Tetrachromats

[ramalam]

Tetrachromacy is the condition of possessing four independent channels for conveying color information, or possessing four different types of cone cells in the eye. Organisms with tetrachromacy are called tetrachromats

Comments

[ittimin]

Cool...!

How can you tell id you are a tetrachromat?

[meus_profiteor]

Presumeably you'd have to devise a much more subtle version of the colour-blindness tests.

[ramalam]

Indeed. It is the same gene that makes men colour-blind that allows women to potentially be tetrachromats. Contrary to my original post, it is extremely rare for a woman to be a tetrachromat and only women can potentially be tetrachromats due to the forming of chromosomes from your Mother and Father and having 2 x chromosomes.

I have found a test which tests for tetrachromancy. If you show the range of colours that can be made by mixing yellow and red compared with the range of colours made by mixing yellow and orange to a Trichromat the middle section (yellow to deep orange) will look the same. However, to the tetrachromat they will look different as they can percieve the different 'mixes'.

Kinda difficult to explain without a picture, sorry.