Blogpost 3: V I S I O N S

 The sense of sight consists of the eye. All the basic things we need to know about the functions of the eye were taught way back in grade school then continued in high school. Without this, we will not be able to see and witness the wonders of life. There are many parts of the eye and here are some such as the sclera, the outer white part; the iris, the colored part; the pupil, the opening in the center of the iris; the cornea, a clear membrane on the front surface; the lens, a transparent and somewhat flexible ball-like entity at the front of the pupil; the retina, the light sensitive surface at the back of the eye that contains the rods and cones; the rods, the receptors in the retina that are exquisitely sensitive to light but are not very useful for color vision; the cones, the receptors in the retina for color vision; and the blind spot, an area on the retina, directly in front of the optic nerve, that does not contain any receptors.

 Knowing the different parts of our eyes is not enough to understand how our vision works. Different theories have been presented to explain why each person gives a different perspective on what we see. Based on my findings from the THEORIES OF COLOR VISION, there are 2 major theories which are the trichromatic theory and the opponent-process theory.

 The trichromatic theory as proposed by Thomas Young and Hermann von Helmholtz, explains that color perception results from mixing three distinct color systems, one system maximally sensitive to short wavelengths (blue), another maximally sensitive to medium wavelengths (green), and another maximally sensitive to long wavelengths (red).

On the other hand, the opponent-process theory as proposed by Ewald Hering explains that color perception is based on three systems of color opposites. Each color system is sensitive to two opposing colors – blue and yellow, red and green, black and white.

 According to WHAT IS COLORBLINDNESS AND THE DIFFERENT TYPES by TestingColorVision.com, people with normal color vision are trichromats. They can match a range of colors using three primary colors (red, blue and green). People who have deficiencies in perceiving color are often referred to as color blind. Some are dichromats, meaning they can match a range of color using two primaries (red and green or blue or yellow). Others are monochromats, meaning they see the world in black and white or shades of gray. Colorblindness is hereditary and may be diagnosed using the ISHIHARA TEST FOR COLORBLINDNESS.

 Our eyes may be small in size, but it can help us in everything that we do. We should give it proper care because it is our only window to the world that surrounds us. To place myself in such situation would make my life incomplete; black is the only shade that I will see. To see the different colors helps in visioning the true beauty of every color in life.