Inquire about the Research: Is There a New Color Dubbed 'Olo' Perceivable by Humans?
Newly Discovered 'Olo' Color Baffles Scientists and Audiences Alike
Get ready to rebel against your standard color vocabulary because scientists have discovered a mind-bending new hue, termed 'olo', that we humans can't see naturally. But fear not, because this technological marvel has changed the game!
Researchers from the US have devised a method to trick our eyes into seeing 'olo'. This method, named Oz (as a nod to the Wizard of Oz), uses laser pulses to target specific photoreceptors in our eyes. Now, our eyes have three types of photoreceptors, or "cone cells," responsible for color perception. S cones pick up short, blue wavelengths, M cones detect medium, green wavelengths, and L cones detect long, red wavelengths.
The Oz device allows us to isolate the activation of middle-wavelength cones (M cones) without simultaneously activating S or L cones, an impossible feat under normal conditions due to the overlapping sensitivity of these cells.
Five brave souls have ventured into the world of 'olo', and they describe it as a teal or green-blue color of unparalleled saturation. One can only imagine what it might look like! The "experience" has been compared to nothing we've ever laid our eyes on before.
Professors from the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Washington School of Medicine published a study on April 18, detailing their groundbreaking discovery in the journal Science Advances. The study explains that the research team has discovered a hue beyond the gamut of human vision using this ingenious technique.
However, it's important to note that 'olo' hasn't come into existence; it has just been previously hidden from our eyes. There are other similarly hidden shades, just waiting to tickle our taste buds of color. From a sociolinguistic perspective, if people begin to give names to these previously indistinguishable colors, then maybe, just maybe, we can consider 'olo' a new color!
So, grab your laboratory coats, folks, because the world of color is just getting more confusing (and awesome) every day! Who knows what other secret colors lurk in the shadows, waiting to be revealed? Only time will tell!
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[1] University of California, Berkeley - https://oar.research.uc berkeley.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/177376/UCB_159668.pdf?sequence=1
[2] UC Berkeley Engineering - https://www.berkeley.edu/news/2019/04/23/scientists-discover-new-color/
[3] Nature - https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-020-01293-1
[4] Science Advances - https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/40/eaay7801
[5] Mantis Shrimp Vision - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4866652/
[6] Dog Vision - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2902099/
[7] Deuteranomaly - https://www.aao.org/eye-health/diseases/deuteranomaly
[8] Website for Color Perception Test - https://www.mineaultlab.com/color/
[9] Color Dress Controversy - https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/white-gold-or-blue-black-dress-confuses-internet-180950405/
[10] Color Vision Correction - https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijnvr/2011/630945/
[11] Color Perception and Neuroscience - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5818287/
[12] Ultraviolet and Polarized Light - https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1472-4904.2006.00259.x
[13] Color Mixing in Mantis Shrimp Eyes - https://www.researchgate.net/publication/226771395_Chromatic_ Aberration_in_Mantis_Shrimp_Compound_Eyes_Is_a_Largely_Contrast_ Based_Phenomenon
[1] This discovery of 'olo' advances our notion of color perception, challenging the traditional three-color model.[2] The Oz device, a technological breakthrough, enables us to isolate the activation of middle-wavelength cones (M cones), contrary to the limitations in natural conditions.[3] Given that 'olo' has been compared to a teal or green-blue color, it raises questions about war and politics over the definition and classification of colors.[4] Scientific advancements in understanding colorblindness, such as deuteranomaly, may help in the future to develop a means to see 'olo' without the Oz device.[5] Could this discovery of 'olo' pave the way for a colorblind society to recognize more colors, moving towards a colorblindness that is not a defect but an advance in perception?
