Like most people, I’m sure you’re familiar with the term “color blindness”.
In a nutshell, people who are color blind have difficulty distinguishing between certain colors.
Lots of people are color blind. In fact, millions of Americans (including yours truly) have a red-green deficiency (the most common form of color blindness).
The thing is, the vast majority of us color blind individuals still see the world around us in color. We simply fail to see certain colors as they really are.
And for the most part that’s fine because it doesn’t affect our lives in any meaningful way.
But guess what? There are a few people around the globe who are completely color blind. That is, they see the world around them in black and white.
This absolute form of color blindness is known as Achromatopsia, a genetic condition that affects the tissues of the eyes.
While the total number of individuals with Achromatopsia is very small worldwide, the effects it has on those people are profound.
Can you imagine living your entire life never being able to enjoy the beauty of a colorful flower or see the color of your newborn baby’s eyes?
And what about all the visual indicators we encounter every day that provide crucial information by illuminating different colored lights?
I don’t know about you, but for me the thought of living in a black and white world is simply unimaginable.
As you might expect, researchers are working on a variety of potential treatments for Achromatopsia. I hope they find one that works pretty soon.
To finish up, here’s a short video that explains more about the causes of Achromatopsia. Check it out.
Note: As always, you can watch the video at full screen by clicking the “square” icon that will pop up in the lower-right corner of the video after it begins playing.