Coloured roots and laughter lines

By Murray Stewart murray.stewart49@gmail.com

The For Fact’s Sake columns are – according to Google and the Duck ’n Fiddle’s Explanation of Everything – based in truth. Occasionally however, names and places have been changed to protect innocent people involved.

Hue and kraai Those of us fortunate enough to have the gift of sight, take colours for granted. I can describe a painting I’d bought to Susan in Perth, and by using references like forest green, post-box red or navy blue, she’ll be able to envisage it in her mind’s eye.

But what if she was blind? How do you describe colours to someone born sightless? She’s been told that the sky is blue, but it is only an audio reference. Sadly, without the optical software to process colours, her mind’s eye would only ‘see’ in black and white, with fifty shades of grey in between – one for each colour she hears mentioned.

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