Experiencing the World Through Color Blindness

Taking colors for granted

Being color blind was not something, admittedly, I gave a lot of thought to until recently. But I've come to realize how much I take my color vision for granted, and how much we rely on colors during our every day tasks.

In my garden I easily pluck the red tomato from the green. As I stroll through my garden the rich greens, the bright reds, and the colorful blooms are a daily delight. The vibrant spring flowers recharge me after winter and give me a boost to plant for the summer. Even on my screen I can read the color coded graph or can easily see which button I'm supposed to click on on a website.

Today I got to experiment with a free app that replicates color blindness. It made me appreciate the nuances of color in a way I never had before. Should I say "eye-opening" ;)

If you want to check this out as well, especially if you have a friend or family member with color blindness, it's called Chromatic Vision Simulator by Kazunori Asada. In the pictures below, top left is what I saw and the other three pictures are what people with variations of color blindness might see (you can find more information on their app and online).

In order: A butterfly suddenly camouflaged among the color changing flowers. A pretty flower among lush greenery that transformed to very different colors (with drab looking "greenery"). Swiss chard that all of a sudden doesn't look so healthy. A strawberry turning red. Purple lettuce. A healthy pea plant I would suddenly think had died.

Do you have color blindness yourself? The same makers created another app, that I have not experimented with, but does have good reviews, called Chromatic Glass. I also looked up that there are such a thing as color vision glasses, and if you have any experience with these I'd love to hear (including any recommendations on brand etc., if you have any). I could see this being useful in the garden (should I pick that tomato? What does that beautiful flower look like?) and with other every day tasks (like reading a chart or selecting clothing for the day).

I'm grateful for having a greater awareness than yesterday of the difficulties that color blindness can present in everyday tasks, including in the garden. I'm also grateful I get to see these vibrant colors I have taken for granted, even the bright green weeds growing in my garden.

If you have the chance, I highly recommend trying out a color blindness simulation app. It's a small step that can lead to greater understanding and newfound appreciation of the colorful world around us.

If you, or those you know, have experience with color blindness please post below, especially on your experience with gardening and/or homesteading and how that's affected you and what strategies / tools you use or for which. you'd like to find solutions.