Color me surprised

 

AI has problems with the Danish flag.
Does it see red as green?

My small talk with ChatGPT continues...

Is color "arbitrary"? That is, could the color we see as "red" just as well be "blue" (or any other color)?

Great question! The idea of color being arbitrary depends on how you define "color"—whether you mean it as a physical property of light or a perceptual experience in the brain.

1️⃣ Physically, Color Is Not Arbitrary

• Light exists as electromagnetic waves, and different wavelengths correspond to different colors:

  • Short wavelengths (~450 nm) → Blue

  • Medium wavelengths (~530 nm) → Green

  • Long wavelengths (~650 nm) → Red

• These wavelengths exist independently of perception, meaning a 650 nm wave is objectively "red" in the sense that it always has that wavelength.

2️⃣ Perceptually, Color Could Be Arbitrary

• Our brain interprets these wavelengths based on how our cone cells respond.

• If our brains were wired differently, we could associate 650 nm with "blue" instead of "red", and no one would know the difference.

• Some evidence for this idea:

  • Inverted Qualia Hypothesis: Philosophers speculate that two people could see colors differently (e.g., my red could be your blue), but we’d never know because we use the same words to describe them.

  • Language & Color Perception: Some languages don’t have separate words for blue and green, influencing how speakers categorize colors.

3️⃣ Alien or Artificial Vision Could See Colors Differently

• A species with different types of photoreceptors could experience totally different colors.

• Even in humans, conditions like synesthesia cause some people to associate colors with sounds or numbers in ways that are "arbitrary" to most people.

Conclusion

• The wavelengths of light are objective, but the experience of color is subjective and could, in theory, be different.

• If we had different biology, we might call "red" something else—or even see colors humans can’t imagine!

Can you tell me more about synesthesia?

Yes! Synesthesia is a fascinating neurological condition where stimulation of one sensory pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in another. In other words, people with synesthesia experience a blending of senses.

🔹 Types of Synesthesia

There are many forms, but here are some of the most well-known:

1. Grapheme-Color Synesthesia ✍️🌈

   • Letters and numbers appear in specific colors (e.g., "A" is always red, "5" is always blue).

   • The colors are consistent for the individual but vary from person to person.

2. Chromesthesia (Sound-to-Color Synesthesia) 🎶🎨

   • Sounds (music, voices, environmental noise) trigger colors, lights, or shapes.

   • Some musicians "see" music in colors (e.g., Beethoven might have had this).

3. Lexical-Gustatory Synesthesia 🗣️🍎

   • Words or sounds trigger taste sensations (e.g., the word "table" might taste like chocolate).

4. Spatial Sequence Synesthesia (Time & Space Mixing) ⏳📍

   • Some synesthetes see time in physical space (e.g., a year might appear as a circle around them).

5. Mirror-Touch Synesthesia 🖐️👤

   • When someone sees another person being touched, they feel it on their own body.

🧠 What Causes Synesthesia?

• It’s believed to be due to extra connections between different sensory regions in the brain.

• It may be genetic, as it often runs in families.

• Some scientists think all babies might be synesthetic but lose the extra connections over time.

🎵 Famous Synesthetes

• Wassily Kandinsky (painter) – Saw colors when hearing music.

• Pharrell Williams (musician) – Experiences colors when hearing sounds.

• Nikola Tesla (inventor) – May have had synesthesia linked to numbers.

🔍 Is Synesthesia Real?

Yes! Brain scans show different brain regions activating in synesthetes when experiencing cross-sensory perceptions. They also perform consistently on tests (e.g., always matching the same colors with letters).

It’s not a disorder—most synesthetes see it as a cool extra sense!