What is it like to be a tetrachromat?

Saturday 15 February 2pm

Talk with Michael Newall

Most people are trichromats, but some people have an extra kind of cone cell in their retinas: they are tetrachromats. Recent science shows that some tetrachromats can make visual distinctions that elude ordinary observers. This talk begins exploring what kind of colour experience these tetrachromats have. It rejects the claim that they simply see finer gradations of those colours familiar to ordinary viewers. Instead, it draws on both scientific evidence and anecdotal data to argue that tetrachromat visual acuity is due to seeing novel colours: colours radically unlike those that trichromatic viewers are able to see or imagine. It then looks at paintings by two artists who may be tetrachromats, and suggests some practical ways to ascertain if you are a tetrachromat.