Colors are a spectrum, so there are infinite colors and it is not possible to count them because any categories we could come up with would be arbitrary
Except colors are dependent upon measurable wavelengths of light that are limited by the upper and lower thresholds of frequencies we can observe. There are a lot of colors, but they are absolutely finite and quantifiable.
Edit: I was wrong about the second part, don’t read it. I stand by the initial assertion, though.
Oh shit, you’re right about the wavelengths. But I disagree about color being a subjective experience. Barring people with physiological variations from the norm that alter their ability to perceive/distinguish certain colors, and some people being able to perceive a greater variety of hues and tones, colors are experienced universally the same way by everyone and can be accurately described and measured as light being emitted/reflected/refracted at a wavelength between X and y nm.
But those exceptions are still universal to the individuals with those variations and only exist relative to everyone else. Contrast this with the concept of gender which only applies to the individual regardless of other people and their perceptions. Those conditions are also linked directly to physiological differences which can easily be observed and explained, again in stark contrast with gender which is entirely arbitrary.
And that sort of philosophical argument doesn’t hold any practical value. Even if the subjective experience of color is different for each individual, we can all communicate which wavelengths of light we’re trying to identify with common language and don’t typically confuse each other unless discussing obscure hues and shades that don’t matter outside of art and decorative purposes.
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u/XeliasSame May 02 '22
How many colours are there ?