by Carston Roach

Created on: November 03, 2010

Colorblindness actually is not normally caused by eye damage, a common misconception. Rather, people with colorblindness usually have some form of DNA disorder, although it is, rarely, caused by brain, eye, or nerve damage. Colorblindness is the source of many jokes, as well. When I was in kindergarten, it was common to hear someone shout, "That's pink, not purple! You must be colorblind!" Little do they know that not being able to easily distinguish two similar colors is not even close to colorblindness. People with colorblindness can't see certain colors entirely, which is why the common test for colorblindness is to have a child pick out a number made of colored dots on a separate colored background. People with colorblindness cannot see the number in the center, which lets the doctor know of their ailment.

Another common misconception is that colorblind people cannot see ANY color at all. In fact, there are many different kinds of colorblindness, the most common of which are red colorblindness, green colorblindness, and violet colorblindness. John Dalton was the first to write about colorblindness, writing, "Extraordinary facts relating to the vision of colours," after discovering he himself had a type of colorblindness now known as deuteranopia, another type of colorblindness also know as red-green colorblindness.  Since Dalton, we have learned much more about the different types of colorblindness and how to help those affected by it.

Though considered a disability by many, colorblindness actually has several advantages. For example, the military often hires colorblind people and assign them to a unit because the camouflage clothing worn by many enemy soldiers will stick out to them among the rest of the forest greenery. in fact, as high as five percent of colorblind people tend to have an advantage overall. Scientists have said that this could be the evolutionary explanation for the increasing number of people with red-green colorblindness. Another advantage is the theory that colorblindness could cause an extra dimension in color vision. For demographics, about eight percent of males are colorblind in some way or another, however only 0.5 percent of females are the same. This is because of genetic probabilities. Women must have both chromosomes mutated in order to be colorblind, yet males only need one. For statistics, the probability of a single chromosome to be mutated is five percent, while the probability of both being mutated is 0.25 percent.

Colorblindness doesn't mean they can't distinguish similar colors, it means they can't see certain colors entirely. The many misconceptions about colorblindness have twisted and warped the average mental image of "colorblindness". In reality, people with colorblindness can have advantages over us, even, and are similar to us in many ways. They're just a little bit different.

Learn more about this author, Carston Roach.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.