type of Red-Green Color Blindness is It? After contacting me I will send you the link to the tool and the password to get in.

And please be aware we might not get the results which I would like to see. So maybe I can’t give you any better results than the ones you already have.

Colour Blindness: Causes and Effects

Publications 6 Comments
Colour Blindness - Causes and Effects
Colour Blindness – Causes and Effects

The book Colour Blindness: Causes and Effects was written by Donald McIntyre in 2002. It is a great introduction for the general reader into the topic of color vision and its deficiencies, and discusses many different topics related to color blindness.

Donald McIntyre is colorblind himself and was in contact with many people doing research into color vision and color vision deficiences while writing this book. He compiled an excellent overview with many up to date details about the latest findings in the field of color vision deficiency.

The book is split into two equal parts, starting with the basics of color vision in the first part: The causes of Color Blindness. This part also includes a detailed overview of the different types of color vision deficiency and descriptions of some color blindness tests, which can be used to identify and classify your specific deficiency.

In part 2: The effects of Colour Blindness, McIntyre asked himself: “What is it like to be colorblind?” He researched different areas and has some answers ready for you, fitting into the following four chapters:

  1. The appearance of colours: including a discussion and samples of how colorblind people see the world.
  2. Everyday life: about art, sport, food and more, and the awareness of a color vision deficiency.
  3. Careers: a great overview with some detailed information on professions and their suitability to color blindness.
  4. Techniques that may help: like the Seekey or colored contact lenses.

There is one point concerning the book which I think could have be done much better: The Bibliography. The book provides a huge source of detailed information on almost every topic attached to color blindness. But when it comes to the sources of those information the author fails. In a book which acts like a well prepared aggregation I’m also expecting a very comprehensive list of sources to get deeper information if I would like to learn more about a specific topic.

Overall Colour Blindness: Causes and Effects is a great and easy readable book about color vision deficiency which I recommend everybody interested in the topic. Not only if you are colorblind yourself, but it can also be a great source of information for parents, spouses or teachers.

You can also visit the books homepage at www.daltonism.org.uk.

How Many Colors Can You Name in Five Minutes?

Tools No Comments

I suppose I could have done much better in this quiz, if I would have checked my own tool Color Name & Hue before I tried my best.

And I guarantee you, if you remember just a bunch of the 1640 different color names which are listed in Color Name & Hue, you’ll perform much better than me.

I just tried the How Many Countries Can You Name in Five Minutes and did much better. In the end they counted 43—and 227 remaining…