Color

[Yingtulpa at aol.com]

Ms. Brandt,
I recently listened to a broadcast on N.P.R. regarding this very issue. There
were several interviews with people suffering varying degrees and types of
blindness and the interviewees were asked about how they defined color. Those
who had been blind since birth (only about 5% of all blind people) defined
colors in the terms you mention here; "hot", "cool", "crisp", etc.; whereas
those who had been able to see at one point or who were only partially blind
had definitions of colors more in tune with their cultures. I recall one
blind woman saying that the only color she really felt she understood was
black... and that this understanding came simply from the description being
given to her: empty and devoid of everything.

I also recall those blind from birth saying that they do not see in their
dreams and that instead their dreams are like their daily lives whereas those
who could once see but had become blind almost always dreamt of being able to
see.

I believe the program was a P.R.I. one (Public Radio International) although
I am not absolutely sure. It could have also been an N.P.R. (National Public
Radio) or Radio Netherlands program.


In a message dated 2/16/00 12:43:26 PM Pacific Standard Time,
Betsy.Brandt at asu.edu writes:

<< If color is a structural coupling between neurophysiology and culture, do
 blind people have color classifications derived from cultural meanings (such
 as values attached to terms like "warm," "cool," "dark," "light," etc.)?  In
 other words, without seeing flames in terms of "red and yellow" but rather
 in terms of "warmth," is another way of defining color created or is
 blindness simply the complete absence of color?  I haven't done/read any
 research on blindness so I don't know the answers but I'm curious if anyone
 has any knowledge or comments about this. >>