Monday 18 March 2013

Icecream / Colours & Theory of Mind

Today I decided that imitating a giant ice cream would be a fine idea, and I have not regretted it one bit. Except that I somewhat melted in the almost-autumn-heat wearing my new op-shop finds: this lilac sweater and mint-green blouse. Aren't they the prettiest things?

blouse - vintage
sweater - vintage
skirt - c/o Faith & Lola
hat - c/o Wholesale
tights - Yoshida
shoes - Chicory
clips - DIY

Alright, so this is really interesting to me as both a science-minded lady and someone who is into fashion! Again, I have another science post all about perception, to convince you that the "realities" we experience are largely all in our own minds. This thought experiment has always interested me: the colours we experience are less of an absolute physical property of the world, and more something our mind interprets as all the different colours of the rainbow.  Colour is an illusion. Therefore, both you and I could look at an apple, and call it "red", but my "red" could be totally different to your "red", and if I were to hop inside your brain and have a look at your "red", I might think it was actually green. Have a watch of this video from the fantastic V-sauce, who explains this idea a little better then I did just there.







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26 comments:

  1. ahh your hair matches your skirt so perfectly! So cute, what an adorable outfit :)

    that thing about how we perceive colours always makes me think of people with super-human sight. Some people (commonly women, for genetic reasons) have more than three cones in their eyes so could theoretically see a whole range of colours the rest of us don't have access to! You can read about it here (http://discovermagazine.com/2012/jul-aug/06-humans-with-super-human-vision), it's so crazy to think about! xx

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    1. WHAT! I never knew about that!!! That's freaking amazing!!! Thank you so much for sharing :D

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    2. I'm writing about this in my next post, it's way too fascinating ^_^

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    3. Isn't it so cool!! It's SO EXCITING to think about being able to see more colours! And like if I'm remembering right there's been talk of using this research to cure colour blindness and stuff in the future. hehe I feel honoured to have contributed to science facts :D!

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    4. It's mind-blowing to think that just adding one little thing, like an extra mutant cone, can add an extra layer to perception - to reality! Aw wow, and that's really awesome as well :) I'll make sure I mention you in my next post ^_^

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    5. Unfortunately the proof of whether tetrachromates can actually perceive more colours isn't very conclusive.

      L.
      http://goodmorningangel.blogspot.co.uk

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  2. SO BEAUTIFUL! I LOVE THE BROOCH AND THE SKIRT =)
    VERY INTERESTING FACTS, TOO!
    XOXO

    www.marshylicious.blogspot.com.ar

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  3. Ohhh I have always thought I might be a little "colorblind" for certain colors... I can't define some shades hahaha


    zuleyb.blogspot.com

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  4. First of all I LOVE THIS OUTFIT (obviously)!!! You look like a candy store ice cream parlor and I couldn't love it more! Secondly, I THINK ABOUT THE COLOR PERCEPTION THING ALL THE TIME and it blows my mind and then I can't think about it anymore because it freaks me out. In the same vein, and you might know this, being a science-oriented gal -- men are much more likely to be color blind than women are, yes? Does anyone know why this is? And I think green/red is more common than other kinds, but I could be wrong. But this happens a lot with me and my boyfriend or me and my mom, especially when differentiating between pinks and reds and oranges (or blues/greens). So strange to think about, especially because it makes you question who is "right!"

    xox Sammi
    www.thesoubrettebrunette.blogspot.com

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    1. Yes! That's very true that men are much more often colourblind than women, and it has to do with genes and chromosomes!

      You might know that women have two 'X' chromosomes, while men have one 'X' and one 'Y'. The gene for colour-blindness is carried on the X chromosome. It's also a "recessive" gene.

      Because women have two X's, if they are given one "colour-blind" X from their mother and one "normal" X from their father, for example, they will have normal colour vision because the "normal" X is dominant over the other one.
      However, if these same two people have a baby boy (and as a male, he will have XY chromosomes), he has a 50% chance of getting the "colour-blind" X from his mother (as she has two of them). And he doesn't get an X chromosome from his father, he gets a Y chromosome. So if his 'X' chromosome from his mother has the gene for colour-blindness on it, he will be colour-blind, because there is no "normal" X chromosome to dominate over the "colour-blind" one.

      I hope that made sense.. :)

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  5. Super cute outfit!

    I have been fascinated with the topic of how other perceive colour for quite some time. If the topic comes up in my house we always get into a huge discussion over it. I don't think there has been enough research done about it. The section of the video with the blind man talking about how people try to explain colour to him was very interesting. I can't even form proper thoughts to type out, that's how much my mind gets blown by this.

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  6. OOOH! This post just made me super excited and happy for so many reasons! Firstly, because your outfit is adorable and I wish I was you (you own so many amazing clothes and have the best sense of style), secondly because the whole colour perception thing is awesome and something I think about quite a bit, thirdly because the video talked about an article explaining the difference in theory of mind between humans and animals which I am now totally using in my uni essay which explains the differences between humans and animals and tals about evolution/should animals have rights? and lastly, because it reminded me of a dear friend who I miss very much who has synesthesia. Have you ever heard of it? It's a rare neurological condition where the person's senses are all mixed up. live science.com gives a real life example, which explains it really well, but basically - my friend India sees colours. Different words, numbers, letters, smells and sounds look different colours to her. She literally sees her emotions and people's names in her head. She said it really affects the way she percieves a person or thing as well. Like, say if a food she never tried looked khaki-green or brown in her mind, she probably wouldn't try it because it doesn't "look" pleasant. Same with people - if she meets someone with a name that doesn't look pretty, she probably won't make much of an effort to get to know them, because her impression is tainted by the colours the letters in their name, or the sound their name makes in her head. It's really interesting and I loved hearing her tell me all about the colours she sees in association with different things :)

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    1. Ahhh wow, I am fascinated by Synesthetes. That is so cool that you are close friends with someone who has it. And hearing all the things she experiences - Woooow:) I think that most people with it don't usually realise that it's different to anyone else's perception of reality either, until they try and describe it to other people. I always thought that being a synesthete who can see music would be particularly cool!

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    2. Yeah, we'll India's mum is a synesthete too, and they both have slightly different perceptions of which colour is associated with what. I think India has the music one too- she wants to be a professional musician or songwriter because of it and is absolutely obsessed with music. We haven't talked much about that one together though, because it's harder to kind of describe since music changes colour to her the whole way through the song as different instruments and tempos become involved. That is definitely something I would LOVE to have. Although Indi quite often gets sensory overload when in a busy place or talking to people and she can't handle arguments because of all the colours that are getting flung at her. How exhausting!

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    3. Wow! that's cool because not all synaesthesia is genetic, though I think there is quite a strong genetic component.
      That's amazing, I would love the music synaesthesia too. I can't even begin to imagine how 'seeing' music would look.
      But having colours flung at you in crowded places? I think I could deal with that if it also meant I got to have synaesthesia, what about you? Although we will never know just what it is like.

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  7. simply PERFECT and your new banner is AMAZING! Gah you never cease to amaze me!

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  8. So gorgeous! Love the sorbet look!

    xx
    Mon

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  9. cool post! i just know it about this theory! :)
    Irene Wibowo

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  10. Annika, I'm so in love with these colours and every lil thing in this outfit <3 I wish I was you <3
    http://coeursdefoxes.blogspot.com/

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  11. Oh my God, this colour thing has haunted me since I was a child! I was forever saying "How do you know that the sky is really blue? My blue might not be your blue" and the adults never knew what I was on about! I could never tell how people actually knew they were colourblind!

    Becky
    xx

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  12. LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS OUTFIT!
    Annika, you are amazing girl!

    nasty-lady.blogspot.com

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  13. Loving the colors in this outfit! So pretty!

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  14. I've thought about color perception a few times before! Though, since we're all of the same species and from the same evolutionary ancestors, it's probably safe to say most of us perceive color in about the same way.
    I love this outfit you're wearing. The pretty pastels colors are gorgeous and girly. Your heart collar clips are adorable too!

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  15. lovely outfit and super cute color combo
    xoxo
    alice c'n'r
    http://cutenroll.blogspot.it/

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  16. Cute outfit and really interesting info on colour theory, really enjoyed this :D xx

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  17. You changed your design too! :D It looks really cute. :3
    I love this outfit, all the pastels and the skirt... *w*

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