Thassar@lemmy.blahaj.zonetoNo Stupid Questions@lemmy.world•Why are indigo and violet in the rainbow and not just purple?
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1 year agoYou can actually see it in modern times. The Himba tribe in Africa doesn’t have a concept of the colour blue. There’s not even a word for it, as far as they’re concerned blue is just a shade of green. To us it seems obvious, the sky is blue and the plants are green but to them it’s all different shades of green. It’s not a genetic thing, they’re seeing the exact same colours as anybody else, their culture just doesn’t distinguish between the two colours.
You’d think so but colours are weird. Some of the ones we see aren’t ones that actually exist, they’re invented by our brains. Magenta for example doesn’t exist, there is no wavelength for it and because of the way our eyes detect light it should really be a shade of green. But our brain doesn’t like that and invents a brand new colour instead.