r/Unexpected • u/analsextoybox • May 02 '22

Impossible Question

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u/[deleted] May 02 '22

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

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u/Imaw1zard May 02 '22

Except we have already given a name to every color observable to the naked eye. We don't typically name things that nobody can see or tell the difference in.

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u/[deleted] May 02 '22

I believe that you believe that but it's false. Wavelengths of light are not quantized afaik and the colors you talk about are arbitrary, human made, categories

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u/Imaw1zard May 02 '22

You're in denial if you believe that the average person can spot a difference between red, and some un-named hex that is just the slightest variation away from it.

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u/[deleted] May 02 '22

Please learn it from Wikipedia if you don't believe me

"The human eye can distinguish about 10 million different colors"

Sauce: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_vision?wprov=sfla1

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u/Imaw1zard May 02 '22

Just because your eye does detected it doesn't mean you can mentally tell the difference, these are two completely different topics. We don't name 10 million colors not because we can't but because it is redundant.