Abstract

Meager statistics tell us that at least 20 million males and 2 million females in the U.S.A, have color vision confusion. Many more acquire it through industrial, accidental or medical reasons. Yet although computer-generated and other color coding systems are used more and more, little attention has been given to the problem. For more than 25 years I have collected anecdotal and personal information of color vision confusion and spoken of my findings. Recent experiments have verified my assertions (Cole 1988. Davidson and Myslinski 1990, Steward and Cole 1989). Gerald Murch, who first forced an electrical impulse to create colors on a computer monitor, invited me to speak at the National Computer Graphics Association conference at Anaheim in 1988 on the human factors of color vision confusion because he has had to deal with it first hand. There is reason for the bias against speaking on the problems of those with color vision confusion, but it is time to face the reality. Actual cases are presented and a 12-min. video of six persons speaking about their reactions can be shown.

© 1991 Optical Society of America