Color blindness is a fairly common phenomenon, affecting approximately one in 12 men and one in 200 women worldwide. A much rarer condition is tetrachromacy–the total opposite of color blindness, tetrachromats might be privy to a world of color most of us can’t see.
According to Healthline, the average person has the potential to perceive one million shades of color. It is thought people with tetrachromacy have the potential to see 100 million shades, though research into the condition is still in its early stages.
What is the source of this superpower? Much like color blindness, it is the result of a genetic mutation. Most people are born with three cones in each eye that help us identify between different shades on the color spectrum. Those born color blind have two and those with tetrachromacy have four. According to the Cleveland Clinic, tetrachromats have a greater sensitivity to orange-like colors.
Concetta Antico described her experience with the condition to BBC Future. She recalled art lessons she had taught in the park: “I’d say, ‘Look at the light on the water – can you see the pink shimmering across that rock? Can you see the red on the edge of that leaf there?’” The students would all nod in agreement. It was only years later that she realized they were just too polite to tell the truth: the colors she saw so vividly were invisible to them.”
It is thought up to 12 percent of people with an XX chromosome could be tetrachromatic. However, not all people with this genetic quirk will be able to experience a world in such vivid technicolor quite like Antico. According to the Cleveland Clinic, this will depend on whether the additional cone has a different frequency setting to the other cones and if there is a fourth color channel that enables the brain to process the increased color information.
In 2010, a study published in the Journal of Vision, only one of 24 participants carrying the genetic variant displayed “tetrachromatic behavior”, identifying differences in all the shades tested.
While color blindness has been extensively studied, relatively little is known about tetrachromacy. We know very little about how common it is or how it affects vision. It is thought people with weak tetrachromacy might be a little better than the average person at distinguishing between shades and those with strong tetrachromacy may be seeing the world in colors that the rest of us can’t see.
If you think you might be one of the lucky few with tetrachromacy, you might be disappointed to hear there isn’t currently a reliable testing method–despite many claims you might find online. According to the Cleveland Clinic, researchers use DNA testing to identify mutations that might cause the condition. However, this is not enough by itself to confirm you have tetrachromacy. That requires testing using highly specialized technology in a research setting.
It is also worth noting that the way we recognize colors can vary from person to person, even among those with the standard three cones. Just think back to the blue-and-black/white-and-gold dress saga of 2015–if you can remember that far. Color perception is not just determined by what we see but by how the brain interprets those colors. This can be entirely subjective and helps to explain why some people see blue when others see green. There is even evidence that suggests how you see color may depend on the language you speak.
And if you are not naturally gifted in the color-sensing department, you might be pleased to know that researchers have been developing special glasses that could enable all non-tetrachromats the ability to see the world as Antico does.
