A new fun fact that I have learned in one of my biology courses includes how both men and women have contrasting perceptions of color. Biologically speaking, women exhibit a much advanced and higher range of chromaticity visualization skills compared to men. This fun fact induced an impressive amount of captivation within me because never have I ever thought about men and women being able to see colors differently.
According to a recent study carried out by a behavioral neuroscientist, Israel Abramov, "Testosterone plays a major role, somehow leading to different connectivities for males and females: color appearance requires a re-combination and re-weighing of neuronal inputs from the LGN (thalamic neurons) to the cortex, which, as we show, depends on the sex of the participant." As a matter of fact, the perception of color revolves around three-dimensional facets. Those facets are the hue, saturation, and brightness. First of all, the hue refers to the natural color such as red, blue, green, and yellow. The saturation focuses on the level of deepness of the color and the brightness delves into the overall color produced when it is radiated or reflected by light.
A cutting-edge revelation that I have come across while researching is that this concept has been with us for a while. It was just a matter of us trying to come across this biological and psychological phenomena in real life. For instance, Abramov asserts, "Because the cerebral cortex has a very large number of testosterone receptors, we examined the possible sex differences in color appearance of monochromatic lights across the visible spectrum. There is a history of men and women perceiving color differently. However, all of these studies deal with higher cognitive functions which may be culture-biased." This is indeed an awe-inspiring discovery and feat to learn about. A quintessential scientific theory which can be explored to a much broader context regarding its relevance in our own lives.
As scientific neuroscience research has pinpointed, women demonstrate the unusually striking ability to recognize the significant nitty-grittiness of the color red. In fact, the gene that enables women to see the color red resides in the X chromosome. Since women are blessed with two X chromosomes, this provides them with an extra edge in the red-orange spectrum. Moreover, men only have one X chromosome and that explains the biological basis behind their inability to delve into the intricacies of the color red. Due to this genetic makeup, women are able to identify various layers of the color red such as maroon, crimson, fiery red, ruby, and scarlet. Whereas, men are only able to identify light, medium, and dark red which is only geared towards the basic layers of the color red.
So next time when you are out with your significant other, strive to engage into this mind-blowing debate and test him or her. Men will almost always insist that the color of something is blue whereas women will insist even more that she is seeing purple or a slight hue of lavender. Also, a shout out to all the men out there. Please refrain from arguing about the color red with your girlfriend or wife because the consequence will not be a pleasantly romantic sight. As men are from Mars, women are from Venus, so are their perceptions of color!
