Are you colorblind? Worry no more because EnChroma just made a pair of glasses that can help colorblind people restore their color vision. The cyber world received the news with excitement as expected. But this creation is not the first of its kind. The target people of these glasses have various reactions about it.
Color-blindness is the lack of ability to distinguish and to determine the differences between certain colors. This is because of an absence of color-sensitive pigment in the cone cells of the retina. Most color vision problems are inherited and are present at birth. According to Collormatters, approximately 1 out of 12 males and 1 out of 20 women are color-blind. Colorblind people find it hard to see red, blue, green or a combination of these colors. Red-green colorblindness is the most usual type.
Gizmodo reported that the COO of EnChroma, Andy Schmeder, and his coworker Don McPherson has been studying for 10 years a correction for color vision problems. McPherson is a glass scientist and discovered he made for laser surgery eye protection caused the surrounding more vibrant. Making it somehow a cure for colorblind. After receiving grant from National Institutes for Health, they began to study if the components of the lens could be used for an assistive device for the colorblind.
Schmeder said to Gizmodo, "I created a mathematical model that allows us to simulate the vision of a person with some kind of colorblindness."
Many users of the "assistive device" or the pair of glasses claimed that there is a change to their color vision. One anonymous user in a product validation study said, "In fact, almost everything I see looks more intense. The world is simply more interesting looking." However, there are also users that were not happy about it.
How people determine and distinguish different kinds of color is naturally subjective. We assume and associate colors with experiences. That's why we know how to differentiate one shade to another.
